Yet, all she did she did for her son James V, and her absolute conviction he would rule Scotland as its rightful king. She was continually caught between her country of birth and the country she ruled. After james iv’s death, she made the disastrous decision to marry the Earl of Angus, threatening her regency and forcing the Scottish council to send for the Duke of Albany to rule in her stead.

Although margaret wished for peace between the two countries, these were tumultuous years and she didn’t always make the wisest choices. Her life was troubled and fraught with tension. Margaret tudor was henry viii's older sister and became the Queen of Scotland after her marriage to James IV in 1503. Over the years, margaret’s allegiance swung between England and Scotland, making her brother Henry VIII both her ally and her enemy at times.

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Henry VIII's Nearest & Dearest - The Tudor Brandons: Mary and Charles

Charles rose from being Henry's childhood friend to becoming the Duke of Suffolk; a consummate courtier and diplomat. They returned to court and despite their ongoing disagreements throughout the years, especially over the king's marriage to Anne Boleyn, the Tudor Brandons remained Henry's most loyal subjects and perhaps more importantly, his beloved family.

. At first married to the king of france, Mary quickly wed Charles after Louis XII's death in 1515, against her brother's wishes. Their actions could have been construed as treason yet Henry chose to spare their lives. Mary was always royalty. This fascinating book studies the life and times of Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon, Henry VIII's dearest sister and his closest companion.

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The Forgotten Tudor Women: Anne Seymour, Jane Dudley & Elisabeth Parr

Born into the most turbulent period of england’s history, these women’s lives interplayed with the great dramas of the Tudor age, and their stories deserve to be told independently of their husbands. Anne seymour served all of henry viii’s six wives and brushed with treason more than once, but she died in her bed as a wealthy old matriarch.

Elisabeth parr, sister-in-law of Queen Katherine Parr, married for love and became Elizabeth I’s favourite lady-in-waiting. The tudor age was a hazardous time for ambitious women: courtly life exposed them to “pride, executions were part of everyday life, scorning and derision”, indignation, envy, death in childbirth was a real possibility and plagues sweeping regularly through the country could wipe out entire generations of families.

Yet anne, jane and elisabeth lived through all this and left their indelible marks on history. Jane dudley was a wife and mother who fought for her family until her last breath. It’s high time for these women’s stories to be heard. Anne seymour, jane dudley and Elisabeth Parr all have their own unique stories to tell.

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Lady Katherine Knollys: The Unacknowledged Daughter of King Henry VIII

Katherine knollys was mary boleyn's first child, born in 1524 when Mary was having an affair with King Henry VIII. She married francis knollys when she was 16 and went on to become mother to many successful men and women at court including Lettice Knollys who created a scandal when she married Sir Robert Dudley, the queen's favourite.

This fascinating book studies Katherine's life and times, including her intriguing relationship with Elizabeth I. Katherine spent her life unacknowledged as the king's daughter, yet she was given prime appointments at court as maid of honour to both Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard.

The Tragic Daughters of Charles I: Mary, Elizabeth & Henrietta Anne

Mary, henrietta maria, elizabeth and henrietta Anne, the daughters of King Charles I and his queen, would be brought up against the background of the English Civil War. Henrietta anne would escape to France and be the darling of the French Court. Yet none of the Stuart princesses would live to reach thirty.

Mary would marry william, Prince of Orange, and be sent to live in the Netherlands. Elizabeth would remain in England under Parliamentary control. Chronos books presents the latest in a series of historical royal biographies by Sarah-Beth Watkins, author of Lady Katherine Knollys: The Unacknowledged Daughter of King Henry VIII.

The tragic daughters of Charles I is their story.

Scourge of Henry VIII: The Life of Marie de Guise

The little-known story of the mother of mary, queen of Scots and her feud with the Tudors: “Will fascinate anyone who loves a simmering, twisting tale” All About History. Mary, marie de guise, queen of scots continues to intrigue both historians and the general public—but the story of her mother, is much less well known.

A political power in her own right, she was born into the powerful and ambitious Lorraine family, spending her formative years at the dazzling, licentious court of François I. James’s premature death four years later left their six-day-old daughter, Mary, as queen, and presented Marie with the formidable challenge of winning the support of the Scottish people and protecting her daughter’s threatened birthright.

This biography, from the author of marie Antoinette: An Intimate History, tells the story and offers a fresh assessment of this most fascinating and underappreciated of sixteenth-century female rulers. Content until now to remain in the background and play the part of the obedient wife, charm, and energy to safeguarding her daughter’s inheritance by using a deft mixture of cunning, determination, Marie spent the next eighteen years effectively governing Scotland—devoting her considerable intellect, courage, and tolerance.

Although briefly courted by henry VIII, she instead married his nephew, James V of Scotland, in 1538.

The Lost Tudor Princess: The Life of Lady Margaret Douglas

In an age when women were expected to stay out of the political arena, alluring and tempestuous Margaret helped orchestrate one of the most notorious marriages of the sixteenth century: that of her son Lord Darnley to Mary, Queen of Scots. Margaret defiantly warred with two queens—Mary, and Elizabeth of England—and was instrumental in securing the Stuart ascension to the throne of England for her grandson, James VI.

New york times bestseller • named one of the best books of the year by the independent • from bestselling author and acclaimed historian alison weir comes the first biography of Margaret Douglas, the beautiful, cunning niece of Henry VIII of England who used her sharp intelligence and covert power to influence the succession after the death of Elizabeth I.

