The Sisters of Henry VIII: The Tumultuous Lives of Margaret of Scotland and Mary of France [Paperback]

Margaret and Mary - nowadays the two sisters of Henry VIII are not very well know as the King seems to be overshadowing everything and everybody. However both princesses played an important role in the British history. This excellent double biography of the two princesses is a great contribution to the study of the Tudor monarchy.

Margaret, the elder and least happy sister, became the queen consort of Scotland. She enjoyed her position as princess to the full; she began a lifelong love affair with beautiful clothes, delighted in dancing and music as well as archery and playing cards. The princess, as a result of her privileged position, developed a very stubborn personality. Her marriage to James IV of Scotland was accompanied by a treaty of "perpetual peace" between Scotland and England. But neither the marriage nor the peace lasted. The king was more occupied with his mistresses and the peace ended when James invaded England in 1513 and was killed at Flodden. Margaret became regent for her son, James V , but her love marriage to Archibald Douglas, earl of Angus, led to the loss of the regency to the duke of Albany. Albany soon obtained custody of the king, and Margaret fled to England. She returned in 1517, However, her Marriage to Angus did not last. James was proclaimed king in 1524 but was for several years virtually a prisoner of Angus. In 1527, Margaret obtained a divorce from Angus and soon married Henry Stuart, Lord Methven. James, upon his escape from Angus (1528), joined his mother and Methven, and they were for a time his chief advisers. The third marriage however, did not last too, but her son, the King, to allow her to divorce Methven.

Margaret's descendants by James IV and by Angus were united by the marriage of Lord Darnley and Mary Queen of Scots, whose son became James I of England (James VI of Scotland.). Through her the Stuarts of Scotland claimed the throne of England.

Princess Mary was the youngest sister of Henry VIII, and very much loved by him.. She had charm and good looks and was described as the golden child of the Tudor family. Pampered as she might have been, but there was no escape from royal duty. The teenage Mary is married of to the elderly and ailing king Louis of France. Every since Mary is known as The French Queen. However, she made Henry VIII promise that she could choose her second husband according to her will. The King of France did not live long and acted quickly and married without her brother's permission Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk, the trusted friend of the King and the man, she was in love with. The King is first furious, but the forgiving. The French Queen and her husband stars of the Tudor Court and there marriage a reasonably happy one, however without a male heir. In the divorce struggle of Henry VIII. and Queen Catherine of Aragon, Mary sided with the Queen an.

Her daughter Francis became the heir of the house and became the mother of the ill-fated Queen of nine day, Jane Grey. In a last tribute to his beloved sister Henry VIII had settled the succession after his offspring first on the descendants of Mary and only than on the ones of Margaret, in spite of the superior claim of Margaret.

This book is well written, with a great flow and interesting information about the two princesses. A great study of the Tudor period and of two very typical Tudor princesses. You will enjoy this excellent book.

Although Maria Perry's book is well researched, it reads very blandly and is overall, not very involving. As someone with an interest in Tudor biographies, I was thrilled to see that someone had finally devoted an entire book to Henry VIII's spirited and independent sisters as they were both women of immense character, but although this book faithfully recounts the factual events of their lives, it really never once captures their emotions or personalities. It's not a bad book by any means, but, considering the power, scandal, influence and independence these two women took on as the hallmarks of their lives, it's certainly a missed opportunity to bring them to life for the reader.