Was the First World War really 'For King and Country'? This is the first full history of the monarchy's role.

Heather Jones is Professor of Modern and Contemporary European History at University College London. An expert on the First World War, her previous publications include Violence against Prisoners of War in the First World War: Britain, France and Germany, 1914¿1920 (2011). She is a former Max Weber Fellow of the European University Institute and has been awarded the Irish Research Council's Eda Sagarra Gold Medal.

Introduction; Prelude: The monarchy and wartime political power. Part I. The role of the British monarchy in cultural mobilisation for war: 1. Monarchist mentalities and British mobilisation, 1914¿1916; 2. Monarchist culture and combatant practices. Part II. The emperor's new clothes: Changing cultures of deference: 3. The royal body in wartime; 4. De-sacralisation discourses ¿ challenges to the monarchy's status, 1916¿1918. Part III. The unknown soldier: The role of the monarchy in post-war commemoration; 5. The monarchy and the armistice: Ritualising victory, channelling war grief; 6. The monarchy's role in sacralising post-war commemoration; Conclusion.