Arthur Tudor is raised as the first prince of a new dynasty, expected to embody both chivalric legend and the political hopes of Henry VII. Frail beneath the demands placed upon him, he prepares for marriage to Katherine of Aragon while his younger brother Harry grows in confidence and favour. This companion story presents the Tudor succession from Arthur’s viewpoint and shows how his early death altered Katherine’s life and England’s future.
Arthur’s importance lies partly in what never happens. His marriage to Katherine is intended to secure the Anglo-Spanish alliance and provide the Tudor dynasty with its next generation, but his death transforms both purposes at once.
By imagining Arthur’s perspective, the story gives weight to the heir later histories often treat merely as the prelude to Henry VIII. His frailty, education and dynastic obligations show how different the Tudor succession might have been had the first son of Henry VII survived.
Philippa Gregory
32 books
Elizabeth Fremantle
7 books
C. W. Gortner
8 books
Margaret George
6 books
David Field
46 books