THIS book is an example of opportunistic publishing. Charles, Prince of Wales, has just celebrated his 60th birthday, so, instead of commissioning yet another biography of Prince Charles, the National Archive has decided to publish a book containing biographies of all the Princes of Wales from the foundation of the office to the present day.

David Loades, a distinguished academic, is forced to admit that the first three men – they were all men, and there has never been a Princess of Wales – are "shadowy figures" and has no option but to abandon biography for a confusingly polysyllabic description of 14th-century Wales. The title of prince was created in order to pacify the Welsh, a task carried out with enthusiastic brutality by Edward I, father of the first prince, and the income of Wales passed, not to the prince, but to the crown. We follow the campaigns of the Black Prince as he adopts the German motto 'Ich Dien' from King John of Bohemia.

The book then races through Tudors and Stuarts until we meet George, son of George III. Crippled by the promise of the book's title, Loades is forced to write a biography of one of the most vivid characters in English history in 25 pages, but he does find space to allow that, if only for his encouragement of architecture, "posterity owes George at least a nod of gratitude". As 'Prinny' brought the 18th century to a close then 'Bertie' introduced the Edwardians, but again, Loades cannot turn his historian's eye to the events.

A more incisive biography would have examined how, in his turn, Edward VIII pulled the monarchy up to the starting gate of the 20th century, even if, through no fault of his own, George VI faltered on the threshold. Father/son relationships had frequently caused Princes of Wales to abandon the mores of their parents, and by isolating them, caused them to invent their own styles.

Finally, Loades has to deal with current holder of the office. Charles has set about social engagement of a kind undreamt of by his predecessors. He has created a wholly admirable purpose to accompany what had previously been a ceremonial title. Loades says that the prince "has relished the role of Prince of Wales and redefined it for our time", but this tawdry work does not allow him space to develop his fascinating historical themes.