The lives of England's medieval queens were eventful—love, intrigue, betrayal, adultery, and war. But the details of their biographies, after centuries of silence, have faded from historical memory, while the real events, as interpreted by biographers in subsequent centuries, have become overgrown with legendary details. Acclaimed biographical master Alison Weir invites us to delve into the most reliable sources to separate the true lives of several of these remarkable women from centuries of romantic legend and restore their rightful place in history. This monumental royal saga spans the years from the Norman Conquest of 1066 to 1154, when Henry II ascended the throne and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, became the first queen of the Plantagenet dynasty. Other heroines of this documentary epic include William the Conqueror's wife, Matilda of Flanders; Matilda of Scotland, revered as the 'mother of all Englishmen'; and Empress Maud, the first female ruler of England, whose son, King Henry II, later founded the Plantagenet dynasty.