The story of the Four Queens by Nancy Goldstone , Penguin Books, 2007 is 4 sisters who marry well and influence Europe in the mid 1200’s. One was married to Louis IX, king of France; one was married to Henry III, king of England and the other two were married to the most powerful people behind the Kings – Richard, the Earl of Cornwall and Charles of Anjou. How all four married into the families and how their marriages brought peace to Europe is the subject of the book. Every family in the world hopes their sons and daughters marry well, for Raymond Berenger V the Count of Provence his four daughters surpassed expectations. In the feudal times of the Kings and Queens would marry off their families to achieve alliances with others in the expectation of if someone attacked their lands, the others because of marriage would be obligated to help defend the lands.

In peace time, when the marriages happened, the girls tended to early teenagers, besides their youthful beauty, would bring a dowry for the kings to pay off their debts. The first was married strategically and the other sisters began to fall into place because of who she married. In the 1200’s the biggest debt holders were the kings and to get out of debt,new lands needed to be acquired to pay off the creditors. Another method was to marry off a family member for the dowry or payment of money by the bride’s family. In the case of the Berenger family, the Count had a pledge the same asset a number of times to keep up appearances and to satisfy the groom’s expenses. The lives of the 4 Queens reads similar to many Court stories in terms of forming alliances, keeping the barons friendly, for there is always someone who wants to go fighting, and maintaining their standing.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, this particular book focuses on the power behind the throne, someone has to sit on the throne but that does not always mean they were the best candidate. It means they won the right to sit on the throne to carry on, and hopefully they will do a more than adequate job. There is always people behind the scenes who ensure stability is seen by all, in this case, the queens might have been better at the job than the kings. As an investor, the most important aspect of the company is to continue to earn a profit and pay a dividend; one of the variables which is always interesting to watch is how the senior management interact and act for the good of the company.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions