Review: The Tragic Daughters of Charles I by Sarah-Beth Watkins

The period of the English Civil War has not historically been an area of reading interest to me; however, a number of fiction and non-fiction books have crossed my path over the last couple of years and my interest has been piqued. I will preface that statement by saying I was not at all unfamiliar with the historical aspects and the main players.

In short, for those who are unfamiliar with this period, the English Civil War, fought between 1642-1651, saw King Charles I battle Parliament for control of the English government. The war began as a result of a conflict over the power of the monarchy and the rights of Parliament. During the early phases of the war, the Parliamentarians expected to retain Charles as king, but with expanded powers for Parliament. Though the Royalists won early victories, the Parliamentarians ultimately triumphed. As the conflict progressed, Charles was executed and a republic formed. Known as the  Commonwealth of England, this state later became the Protectorate under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell. Though Charles II was invited to take the throne in 1660, Parliament's victory established the precedent that the monarch could not rule without the consent of Parliament and placed the nation on the path towards a formal parliamentary monarchy.

It is against this backdrop that Sarah-Beth Watkins, rather than focusing on the more famous sons, introduces us to Charles I's three eldest surviving daughters - Mary (1631 - 1660), Elizabeth (1635 - 1650), and Henrietta Anne (1644 - 1670). There were two other daughters, Anne (1637 - 1640), though she did not survive childhood (toddlerhood), and baby Catherine (b&d. 1639).

Watkins presents the lives of these young women in accordance with the chronology of Charles I. We are treated to a family history before we start with the elder of the daughters, Mary Stuart, and then each successive daughter, their lives intertwining, not only with each other, but also with their brothers and mother.

Five eldest children of Charles I: Mary, James, Charles, Elizabeth (holding baby Anne)

Watkins tells the story of a separated family - Charles I off fighting or in custody; the children either fled abroad or in the hands of the Parliamentarians; their marriages; their tragic deaths. Each chapter is allocated a time frame from which to place the girls - for example, under the heading of 1634 - 1637, we look at the Queen's last pregnancy; the Queen's flight to France; the escape and smuggling of the baby Henrietta Anne to France to join her mother. These women lived short lives.

Poor Elizabeth who from age six until her death at age 14, was a prisoner of the English Parliament during the English Civil War. Unlike her other siblings, she and her younger brother Henry, were the only ones to see their father before his execution - she left a tragic account of this last meeting. Only after Elizabeth's death would Henry himself be released from his imprisonment.  Elizabeth herself would never know freedom.

Her hands in prayer enfolded, her Bible open spread, 

Her pale cheek on her pillow, the Stuart Rose lay dead. 

Thus nursed in tears and early pangs of sorrow's bitter rod, 

The daughter of the Martyr King went to the martyrs' God.

(Lays of the English Cavaliers by John Jeremiah Daniell, 1866)

Mary Stuart, the eldest daughter, was a fascinating woman. Married off early to William Prince of Orange, she spent most of life in Holland, fighting for her brother Charles' cause and providing what refuge and support she could. Yet ".... Mary had done so much for her brother ... but Charles was still unhappy with her ..." - he comes off as rather a rather ungrateful sod. Not only fighting for his cause but also acting as regent for her infant son!

Lastly, there is Henrietta Anne. Smuggled out of England and into France as a baby, she would grow to find herself at odds with the rest of her siblings, especially over the issue of religion. From this point onwards (about the halfway mark in the book) the focus is on Henrietta Anne. Her short yet eventful life was marked by scandal, political intrigues, an unhappy marriage (she said of her husband "... his hatred is unreasonable ..."), illness and pregnancies.  In fact, Henriette Anne could quite easily have had her own book so remarkable was her life!

" ...Stuart princesses lived complicated lives in turbulent times ... all of them suffered from great unhappiness as well as moments of joy ... their lives ended way too soon .."

This could quite easily have been applied to any number of women of this and earlier time periods. Women were expected to marry and provide heirs; princesses were expected to support their family's interests abroad as well as their husbands  - many times, these interests were conflicting; their efforts to procreate often ended their lives all too soon.

I have not in the past actively sought out books on any of the offspring of Charles I, though Watkins' book does collate the biographical information of the surviving daughters into one.  Whilst I would have preferred each daughter to have her own dedicated chapter or chapters, combining them does cut down on the repetition of information, and the use of time markers as chapter headings does given us an idea of where they are placed in the chronology of both their father Charles I and their brother Charles II's reigns.

What I enjoyed, and what readers will enjoy, are the final chapters which sums up the genealogical legacy of Mary and Henriette Anne.

Further reading:

Epistolary Power: the Correspondence of the Dutch and Frisian Stadtholders’ Wives, 1605–1725 (Mary Stuart has over 300 letters on file here that you can read either in their original format or translated).
Descedants of Charles I of England
Royal Renegades: The Children of Charles I by Linda Porter

Review - Margaret Tudor - Two Lives

I have now read two recent and separate accounts of the life of Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, Princess of England - the "other Tudor Princess".

