Arthur: Prince of the Roses

Six Tudor Queens #0.5

by Alison Weir

Arthur: Prince of the Roses by bestselling historian Alison Weir is a free e-short and companion piece to her stunning novel, Katherine of Aragon, the first in a spellbinding six-novel series about Henry VIII's Queens. Fans of Philippa Gregory and Elizabeth Chadwick will love this insight into the story of this ill-fated Tudor prince.

Arthur, the first Tudor prince, is raised to believe that he will inherit a kingdom destined to be his through an ancient royal bloodline. He is the second Arthur, named for the legendary hero-king of Camelot.

To be a worthy ruler, he must excel at everything - and show no weakness. But Arthur is not strong, and the hopes of England weigh heavy on his slight shoulders. And, all the while, his little brother Harry, the favoured, golden son, is waiting in the wings.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Tudor Period, Historical, Short Stories, Novella, Royalty

56 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 10, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Alison Weir is an English writer of history books for the general public, mostly in the form of biographies about British kings and queens, and of historical fiction. Before becoming an author, Weir worked as a teacher of children with special needs. She received her formal training in history at teacher training college. She currently lives in Surrey, England, with her two children.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Alison Weir tackles her latest book series about the six wives of Henry VIII, she has chosen to intersperse them with some short stories that bridge these books with some of the lesser-known characters whose actions played a role in the respective queen’s life. The first of these is a preface book to the series all about Prince Arthur, the heir to the English Throne who was betrothed to Katherine of Aragon. The birth of Arthur was highly symbolic, uniting the Houses of Lancaster and York, as well as their ‘roses’. Arthur came to represent this unity and was expected to be a strong start to a Tudor dynasty. As a young boy, he was quite precocious, asking questions and learning from those around him. When his father thought him old enough, Arthur was taken around the kingdom to learn of all its holdings, as well as being primed to hold the title of Prince of Wales. Arthur was always aware of his younger brother, Henry, who was just as curious but also mischievous. At a time when political unions were strengthened through marriage, Arthur was told of an arrangement with the Spanish, who would send Katherine, ‘the infanta’, to help in a tumultuous Europe. While he waited, Arthur fell ill, coughing and being forced to bed for a period of time. His parents worried that he might not be well enough to meet his betrothed, but Arthur was determined to do so. When the infanta was called upon, after arriving from Spain, Arthur and his father made their way to her chambers for that ever-important first meeting. What followed has long been documented in the history books and occurs as the story ends. A brilliant launch to the Six Queens series, this prequel short story whets the appetite of the curious reader. Recommended for those who love all things Tudor, especially fans of Alison Weir’s detailed historical fiction work.

I have long had a passion for Alison Weir’s writing, as well as all things Tudor. From non-fiction to fictional accounts of this English House through to television programmes that straddle both entertainment and documentary foci. Weir is able to develop a great story in short order with this piece, injecting a great focus on Prince Arthur and his early years. Arthur is shown to be a curious child who grown and becomes aware that he is truly the symbol of English calmness and perhaps the savour to all warring in the country. Paired off as a teenager, Arthur has little time to process the act before he is thrust to meet his bride, the infanta, later known in history as Katherine of Aragon. Weir keeps her narrative strong and brief, setting the scene effectively while adding some presumptive dialogue to keep the reader interested. The story paves the way for what is sure to be a wonderful opening novel in the Six Queens series which (spoiler) sees Arthur pass away and sets his younger brother Henry on a martial warpath to appease his every need. With an easy to comprehend storytelling ability, Alison Weir is a delightful author for those seeking to wade into all things Tudor. This series will surely develop into being a powerful collection of novels, based on the many other books I have read that bear the author’s name. Bring on the queens (and more of these short stories that link them)!

Kudos, Madam Weir, for a stunning piece that packs a punch in a handful of pages. I am eager to see how you develop things in all your writings within this series.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh

[Leah Toole · Rating 2 out of 5]

So disappointed.
I have so many issues with this and given it was only 56 pages, that's pretty crazy 😅
but one of the biggest what the heck moments was that Henry vii was portrayed as not giving a fig about his wife's feelings, and that Elizabeth of York supposedly believed Perkin Warbeck to be her brother...
Arthur's depiction was also very disappointing and highly speculative in the regard of him being a weak little wimp and "unable to excel at anything except Latin and Greek". Given many reports suggest he was very good at archery and horse riding from as young as 3 years old, I feel like the weak portrayal is unfair and also untrue. Im all for the narrative that he and Katharine of Aragon did not consummate their marriage, but there are many other possible reasons why, and him "already dying" and being too much of a weakling "compared to his brother Harry" feels stereotypical and like a lazy cop out.

