We have all read fairy tales about kings and queens, princes and princesses, dragons and castles.

It's all true They really existed Well, except for the dragons. Dragons didn't really exist. Somebody just made that part up (Also the talking fish.) But the kings and princesses and castles definitely existed.

For much of history, most people lived under monarchies. That meant they took one person and everyone had to do anything he said, until that person died, and then they'd just do the same thing with his son or sometimes daughter. Sort of like a game of Simon Says, except the same person always gets to be Simon, and the game goes on forever. This was referred to as "government."

There are two common mistakes people make about kings. One is to think that they were always there: that there's just something odd about humans that makes them want to give one person all the power. No. That's wrong. The other mistake is to think maybe people long ago behaved that way, but that's because people long ago were slightly stupid, and hadn't figured out how to hold elections or online surveys, but we certainly don't have anything like kings now. That turns out not to be true either. It might seem to be, because we no longer have anyone dressed in elaborate costumes who can order somebody's head chopped off - at least, in most places, we don't - but as we'll see, things haven't changed nearly as much as we like to think.

One thing no one can deny: kings are fun to think about. That's why people like to dress up as them, or play games where they get to be kings or queens, or why there are so many books and stories about them. So why write another one? Well, mainly to ask: why do we find kings and queens so interesting? What is it we really like about them, and what is it we'd find annoying or even terrifying if one was actually around? Where did they come from and why do they never seem to go away? Is it possible to keep all the things we like about kings and queens and get rid of all the other ones?

This book, then, is an illustrated collection of questions and answers to help us get to the bottom of all this. But it's also meant to be entertaining because, let's face it, kings and queens are pretty entertaining. We'll see what happens when some people get to do absolutely anything they want, and other people try to come up with all sorts of clever strategies to keep them out of trouble. We'll see what happens when servant girls conquer the world, mummies pretend they're still alive, and parents build make-believe towns for their children. But we don't want to give too much away.