At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Duchy of Coburg was a small, impoverished German fiefdom ruled by the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family. Yet within just forty years – and following the marriage of first cousins Queen Victoria of Britain and Prince Albert – the Coburgs controlled many of the European monarchies, and by the beginning of the twentieth century, their genes could be found in no fewer than thirteen royal families.

How was this extraordinary rise to imperial power achieved?

Richard Sotnick draws on contemporary documents from German archives to reveal the plotting and intrigue that led to the creation of a dynasty, including: how Victoria and Albert’s uncle Leopold and his mother Augusta worked assiduously to promote their union; how, after a scandalous divorce, Albert’s mother – the Princess Diana of her age – was exiled for life and banished from her sons; and a forensic analysis of the rumours surrounding Albert’s paternity.

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