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six Tudor Queens 0.5 Arthur: Prince of the Roses by Alison Weir
challenging emotional sad tense

Fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75 Stars

This was a LOT shorter than what I thought it would be. It was good to see the perspective of Arthur, and his very short and naive life.

It was good to see his perspective, but because of its shortness, also shows its weaknesses.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting insight into the life of Princes Arthur leaving me with wanting more both of his story and to know where his story would have gone had he survived

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting short story on Arthur, Prince of Wales. Weir presents nothing new here, as Arthur is characterized as a studious young man (perhaps a little jealous of his boisterous younger brother). The relationship between Henry VII and Arthur is intriguing and I wonder if Henry did discuss his Welsh ancestry often. I would have liked to read more about Weir’s interpretation of Arthur’s relationship with his parents, but I imagine he’s a difficult person to write about since so little is known.

As Weir states in her afterword, it’s tantalizing to think about the kind of ruler he would have been.

See more of my reviews: Blog // Instagram

[jodie louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant introduction to a series

This insight into Prince Arthur is incredibly endearing to the Prince, though The Prince died at a young age Weir gives us the impression of the king her would’ve been and creates him into an incredibly likeable character creating the first instalment into the series of his brothers life and marriages.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow!

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short little freebie in the back of Katherine of Aragón: The True Queen. I enjoyed it, but it is probably best enjoyed alongside the novel as it is very short.

[Coni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was at the end of my digital version of Katherine of Aragón: The True Queen. It filled in a bit more of Arthur's upbringing. I was hoping that since his life was fairly short, it would follow him until his death, but it only follows him up until his first time meeting Katherine in person. Then it abruptly stops. It did fill in a bit of backstory that was given in Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen, but I was hoping for a bit more. Maybe a few more pages.

[Staceywh_17 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This may be classed as cheating as it was only an e-short & very disappointing it was too. Although the story of Arthur itself is fascinating, I was expecting a little more than a few pages & the rest being taken up with editors notes & chapters of other books in the series. But it was one way of easing myself into the new year & my new challenge.

[Niamh · Rating 4 out of 5]

really should have read this before the first book so i've went back and read it now so i can be all caught up

all pretty self explanatory and covered in the first book anyway so probs could skip, but still interesting

[Claireybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty straightforward "telling" of Arthur from childhood to his meeting of Katherine.

[Bookworm with Kids · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick little read showing the years before Katherine of Aragon arrived in England from Arthur's point of view. I feel that Arthur has been very much overlooked by history and writers. It is interesting to 'hear' his side of the story.

[Aimee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really worth spending 99p on - half the pages are taken up with an extract from another book, so the story itself is barely 30 page long. It's little more than a glimpse into Arthur's life and doesn't reveal anything particularly interesting.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six Tudor Queens Series

Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of India enforced a nationwide lockdown beginning on March 25, 2020. Initially planned for 21 days, this lockdown restricted the movement of the entire population—approximately 1.38 billion people—as a preventive measure to contain the spread of the virus. With limited activities available during this period, I turned to my Kindle Reader and completed reading the Six Tudor Queens series in the order of publication.

Review: Arthur: Prince of the Roses by Alison Weir came into my life not through plan, but through pause.

It was during those odd, twilight months of 2020—the year the world seemed to cooperatively exhale and forget how to breathe—that I found myself returning to historical fiction with renewed intensity. We were deep in lockdown. Outside, the roads lay barren, the air oddly still, as though time itself had pulled up a chair to sit and wait with the rest of us. Inside, everything felt heightened—silence, worry, memory. And in that silence, I stumbled upon a boy who never became a king.
Arthur Tudor.

Firstborn son of Henry VII. Crown Prince. Husband of Catherine of Aragon. Dead at fifteen. A name usually mentioned only in passing, if at all, as we leap headfirst into the legendary misadventures of his younger brother, Henry VIII. But in Arthur: Prince of the Roses, Alison Weir takes the footnote and turns it into a story—subtle, intricate, and quietly devastating.

