In fact Count Königsmarck was last seen whe he left his house in Hannover on the evening of 11.July 1694. No corpse was ever found. Of course there were rumours all over the town that he had been assassinated and murdered and that his body had been thrown in the river Leine. But wether this had really happened an if it was being carried out on the instruction og George Ludwig (the latter George I) or his father Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hannover or the Countess of Platen (who was not only Königsmarck`s mistress but also Ernest Augustus`s) will never be known. Princess Sophia Dorothea was not divorced and put under house arrest in Ahlden because the dying Königsmarck was found lying before her bodouir But because she was forced to return to her father in Celle. This business was called run away and although she did not "flee" voluntarily and although of course her father turned her down she was accused of wilful deserting thus justifying George Ludwig to divorce her. As a note of history she became not only the mother of the english dynasty of Hannover but through her daughter, another Sophia Dorothea, the mother of the prussian dynasty of Hohenzollern.
But on the whole the book is remarkably enertaining and gives you a fascinating insight into 1500 years of englisch history.
I also found that Hilliam's method of tracing the lines of descent of the various royal houses of Great Britain seemed designed to confuse, rather than enlighten, the reader. I think that it even confused the author himself(see page 10).
On the plus side, the sections on Bones and Bastards are entertaining to read, if you don't plan on using this book for research purposes.
