Four Princes: Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe by John Julius Norwich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Four Princes is the story of four rulers of the early 16th century: Henry VIII of England, Francis I of France, Charles V the Holy Roman Emperor and Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. The book is a biography of the four princes and also a history of this time period. The author does a great job of interweaving the stories of all four men and fitting them into the historical narrative.

All four were born between 1491 and 1500, and when they became rulers, their mutual interactions shaped much European history during this era. Henry, Francis and Charles had all met each other at least once. Suleiman is the outlier; he never met any of the other princes but he did have quite friendly relations with Francis, because of their common opponent Charles.

There are other actors in this story as well: the various popes, and the reformers like Martin Luther. So it is a complex and interesting tale of religion and international politics. We meet all six of Henry’s wives for example, as well as the struggle between Charles and Suleiman in Hungary and the first Ottoman attempt to capture Vienna in 1529.

I really enjoyed this book – it is a great overview of European history in the first half of the 16th century. If you’re interested in this period of history or any of the four princes, I think you will enjoy this book too.