The life of margaret douglas spans five reigns and provides many missing links between the Tudor and Stuart dynasties. Weir balances historical data with emotional speculation to illuminate the ferocious dynastic ambitions and will to power that earned her subject a place in the spotlight. The new york Times Book Review.

Drawing on decades of research and myriad original sources—including many of Margaret’s surviving letters—Alison Weir brings this captivating character out of the shadows and presents a strong, capable woman who operated effectively and fearlessly at the very highest levels of power. Praise for the lost tudor princess “this is a substantial, detailed biography of a fascinating woman who lived her extraordinary life to the full, taking desperate chances for love and for ambition.

It will appeal to anyone with an interest in the powerful women of the Tudor period. Philippa gregory, the washington post “Tackling the family from an unexpected angle, Weir offers a blow-by-blow account of six decades of palace intrigue.

The House of Beaufort: The Bastard Line that Captured the Crown

Many books have been written about individual members of the dynasty, but never has the whole family been explored as one. This book uncovers the rise of the beauforts from bastard stock of john of Gaunt, celebrated victor of Agincourt, to esteemed companions of their cousin Henry V, Duke of Lancaster, and tracks their chastening fall with the House of Lancaster during the 1460s and 1470s.

Their rise, a dramatic century of war, fall, and rise again is the story of England during the fifteenth century, intrigue and scandal both at home and abroad. From margaret would rise the house of tudor, the most famous of all England’s royal houses and a dynasty that owed its crown to the blood of its forebears, the House of Beaufort.

But what gave the eventual victor of these brutal and complex wars, henry tudor, the right to claim the crown? what made his beaufort mother the great heiress of medieval England, Nevilles and Percys were intimately involved in the conflict, and how exactly did an illegitimate line come to challenge the English monarchy?While the Houses of York and Lancaster fought brutally for the crown, other noble families of the kingdom also played integral roles in the wars; grand and prestigious names like the Howards, Mowbrays, but none symbolised the volatile nature of the period quite like the House of Beaufort.

The hopes and fortunes of the family gradually came to rest upon the shoulders of a teenage widow named Margaret Beaufort and her young son Henry. From bastards to princes, the Beauforts are medieval England’s most captivating family. The wars of the roses were a tumultuous period in English history, with family fighting family over the greatest prize in the kingdom – the throne of England.

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Tudor Duchess The Brandon Trilogy Book 3 - Katherine

Her spanish mother, is queen catherine of aragon’s lady in waiting, Maria de Salinas, so it is a challenging time for them all when King Henry marries the enigmatic Anne Boleyn. Following anne’s dramatic downfall, Katherine marries Charles Brandon, and becomes Duchess of Suffolk at the age of fourteen.

She stands up for what she believes in. But such courage has consequencesAttractive, wealthy and influential, Katherine Willoughby is one of the most unusual ladies of the Tudor court. Diana jackson"tony riches, delivers a vividly descriptive, interesting, and well-written read here with characters and a setting that totally captivated and intrigued me.

Highly Recommended. From king to queen to servant, each were brought vividly to life. Discovering diamonds review ‘katherine the duchess’ is a novel which gripped me from the start and I felt great empathy for this strong but extremely wise lady who trod a silken threaded path through life ~ joy ~ fortune ~ but great danger.

A favourite of king henry viii, katherine knows all his six wives, his daughters Mary and Elizabeth, and his son Edward, as well as being related by marriage to Lady Jane Grey. When her father dies, Katherine becomes the ward of Tudor knight, Sir Charles Brandon. Katherine’s young sons are tutored with the future king, Prince Edward, but when Edward dies his Catholic sister Mary is crowned queen.

I was totally taken and fascinated with historically political drama that unfolds within the Tudor Court.

Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Unwanted Wife

The latest in the series of popular tudor biographies from Sarah-Beth Watkins, author of Lady Katherine Knollys: The Unacknowledged Daughter of King Henry VIII. Anne of cleves left her homeland in 1539 to marry the king of England. This is the story of anne's marriage to Henry, how the daughter of Cleves survived him and her life afterwards.

She was not brought up to be a queen, yet out of many possible choices she was the bride Henry VIII chose as his fourth wife. But, from their first meeting the king decided he liked her not and sought an immediate divorce. After just six months their marriage was annulled, leaving Anne one of the wealthiest women in England.

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Margaret Tudor: The Life of Henry VIII's Sister

In a life that foreshadowed that of her tragic, james v and her brother, Margaret hurtled from one disaster to the next and ended her life abandoned by virtually everyone: a victim both of her own poor life choices and of the simmering hostility between her son, fascinating granddaughter Mary Queen of Scots, Henry VIII.

. When the thirteen year old margaret tudor, eldest daughter of henry vii and his wife elizabeth of York, married King James IV of Scotland in a magnificent proxy ceremony held at Richmond Palace in January 1503, no one could have guessed that this pretty, redheaded princess would go on to have a marital career as dramatic and chequered as that of her younger brother Henry VIII.

Left widowed at the age of just twenty three after her husband was killed by her brother’s army at the battle of Flodden, Margaret was made Regent for her young son and was temporarily the most powerful woman in Scotland - until she fell in love with the wrong man, lost everything and was forced to flee the country.

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