"The story of lady-in-waiting Margaret Pole and her unique view of King Henry VIII's stratospheric rise to power in Tudor England. Regarded as yet another threat to the volatile King Henry VIII's claim to the throne, Margaret Pole, cousin to Elizabeth of York (known as the White Princess) and daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, is married off to a steady and kind Lancaster supporter--Sir Richard Pole. For his loyalty, Sir Richard is entrusted with...

Margaret Rhodes was born into the Scottish aristocracy, into a now almost-vanished world of privilege. Her aunt was Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth is her first cousin. She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her cousin Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip. Three years later the King and Queen attended her own wedding; Princess Margaret was a bridesmaid. In 1990, she was appointed as a Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen Mother, acting...

"Anne Glenconner has been at the center of the royal circle from childhood, when she met and befriended the future Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, the Princess Margaret. Though the firstborn child of the 5th Earl of Leicester, who controlled one of the largest estates in England, as a daughter she was deemed "the greatest disappointment" and unable to inherit. Since then she has needed all her resilience to survive the vipers of court life with...

Early eighteenth-century England is at war with the French. A frail Queen Anne occupies the throne, and her friend Lady Sarah tends to her ill health. When a new servant Abigail arrives, Sarah takes her under her wing, and Abigail sees a chance at a return to her aristocratic roots. As the politics of war become time-consuming for Sarah, Abigail steps in to fill in as the Queen's companion. Their growing friendship gives her a chance to fulfill her...

London, 1527. Marry or serve: for Honor Larke, the choice is clear. Unwilling to perish of boredom as an obedient wife, she leaves the home of her ward to attend Her Majesty, Queen Catherine of Aragon. But life at Henry VIII's court holds more than artifice for an intelligent observer, and Honor knows how to watch—and when to act. . .
Angered by the humiliation heaped upon her mistress as Henry cavorts with Anne Boleyn and presses Rome for...

They were the Boleyns, once one of England's most powerful family. Anne Boleyn captured the hand of Henry VIII, and now we see the rise and fall of their family fortunes through the eyes of the eldest Boleyn daughter, Mary.

Mary Boleyn is overshadowed in history by her sister Anne, but it was she who first caught the eye of Henry VIII, setting the stage for her family's dramatic rise to power—and ultimate fall from

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"Branwen has a secret powerful enough to destroy two kingdoms. Her ancient magic led to a terrible betrayal by both her best friend, the princess Essy, and her first love, Tristan. Now this same magic is changing Branwen. Adrift in a rival court, Branwen must hide the truth from the enemy king by protecting the lovers who broke her heart--and finds herself considering a darker path. Not everyone wants the alliance with Branwen's kingdom to succeed--peace...

"Lady in Waiting brought us royal magic, beguiling insight, and jaw-dropping stories from life inside Anne Glenconner's privileged circle, which though golden didn't always glitter. As she revealed in her memoir, it has been one of stark contrasts--from growing up in the splendor of Holkham Hall to living in a tent in the jungle of Mustique, from traveling the world with Princess Margaret to coping with her wildly unpredictable husband Lord Glenconner....

An Elizabethan expert describes the court of Queen Elizabeth I, painting a vivid picture of the gossip, conspiracy, intrigue, and romantic dalliances that surrounded the monarch and the daily lives of the women that attended her. Queen Elizabeth I acceded to the throne in 1558, restoring the Protestant faith to England. At the heart of the new queen's court lay her bedchamber, closely guarded by the favored women who helped her dress, looked after...