The first, about a year ago, was by Sarah-Beth Watkins - Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots: The Life of King Henry VIII’s Sister - and the second, just recently, by Melanie Clegg - Margaret Tudor: The Life of Henry VIII's Sister.

Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots - Sarah-Beth Watkins

I would view this as an entry level biography, which gives us a glimpse into her early life as a Tudor princess; her struggles as Queen of Scotland and then as regent for her young son, James V; her failed marriages; constant political struggles between England & Scotland; and ultimately, her fight to ensure her son gained his inheritance.

These were turbulent times and would be even more so for an inexperienced young woman thrust upon the political scene, viewed with suspicion by both her new country and the land she left behind.

Watkins concludes with a wrap of the fate of her children and her legacy - which resulted in the marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to her cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, thus uniting the two lines of descent from her.

It is a small tome - which no doubt could have been bulked out with descriptions of people and places, her wardrobe and a history of the times, but we would still not get anything of Margaret herself - so I am glad this was not done.  In the end, Margaret's life is spent in the shadows of the men in her life: father, husband, brother, son.

Margaret Tudor by Melanie Clegg

This time we begin with the accession of Henry VII, Margaret's father, to the throne of England, before moving onto Margaret's childhood and betrothal aged 7yo to the 23yo James IV of Scotland. In this tome, we are treated to a more indepth study of the Tudor court and household as a whole - and how certain events touched upon Margaret - so there is a lot on her siblings.

What did become evident, was how very similar the events surrounding her own betrothal and marriage mirrored those of her sister-in-law Katherine of Aragon: the haggling over dowry, the delays, the on again / off again political manouevring from both James IV and Henry VII; and later, the pregnancies, miscarriages, and loss of babies, whilst surrounded by her husband's litter of illegitimate offspring.

Once in Scotland, Margaret's troubles did not end - the constant animosity between her husband and her brother, both wanting her loyalty, whilst simultaneously being viewed with suspicion and distrust.  Following the death of James at Flodden (1513), Margaret, barely 23yo, finds herself ill-equipped to deal with the pressure and political intricacies required to fend off both internal rivals and her own brother during the regency of her infant son, James V.  A disastrous foray into an ill-conceived second marriage did not make for easy bedfellows of the Scottish nobility.  And even when able to shake off the shackles of this failed marriage, and seeing her son finally consecrated as King, she embarks on a third marriage, which pretty much ends up like the previous.

What this tome does do is gives us the young Margaret - petulant, fond of getting her own way, desirous of being the centre of attention, and casting her into a role where she is merely a powerless  figurehead.  Her struggles for recognition as was her due as Dowager Queen show that a woman's lot, no matter what her status, can be a hard one: one bad marriage can result in the loss of status, income, children, where you are left literally begging for support whilst ignored by both your own family and adoptive country, leaving you alone and embittered, casting around for allies that do not always her you interests at heart.

I think that is what the reader will take away most from this - that the grass is not always greener on the other side, and the fairy tale of being princess and queen does in reality, not always have a happy ending.

Both tomes are well written and well researched, and are recommended as a good entree into the world of one of the lesser documented of the Tudor princesses.

More on Margaret:

Queen Margaret Tudor: The Story of a Courageous But Forgotten Monarch by Stuart McCabe

Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots by Patricia Hill Buchanan

The Rose and the Thorn: The Lives of Mary and Margaret Tudor by Nancy Lenz Harvey

The Thistle and the Rose - The Sisters of Henry VIII by Hester W. Chapman

Review: Catherine of Braganza by Sarah-Beth Watkins

Catherine Braganza - not a queen with whom I am overly familiar with - the Restoration not my particular area of expertise. So it was with anticipation that I sat down with this concise biography and discovered just who this woman was. A survivor!

Catherine's time as Queen of England was tumultuous - the reign of her husband, the notorious prolifigate, Charles II, was dominated by his long time mistress, Lady Castlemaine; Catherine's failure to produce an heir saw many plots abound to remove her or execute her - but Charles stood firm beside her. This was also the period of England's war with the Netherlands and the Great Fire of London.

Yet Catherine survived - she outlasted both Charles II and the reign of his brother James II; she witnessed Monmouth's rebellion (Charles' illegitimate son who challenged his uncle James II for power); she saw in the reigns of William and Mary following James' overthrow and exile; and then the coronation of Anne. 

Finally, Catherine returns to Portugal and for the first time, exercising royal power as regent for her nephew (1705). But her happiness was short-lived - she died the same year.

Sarah-Beth successfully recreates the life of Catherine who lived in a most exciting time. Her story is highly readable, not bogged down with too much dry historical facts, and leaves the reader with just enough information to send them off on their own journey of discovery of this queen who for many, was just a mere footnote in history.

Links:

Publisher: List of Sarah-Beth's books

Goodreads: review

Net Gallery: review