The Thistle and The Rose

Margaret Tudor, the elder sister of Henry VIII, was a significant figure in the Tudor era. She married James IV of Scotland at thirteen and learned statecraft, surviving his early death and constructing a powerful position in Scotland. Her two subsequent marriages were disastrous, but her son attained the throne in 1528. She was a complex woman with self-expression and a flair for the dramatic, fighting for her son's rights and laying the groundwork for a future British state.

Format: Hardback
Length: 400 pages
Publication date: 20 June 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Margaret Tudor, the elder sister of the more famous Henry VIII, is a pivotal figure in the Tudor era that has often been overlooked by historians. At the age of thirteen, she married the charismatic James IV of Scotland, a man more than twice her age. Despite the challenges of her marriage, Margaret learned the skills of statecraft and constructed a powerful position in Scotland. She dealt with domestic issues and navigated international relations with England and France. Her remarriage, which led to the loss of the regency, was a controversial decision, but she never gave up. Her son, James V, eventually attained the throne in 1528, largely due to her determination. Margaret's story is one of fierce sibling rivalry with her younger brother, Henry VIII, as well as matrimonial mishaps and fighting off an unearned reputation as an over-sexed whinger fixated by clothes and jewels. She was a complex woman with the true Tudor attributes of self-expression and a flair for the dramatic. Drawing on Margaret's extensive correspondence, contemporary poems, and literature, Linda Porter crafts a compelling story of a misunderstood and underestimated Tudor monarch whose determination to fight for the rights of her son, James V, is at the core of her dramatic life and laid the groundwork for a future British state.

Weight: 642g
Dimension: 242 x 162 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781801105781