ISBN 0 7206 1127 X
History/Biography
224pp
Paperback Original
£13.95
Available

Order now

In the Shadow of the Throne

Ruth Norrington

Lady Arbella Stuart, once favoured heir to the throne of Elizabeth I, is one of England’s forgotten princesses. Born in 1575, she was descended from Henry VII through his eldest daughter Margaret Tudor, first cousin to James I, niece of Mary Queen of Scots and granddaughter of Bess of Hardwick. Her life was blighted by illness and the cruelty of King James I after her marriage in 1610 to William Seymour, which he opposed.

Modern medical research has confirmed that Arbella was one of many members of the British Royal Family who have suffered from the hereditary disease of porphyria, believed to run through the generations to the present day. The disease’s symptoms may be detected in some of the Tudors and it was passed down to the Stuarts; it is also thought to be the cause of the ‘madness’ of George III nearly two centuries on. In the Shadow of the Throne sheds new light on the relationships between Arbella and other members of the House of Stuart, often stormy but united by blood — and a common illness.

‘Ruth Norrington casts an interesting light on this sad life.’ - Tablet

RUTH NORRINGTON is the author of three historical biographies, including My Dearest Minette: Letters Between Charles II and His Sister the Duchesse d’Orléans, also published by Peter Owen.