The King's Curse

THE COMPELLING NOVEL FROM SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER PHILILPPA GREGORY

'Margaret's story is shocking, deeply moving… the depiction of Henry VIII's transformation from indulged golden boy to sinister tyrant is perfect pitched' Sunday Express

They trust her to watch the House of Tudor rise… Only she knows it will fall. 

Heir to the Plantagenets, Margaret Pole, is a rival claimant to the Tudor throne. Buried in marriage to a loyal Tudor supporter, she becomes guardian to Arthur, the young Prince of Wales, and his beautiful bride, Katherine of Aragon. 

But her destiny is not for a life in the shadows. Tragedy throws Margaret into poverty, yet the king's death restores her to a place at young Henry VIII's court, as a lady in waiting to Queen Katherine.

As the Tudor court sours, Margaret has to choose between her allegiance to the increasingly tyrannical King Henry, or to her friend, his abandoned queen. And Margaret is hiding a deadly secret… that a curse was cast on the Tudor line, and she is watching it come to pass. 

Praise for Philippa Gregory:
 
‘Meticulously researched and deeply entertaining, this story of betrayal and divided loyalties is Gregory on top form’ Good Housekeeping
 
‘Gregory has popularised Tudor history perhaps more than any other living fiction writer… all of her books feature strong, complex women, doing their best to improve their lives in worlds dominated by men’ Sunday Times
 
‘Engrossing’ Sunday Express
 
‘Popular historical fiction at its finest, immaculately researched and superbly told’ The Times

Philippa Gregory is the author of many New York Times bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl, and is a recognized authority on women’s history. Many of her works have been adapted for the screen including The Other Boleyn Girl. She graduated from the University of Sussex and received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where she is a Regent. She holds honorary degrees from Teesside University and the University of Sussex. She is a fellow of the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff and was awarded the 2016 Harrogate Festival Award for Contribution to Historical Fiction. She is an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck, University of London. She was awarded a CBE title for services to literature and charity in 2022. She welcomes visitors to her website PhilippaGregory.com.

From the Number One bestselling author of The White Queen comes the riveting story of Margaret Pole, cousin of Elizabeth of York, and her unique view of Henry VIII's terrifying rise to power in Tudor England. As an heir to the Plantagenets, Margaret is seen by the King's mother (The Red Queen) as a powerful threat to the Tudor claim to the throne. She is buried in marriage to a Tudor supporter - Sir Richard Pole, governor of Wales - and becomes guardian to Arthur, the young Prince of Wales, and his beautiful bride, Katherine of Aragon. But Margaret's destiny, as cousin to the queen (The White Princess), is not for a life in the shadows. Tragedy throws her into poverty and only a royal death restores her to her place at young Henry VIII's court where she becomes chief lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine. There she watches the dominance of the Spanish queen over her husband and her tragic decline. Amid the rapid deterioration of the Tudor court, Margaret must choose whether her allegiance is to the increasingly tyrannical Henry VIII or to her beloved queen. Caught between the old and the new, Margaret must find her own way, concealing deep within her the knowledge that an old curse cast upon all the Tudors is slowly coming true...

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