The title is fitting. Not just because Arthur was born during the precarious peace after the Wars of the Roses, but because he was, in many ways, the Tudor dynasty’s most hopeful bloom—a carefully cultivated emblem of legitimacy and renewal.

Weir doesn't treat him as a romanticised saint or a doomed cherub. She gives us a boy who was deeply intelligent, unusually serious for his age, and remarkably prepared to rule. And yet, his was a life fated to be eclipsed by its own absence.

From the very beginning, the book exudes a tenderness that feels almost elegiac. Weir, with her usual blend of scrupulous research and novelistic flair, constructs Arthur’s world with painstaking detail. The education he received at Ludlow Castle. The cultivation of his public image as England's great hope. His role in solidifying the fragile Tudor claim to the throne. All of it is here, rendered with the quiet urgency of someone rescuing a story on the verge of being lost.

Reading this during the lockdown felt uncannily resonant. Here was a tale of potential interrupted. A life mapped out with care—only to be undone by a brief illness. It mirrored, in many ways, the collective pause we were all experiencing: our travel plans shelved, jobs reimagined, futures postponed indefinitely.

Arthur’s death wasn’t just a personal tragedy—it was a national pivot. The crown, meant for him, fell upon the head of a second son who would change the very fabric of England forever. It was one of those moments in history that proves contingency is the true monarch of the past.

But what impressed me most was the way Weir humanises Arthur. Historical fiction so often struggles with the “good boy” trope—the noble heir who’s too good for this world, bland by default. Not here. Arthur is earnest, yes.

Dutiful, undeniably. But also questioning, at times lonely, and surprisingly politically astute. Weir never forgets that while he was surrounded by power, he was still just a boy—taught to shoulder the weight of a nation while barely out of childhood.
His relationship with Catherine of Aragon, in particular, is handled with care.

Weir navigates that historical grey zone between fact and supposition with refreshing honesty. She neither sensationalises nor sanitises their young marriage. Instead, she gives us a portrait of two teenagers placed into the spotlight of dynastic ambition, struggling to play adult roles in a stage too grand for their age. It’s quietly heartbreaking to see how much of their story becomes weaponised after Arthur’s death—especially when we know what Catherine would go on to face under Henry VIII.

The subtle tragedy of this novel isn’t just Arthur’s death—it’s the chain of events it sets in motion. The second son, once destined for the Church, was now pushed into the centre of a throne he wasn’t meant to inherit. A Spanish princess widowed before her life truly began, forced to renegotiate her value in a court obsessed with heirs. And a fragile dynasty left teetering on a single male branch. If Arthur had lived, would England have torn itself apart over the lack of a male heir? Would there have been a break with Rome? Would Anne Boleyn have lived and died a queen?

These are the questions that hovered over me as I read, tea in hand, through quiet afternoons in May. The book didn’t offer answers—but it didn’t need to. It served as a gentle reminder that history is often shaped not by the most powerful but by the most unexpected absences.

Stylistically, Weir's prose is measured and restrained. There are no literary pyrotechnics here—just a quiet confidence in the power of narrative clarity. And in a world suddenly filled with too much noise—from news alerts to video calls to the constant hum of uncertainty—that clarity was welcome.

Weir’s writing allowed me to breathe. To listen. To follow the rhythms of another century, even as my own felt so unsure.

And yet, the novel isn’t without a sense of movement. There’s a kind of quiet propulsion in the way Arthur’s story unfolds. We watch him grow, learn, love, and then—suddenly—fade.

The final chapters, which chart the political shockwaves of his death, are sobering. His passing is not treated with melodrama, but with a kind of historical grief. Not the grief of a mother or a wife, but the grief of a timeline altered.

A boy who might have spared England so much blood, so much fire.

One of the most powerful moments in the novel, for me, was the way Weir depicts Henry VII’s response to Arthur’s death. A king not known for sentiment, suddenly broken. The image of that private grief—a father who had clawed his way to power, mourning the son who was supposed to carry it forward—stayed with me long after I put the book down. In a year marked by loss, both global and personal, that moment felt real. Honest. Unvarnished.

