0.5. Firstborn
The birth of Elizabeth of York takes place during the first reign of Edward IV, when the Yorkist dynasty still appears newly secure. Around the infant princess, Elizabeth Woodville, Warwick the Kingmaker and the royal family measure the child’s significance against hopes for a male heir…
1. Elizabeth of York: The Last White Rose
Elizabeth of York grows up amid the collapse and restoration of her father Edward IV’s rule, the disappearance of her brothers and Richard III’s seizure of the crown. After Bosworth she marries Henry VII, joining York and Lancaster while carrying unresolved grief and dangerous loyalties into…
1.5. The Golden Prince
Anne Oxenbridge encounters the young Henry Tudor before he becomes Henry VIII and sees the charm, confidence and expectation surrounding the ‘golden prince’. Their relationship unfolds within the disciplined household of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, where the death of Prince Arthur transforms a second…
2. Henry VIII
Henry VIII begins as an athletic, educated prince determined to embody Renaissance kingship and distinguish himself from his cautious father. The need for a male heir, his conflict with Rome and his succession of marriages gradually reshape both the king and the realm. Told from Henry’s…
3. Mary I
Mary Tudor begins as Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon’s cherished heir, but her father’s rejection of her mother makes her illegitimate and places her faith under sustained attack. She survives the reigns of Henry and Edward VI, defeats the attempt to install Lady Jane Grey…