Book Review: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest, by Sharon Bennett Connolly

Available from Amazon UK

and pre-order from Amazon US

Daughters of kings were often used to seal treaty alliances and forge peace with England’s enemies. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters from the Conquest explores the lives of these young women, how they followed the stereotype, and how they sometimes managed to escape it. 

Here’s a good question for when it’s a bit quiet in the pub: Who was the first royal princess? One of the many interesting things I learned from Princesses of the Early Middle Ages was ‘Princess’ was the general title ‘Princess’ wasn’t used for daughters of the monarch until 1642, when King Charles I created the title "Princess Royal" for his eldest daughter, Mary.

Having read Sharon Bennett Connolly ‘s earlier book I was surprised by this slim volume, but then found this is ‘part one of two’, with the ‘sister’ book, Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets to follow.

Highly readable and entertaining, this is the sort of history book I wish I had as a boy. It can’t have been easy to navigate the often obscure details of the early Anglo-Saxon princesses, yet this is Sharon Bennett Connolly’s specialist area. The result is one of the most comprehensive accounts you will find.

I challenge anyone with an interest in medieval Britain to not find something they will learn from this book, and I look forward to the next instalment. Highly recommended.

Tony Riches

(I would like to thank the publishers, Pen & Sword History, for prividing an advance review copy/)

# # #

About the Author

Sharon Bennett Connolly is the best-selling author of historical non-fiction. Her latest book, Scotland’s Medieval Queens, will be published on 30 January 2025. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, she also writes the popular history blog, www.historytheinterestingbits.com and co-hosts the podcast A Slice of Medieval with historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Sharon regularly gives talks on Women's History; she is a feature writer for All About History, Tudor Places and Living Medieval magazines and her TV work includes Australian Television's 'Who Do You Think You Are?' You can find out more about Sharon's books on Amazon and follow her on Facebook, Twitter/X and Bluesky