By the time I finished Arthur: Prince of the Roses, the lockdown had begun to lift in cautious increments. Life slowly stumbled back into motion—masked, distant, tentative. But something in me had shifted. I had spent weeks inside the mind of a boy preparing to lead a kingdom, and I came away with a renewed respect for the quiet corners of history. For the lives we forget to examine. For the what-ifs.

In the canon of Alison Weir’s work, this novel may not have the dramatic allure of Anne Boleyn or the sweeping power of Eleanor of Aquitaine. But it has something rarer—a sense of stillness. Of dignity. Of untold possibility. It asks us to imagine not just what Arthur was but what he might have been. And in doing so, it reminds us that even brief lives can shape empires. Even detours can be destinations.

Weir, with her steady, vicarious hand, brings Arthur out of the shadows—not as a ghost of Henry VIII’s legacy, but as a prince in his own right.

A boy of roses.

A chapter not quite closed.

[Rebekah May · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm actually really disappointed with this e-short. I was happy to see that this was from Arthur's perspective and was looking forward to learning more about him. The only thing I really know about him is that he was King Henry VIII's older brother and that he died young. Unfortunately this doesn't really add much else, except the different places he was moved around and the type of education he had. It only goes as far as his first meeting with Katherine, doesn't delve at all into his illness, and passes over his short life very quickly. I also felt that it read more like a textbook than historical fiction. Then there's the fact that literally half of this e-short is just an excerpt from Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen

I didn't hate this but I didn't really like it either. I would say you definitely don't have to read this as part of the series.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first in Weir's side stories from the Six Tudor Queens this focuses on Henry VIII's older brother, Arthur. He was the first-born and Henry VII completely focused his attention and hopes for a Tudor dynasty in this young man. But also the weight of being the personification of the union of the Lancaster-York royal families.

Weir gives this relatively mysterious youth a voice - from his sibling envy due to the attention lavished on them by their mother, especially Henry to the scholarship that he enjoyed even as the more physical aspects of noble life seemed out of his reach. The proxy engagement to Infanta Cataline at age eleven, then proxy marriage at age thirteen (Catalina or Katherine was a year older) and the story ends with Arthur about to finally meet his bride.

Weir's writing gives the impression that Arthur had developed a cough that he was concealing from everyone which might have been the cause of his sudden death - likely consumption but historians dispute any firm cause at this time.

It gives a good introduction into the background of Henry who was suddenly thrust into the position of heir. Henry VII's refusal to give up Catalina's dowry and thus have her marry the new heir. And is a great lead-in into the first of the actual books in the series - Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen

2021-241

[Phil Syphe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story is written in third-person specific about Henry VII’s eldest son.

Not much happens, sadly. Certainly not with Arthur. He hears second-hand reports of current events, such as the Perkin Warbeck affair, in which he has no direct involvement, and the outcome doesn’t affect his life in any respect.

I’d rather the author had cut things like the above-mentioned example and dramatized a few short scenes. We’re told who Arthur likes and dislikes, but we don’t see any of this play out. For example, we’re told he likes his sister Margret but dislikes his brother Harry (the future Henry VIII), so it’s a pity we couldn’t have had at least one scene featuring Arthur with each sibling to show the contrasting relationships.

Short stories like this don’t have much scope for anything big, but something still needs to happen – and the main character being told reports about what’s happened to someone who has little or no bearing on his life doesn’t cut it.

I’m a fan of this author, but this for me isn’t Alison Weir at her best. It’s interesting in places, but not in any way enthralling.

[Helene Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review - It was interesting to try and understand what Prince Arthur might have thought of his future bride, and of the reported illness he was suffering from and, especially, his relationship with his younger brother (later Henry VIII). This novella promotes Arthur's sense of self-importance as the link between Lancaster and York, and the mention of the Princes in the Tower is also interesting, and I wonder whether Arthur in real life would have asked about them as he does here, and what Henry VII's reply would have been. Arthur's comments about his brother Harry are also interesting and highlights what several authors have said was the rivalry between the two and Arthur's sense of being on the outside.

