Clive Handy

Only half way through but it's an excellent read, as well as providing some (skewed) history. Mitchell is as amusing as he is in Upstart Crow ( which I believe he also wrote) and paints a humorous and ascerbic picture of the monarchy from...well day one really. Well worth waiting for the paperback, out at the end of April, I got the hardback cheap because it was slightly damaged (probably like the author!) Only kidding.