Charlie Fenton’s Reviews > In the Shadow of Queens: Tales from the Tudor Court > Status Update

‘The Catholic Mass has been banned and we are to have a new Book of Common Prayer. How my late mistress would have rejoiced! Still, her little one will grow up in this kingdom that has been reclaimed for God, and she herself had no small influence in that, I believe.’

‘Instinct told me that the King would not approve of my falling in love with a man he had not chosen for me. My marriage was in his gift. It would be made to his advantage, and England’s. Thomas Howard, a younger son with no fortune, no prospects and no influence in any quarter, would not stand a chance. But I was young and headstrong, and my heart was heedless of policy.‘

‘Susanna liked the Princess Anna on sight, although, privately, she had reservations that Anna had sufficient charm and accomplishments to inspire passion in the King. She was a humble soul, dignified and modest, with pleasing features (if you ignored the long nose), but without a clue how to please a man. And she was profoundly grateful to meet Susanna and have her for a gentlewoman.’

‘It was so unexpected. Could I love him? I asked myself, rapidly trying to collect my thoughts. He was the King, and he had always been good to me, but I knew there was a cruel side to him. He was a man too, a man who was no longer young and who was growing stout. Yet I hesitated no longer.’

‘shared in the general rejoicing in the news that Queen Jane was with child, and soon, Mother learned from one of her correspondents that the Queen had developed a craving for quail. There are more quail in the marshlands surrounding Calais than we knew what to do with, and they were often served at our table. Mother seized this golden opportunity to win favour with the Queen by sending her a generous supply.’

‘After the funeral, my father came out of seclusion and took up the reins of everyday life once more, but the joy had gone out of him and he had put on an alarming amount of weight, for grief and the sores on his legs had prevented him from taking his usual exercise. He sat alone, brooding and wearing deepest black, when he and my stepmother should have been rejoicing in their child.’

‘Her mirror showed her the same dark-haired woman with the same high cheekbones and pointed chin, and yet there was a knowing quality to her gaze these days, for she had learned that the way a woman used her eyes, to invite conversation or convey a promise of hidden passion, had the power to command the allegiance of many a man.’