New Book Reveals the Sensational History of England’s Kings and Queens

Assassination:
The Royal Family's 1000 Year Curse

Author David Maislish is a practicing attorney and partner at the global law firm Duane Morris LLP. He lives in London and is married with five children. Assassination – The Royal Family’s 1000 Year Curse is available in paperback ($16) and e-book ($5) by David Maislish

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Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” wrote William Shakespeare of the English monarchy. If he had lived another 400 years to read Assassination – the Royal Family’s 1000 Year Curse, he would have discovered that it has been a good deal more than lying uneasily; it has been a never-ending invitation to murder.

In his new book, David Maislish proves a chilling fact: someone has tried to kill every single British monarch and many more attempts than we knew have been successful. At least a quarter, and perhaps as many as a half, of all British monarchs were killed.
“One day, I decided to write about the murders of the ten monarchs everyone knows were killed,” Maislish says. “As I researched deeper and deeper, I discovered that at least eight, possibly as many as thirteen, others may well have been killed. Even more remarkable, whether killed or not, every single one of them suffered at least one assassination attempt.”

In Assassination – the Royal Family’s 1000 Year Curse, Maislish guides readers through English history, beginning with Canute, the first king of all England, who was targeted on London Bridge in 1014, and concludes with Queen Elizabeth II who was targeted in Australia in 1970 and in New Zealand in 1981.

Maislish gives a brief history of each reign, giving context to the assassination attempts, so readers come away not only with a series of murder stories, but also with a good understanding of British and world history, and the history of the monarchy. But the murders are central, and each chapter is built around the assassinations and the fate of the assassins.

Assassination is not your average textbook; instead it captures the reader’s attention by marrying history with a series of true-life royal murder thrillers. It also sets out the personal story of each monarch, their incestuous connections (with family trees for each reign), and recounts little-known anecdotes such as the origin of the passport, chardonnay, the croissant, the cappuccino, the handkerchief, New Jersey, the use of the fork, Staten Island and many more. The book also reveals the various people alive today who would rightly be king or queen if certain usurpations or births had not taken place.

“I have tried to avoid the matters that sent us to sleep in school,” Maislish continues. “Royal history is filled with mystery, murder and excitement – you just need to know where to look.”