Whilst the young King Henry VIII basks in the pageants and games of his glittering court, his doting queen's health and fortunes fade. Henry's affection for his older wife soon strays, and the neglected Katherine decides to use her power as Queen to dangerous foreign advantage.
The young Spanish widow, Katharine of Aragon, has become the pawn between two powerful monarchies. After less than a year as the wife of the frail Prince Arthur, the question of whether the marriage was ever consummated will decide both her fate and England's.
Amid glorious celebrations their father becomes Pope, and shortly after Lucrezia is married - but as Borgias the lives of the Pope's children are destined to be marred by scandal and tragedy, and it's a fate that Lucrezia cannot hope to escape ...
With fanatical Philip II on the Spanish throne and the spectre of his Inquisition hovering over Europe, these are dangerous and bloody times in which to live.
The ninth of Jean Plaidy's Tudor novels - the story of Princess Mary Tudor, a celebrated beauty and born rebel who would defy the most powerful king in Europe; Mary is unwillingly sent to France to marry the ailing King Louis, leaving behind her true love, Charles Brandon.
The stirring story of Henry VIII's final marriage, to Katharine Parr. Katharine Parr has unwittingly become the last pawn in King Henry VIII's ambitions for an heir.