Genre? - Novella / Historical

Characters? - Prince Arthur / Henry VII / Elizabeth of York / Lady Darcy / Katherine of Aragon

Setting? - London (England) & Ludlow (Wales)

Series? - Six Tudor Queens #0.5

Recommend? – Yes

Rating - 16/20

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m about to dive into the first of the Tudor Queen books so figured I’d do it all in order including the shorter stories and ebook prequels (which now have been all consolidated into In the Shadow of Queens) and hope to make my way through them all eventually.

As a man who would be king, Arthur has a lot of expectations on his shoulders and a big weight to bear. You can understand his resentfulness to his siblings who perhaps don’t have to carry such a burden. Ailing and born early, Arthur has always had to do a lot to prove himself but a marriage to a Spanish princess might just see him be the powerful ruler he needs to be.

It was a great quick read and done well by Alison Weir (as I’ve found with all her books). I really enjoy reading them and feel like I’m glancing behind a curtain to watch bits of history play out before my eyes. I’m excited to get such into the first Tudor queens book now!

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short prequel to Katherine of Aragon: The True QueenKatherine of Aragon: The True Queen.
Tip: Get In the Shadow of Queens: Tales from the Tudor Court so you don't have to get all of these short stories separately.
This only takes us through a few years of Arthurs life, maybe half his life? It ends as he meets Katherine of Aragon. Easily skippable if you're not a completionist.

[Renee Montgomery Griggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novella was included in my copy of "Katherine of Aragon- The True Queen." I thought I had cheated reading it when I looked at the information for the e-book. After reading the reviews of others, I realized I didn't cheat after all. Arthur is one of those "what if's" in history that one wonders about. Would England not be turned upside down if he was healthy and lived on to old age? Would that kingdom have been spared the spoiled narcissist Henry VIII? I feel that since Arthur's life was too short for Alison Weir to add any new information, I guess we should be thankful for what she and others have been able to write about.

[Tom Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting tantalising taste

This is the prequel short story to Wrir's series based around the lives of Henry VIII's six wives. It summarises the life of Prince Arthur, older brother of Henry and original husband to Katherine of Aragon, and finishes just as these two meet (what follows obviously taking place in the first Novel in the series.) Arthur is a number of those "What if" characters from history, and, though there's unlikely to be much more to be told, I felt disappointed that this part was so short, I'd liked to have learned more about the would be king. But that's not what this tale is here for.

[A.M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do think this Arthur is a neglected member of the Tudors, with a huge significance. I mean everything rested on the question of his and Catherine of Aragon’s marriage. More to the point was the dowry of 200,000 crowns [five or more million pounds in today’s money]. Henry VII was always into the money.
Married in November, and died in April, just before his sixteenth birthday, and the rest is history.

This version is based on the idea that he was a sickly, weak child who resented the hardier, healthier Harry.
2 stars

[Henrieke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, yet lacking depth of the boy who didn't live up to everyone's expectations. There is so little knowledge about Arthur, that I was somewhat surprised that Alison Weir managed to sketch so much from his perspective. However, I would have liked the story to continue after Arthur marrying Katherine. Also to unveil whether the marriage was consumated or not, which is an important part of 'the great matter' many years later.

[Melissa M · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the end of the e-book of Katherine of Aragon The True Queen was this little gem. Very short, it only gives a glimpse of Prince Arthur, the older brother of Harry (Henry VIII). Arthur is so influenced by his father's expectations that he keeps the first signs of TB to himself instead of disappointing his parents and their vision of his future. Makes me wonder how history would have been different if he had lived and Harry never ruled.

[Mary Fagan · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you want to read the whole series like I intend to then by all means read this but otherwise I wouldn't bother. There is nothing more to this story than a description of Arthur's upbringing ending with his marriage to Katherine. Could have been told in the one line "Arthur was born, grew up and married a Spanish Princess". Although I admit the the lack of interesting content really isn't the authors fault since sadly it was a true description of Arthur's short life.

[Allie Kozlowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed how the book was written in Arthur's point of view. I also enjoyed that it wasn't a long book but it took too long to speed up so by the time you were sped up the book was practically over. With that being said I don't think this would be a great book for the classroom because it won't hook the students in order for them to have the ambition to keep reading.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story from Prince Arthur's point of view about the pressures he would have been under to be perfect. Also, this version goes with the theory he had tuberculosis. Arthur knows he isn't well and is trying to ignore all the signs he is not going to be the golden king his father wanted him to be.