The Thistle and the Rose

by Jean Plaidy Book 8 in the Tudor Saga series.

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Margaret Tudor, elder daughter of Henry VII and sister of the future Henry VIII, is married to James IV of Scotland as part of the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between the two kingdoms. What begins as a dynastic settlement develops into a genuine partnership, but the Anglo-Scottish peace proves fragile as Margaret’s birth family and adopted country move towards renewed conflict.

James is killed at Flodden in 1513, leaving Margaret a young widow and the mother of the infant James V. Her position as queen dowager and regent forces her to navigate rival Scottish factions while English interests repeatedly pull her in another direction. Subsequent marriages, political alliances and family disputes place Margaret between loyalty to the Tudors and the need to protect her son’s Scottish crown, making her private choices inseparable from the struggle over Scotland’s government.