February, 1603. In Richmond Palace, London, the last Queen of the Tudor dynasty, Elizabeth I, is dying. As Death hovers at her elbow, waiting for her to obey his call, the aged Queen looks back on her life, and on the trials, victories and sorrows which brought her eventually, to the throne of England. Not quite three years old when her mother, the notorious Anne Boleyn, was arrested and executed on charges of adultery and treason, Elizabeth became a true princess of the Tudor era, in a time when the balance of power, politics and passion were fragile… and the cost of failure was death. Her childhood and teenage years were fraught with danger as competing factions and ideologies sought to undermine and destroy her in the bid for power at the Tudor court. This is the story of Elizabeth Tudor, last daughter of Henry VIII, and her journey to the throne of England. Told from her own mouth… the tale of the Bastard Princess, who would, one day, become England’s greatest Queen.
My Review
Told in first person, we experience Elizabeth’s confusion and tension through the days after Prince Edward’s birth and the death of Queen Jane, up to the beginning of her sister Mary’s reign. Quietly mourning her ill-fated mother, Elizabeth could rely on no guidance to speak of until Catherine Parr settled in as a sweet and reliable step-mother. It must have been like a breath of fresh air, though this royal marriage, too, had its tricky moments. Elizabeth was in turn awestruck and terrified by her imposing father, but when he finally died she found peace at last in the dowager queen’s household. That is, until Catherine Parr unexpectedly married the dashing and provocative Thomas Seymour. It didn’t take long for Thomas to turn this household upside-down as well:
I look on this now with the eyes of a woman who has seen much of the world, of men and of love. But then, then I was little more than a child; un-trained in the arts of love and un-used to having to restrain my feelings. God forgive me! I was not prepared to defend myself against such a man! When his dark eyes rested on my waist or hip, on my budding breasts or my neck, when I saw the path of those eyes across my body it would make me shudder with a feeling that I was not prepared to control… nor yet to reject.
There was in my heart for him the simple love that a first love always is; you know so little of the person you have fallen for, and yet you will never forget them, nor relinquish the affection you have for them… the first person that awoke such strong feelings in you.
We get a comprehensive account of this dangerous episode, which turned out badly but could have been much, much worse. To give her credit, Elizabeth did not attempt to deflect responsibility. Although she was too young to know how to control her impulses, she knew Thomas’s behavior was wrong. She just couldn’t help herself, and I think most of us could relate, thinking back on our teenaged years. It was the end of her innocence, though poor Elizabeth was about to jump from the frying pan into the fire.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Bastard-Princess-Elizabeth-England-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00XNQTRNE
