Behind the façade of politics and pageantry at the Tudor court, there
was a family drama. Nothing drove Henry VIII, England's wealthiest and
most powerful king, more than producing a legitimate male heir and so
perpetuating his dynasty. To that end, he married six wives, became
the subject of the most notorious divorce case of the sixteenth
century, and broke with the pope, all in an age of international
competition and warfare, social unrest and growing religious
intolerance and discord. Henry fathered four living children, each by
a different mother. Their interrelationships were often scarred by
jealously, mutual distrust, sibling rivalry, even hatred. Possessed of
quick wits and strong wills, their characters were defined partly by
the educations they received, and partly by events over which they had
no control. Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, although recognized as
the king's son, could never forget his illegitimacy. Edward died while
still in his teens, desperately plotting to exclude his half-sisters
from the throne. Mary's world was shattered by her mother's divorce
and her own unhappy marriage. Elizabeth was the most successful, but
also the luckiest. Even so, she lived with the knowledge that her
father had ordered her mother's execution, was often in fear of her
own life, and could never marry the one man she truly loved. Henry's
children idolized their father, even if they differed radically over
how to perpetuate his legacy. To tell their stories, John Guy returns
to the archives, drawing on a vast array of contemporary records,
personal letters, and first-hand accounts.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780191655944
Publisert
2020
Utgiver
Vendor
OUP Oxford
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter