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The fascinating story of how royal power came to lie in female hands for the first time under the Tudor queens, now in paperback. Castor also profiles the 4 women who came before them who, whilst never reigning monarchs, held great power: Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Margaret of Anjou and Matilda, daughter of Henry I. 'Witty, elegant and engaging prose... Absorbing.' "Literary Review"
Synopsis
When Edward VI - Henry VIII's longed-for son - died in 1553, extraordinarily, there was no one left to claim the title King of England. For the first time, all the contenders for the crown were female. In 1553, England was about to experience the monstrous regiment - the unnatural rule - of a woman.