Bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir brings her
Tudor Queens series to a close with the remarkable story of Henry VIII's
sixth and final wife, who manages to survive him and remarry, only to be
thrown into a romantic intrigue that threatens the very throne of
England.
"A superb read and a remarkable end to a brilliant
series."--Historical Novel Society
Having sent his much-beloved but deceitful young wife Katheryn Howard to
her beheading, King Henry fixes his lonely eyes on a more mature woman,
thirty-year-old, twice-widowed Katharine Parr. She, however, is in love
with Sir Thomas Seymour, brother to the late Queen Jane. Aware of his
rival, Henry sends him abroad, leaving Katharine no choice but to become
Henry's sixth queen in 1543. The king is no longer in any condition to
father a child, but Katharine is content to mother his three children,
Mary, Elizabeth, and the longed-for male heir, Edward.
Four years into the marriage, Henry dies, leaving England's throne to
nine-year-old Edward--a puppet in the hands of ruthlessly ambitious
royal courtiers--and Katharine's life takes a more complicated turn.
Thrilled at this renewed opportunity to wed her first love, Katharine
doesn't realize that Sir Thomas now sees her as a mere stepping stone to
the throne, his eye actually set on bedding and wedding
fourteen-year-old Elizabeth. The princess is innocently flattered by his
attentions, allowing him into her bedroom, to the shock of her
household. The result is a tangled tale of love and a struggle for
power, bringing to a close the dramatic and violent reign of Henry VIII.
