Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore, later Princess Henry of Battenberg, was the last-born—in 1866—of Victoria and Albert's children, and she would outlive all of her siblings to die as recently as 1944. Her childhood coincided with her mother's extended period of mourning for her prematurely deceased husband, a circumstance which may have contributed to Victoria's determination to keep her youngest daughter as close to her as possible. She would eventually marry Prince Henry of Battenberg in 1885, but only after overcoming her mother's opposition to their union. Beatrice remained Queen Victoria's favorite among her five daughters, and became her mother's constant companion and later her literary executor, spending the years that followed Victoria's death in 1901 editing her mother's journals and voluminous correspondence. Matthew Dennison's elegantly written biography restores Beatrice to her rightful place as a key figure in the history of the Victorian age, and paints a touching and revealing portrait of the life and family of Britain's second-longest-reigning monarch. “Fascinating.” ― Vogue “[Dennison's] compassion for his subjects is obvious.” ― Publishers Weekly “Dennison emerges as a natural storyteller . . . a hugely satisfying biography. . . . Beautifully written, its detail meticulous . . . a confident and disarmingly impressive debut.” ― The Daily Telegraph (UK) “A colourful peephole into Victorian times, as well as the peculiar ways of royalty.” ― The Herald (UK) “Dennison tells a sorry, complex story with tact and sympathy.” ― The Times (UK) “An engaglingly sympathetic, balanced and intelligent biography.” ― The Spectator (UK) “An engrossing biography . . . Beautifully written.” ― Tatler (UK) “Matthew Dennison has researched assiduously in the Royal Archives at Windsor. He writes well.” ― Independent on Sunday (UK) “This is an old fashioned biography about an old-fashioned subject. At a time when non-fiction writers are desperately thinking up fancy new ways to tell stories, there's something rather comforting about a narrative that has no embarrassment in starting at the beginning.” ― The Guardian (UK) “It is an enthralling story, not just of a mother-daughter relationship but that of a monarch and her favourite subject.” ― Majesty Magazine (book of the month) (UK) “Dennison's biography is an engrossing tale of a mother and daughter who were also a queen and her subject.” ― The Good Book Guide (UK) Matthew Dennison is the author of seven critically acclaimed works of non-fiction, including Behind the Mask: The Life of Vita Sackville-West , a Book of the Year in The Times , Spectator , Independent and Observer . His most recent book is the much-praised Eternal Boy , a life of Kenneth Grahame. Orders are despatched from our UK warehouse next working day.