A brief history of the Tudor era post Henry VIII

This post is an accompaniment to LAST CHILD, the sequel to KINGS AND QUEENS.  There is a link to it at the beginning of the book.

  
What is its purpose?

Although Last Child can be read just as a contemporary drama, it mirrors the period of Tudor history between the death of Henry VIII and the early reign of Elizabeth I.  Readers who know little about this period in history might like to know about the events paralleled by my novel.

This summary is necessarily brief, and I apologise to the history lovers for the lack of detail about the religious aspect and various uprisings.  My aim is to relate the events that are relevant to my book, and I hope I have done so accurately.  I use several sources for research, and historical accounts differ a fair bit; however, if you spot any definite errors I'd be most grateful if you could let me know, in the comments.

★.:*´`*:.☆

Henry VIII had three living children at the time of his death: Mary, from his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, and Edward, his only son, whose mother was Jane Seymour.

After his death, the throne passed to nine-year-old Edward.  Next in succession was Mary, and then Elizabeth.  Because of Edward's age the realm was to be governed by a Regency Council as per instruction in Henry's will, but such Council members as William Paget and Anthony Browne soon voted that the Edward's uncle Edward Seymour (Ist Earl of Hertford) should be made Lord Protector, and thus rule in his nephew's stead.  Seymour's main rival was the Protestant John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland.

Dudley had grown up a ward of Sir Edward Guildford, whose daughter, Jane, became his wife.  His aim was to continue with the Reformation: the maintaining of England as a Protestant rather than a Catholic country.

Devoutly Catholic Mary lived in her own house in Hunsden, Hertfordshire.

nb: The fourth wife of Henry VIII, Anne of Cleves, continued to be seen at court until as late as 1554, during the reign of Mary Tudor.  Anne fell out of favour as Mary thought she was supporting Elizabeth.  After this she led a quiet and obscure life, and is thought to have been generally content. She was remembered by her servants as being a particularly generous and easy-going mistress.

Elizabeth lived in the house of her stepmother, Catherine Parr, and Catherine's new husband, Thomas Seymour, brother of the Lord Protector.  She was said to have been intimately involved with Thomas Seymour, and was sent away when Catherine discovered this; Catherine died in childbirth a few months later.

Thomas Seymour was in competition with his elder brother Edward.  He urged Edward to throw off the Protector and "bear rule as other kings do".  He smuggled his nephew pocket money, saying that the Protector held the purse strings too tight.  His actions were discovered; he was charged with embezzlement, plotting to marry Elizabeth and overthrow his brother, and was beheaded shortly afterwards.

There were rebellions in the country, mostly due to religious and agrarian grievances. The second important one was led by a tradesman called Robert Kett, and was due to the encroachment of landlords on common grazing ground. The Lord Protector grew unpopular with the Council and was constantly in competition with Dudley.  Although he headed a victory at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in Scotland, he was thrown into the Tower and eventually beheaded for felony and trying to overthrow the regime of John Dudley, who emerged as leader of the Council.  Dudley was long thought of as a schemer who elevated and enriched himself at the expense of the crown, but during the twentieth century his administrative and economic achievements were recognised.

John Dee was an occult philosopher, alchemist, astronomer and astrologer at court during this time.  He was arrested and charged with treason during Mary's reign, for casting horoscopes for her and Elizabeth, but escaped the death penalty.  He later became an advisor to Elizabeth.  

Under John Dudley's influence, Edward renounced his father's Third Act of Succession that would have placed the Catholic Mary on the throne in the event of his death. Edward's never strong health deteriorated and he died in July 1553 at the age of fifteen, having named Lady Jane Grey as his successor.  Dudley was said to have kept his death a secret for several days to stop Mary claiming the throne.  Jane Grey was the wife of Dudley's son, Guildford, and Edward's first cousin once removed; she was only sixteen and Dudley intended to rule through her.  Jane was (famously) queen for only nine days until the Privy Council changed sides and proclaimed Mary as queen after fierce battles between Dudley's and Mary's supporters.  Jane was charged with treason, imprisoned in the Tower and initially spared, being executed later.

As soon as Mary became Queen, John Dudley was arrested and beheaded.  He begged for mercy for his sons.  He took Catholic communion before his execution, bringing shame on his family.

Now on the throne, Mary's mission was to return the country to its Catholic faith.  During her reign she had over 280 dissenters burnt at the stake, and became known as 'Bloody Mary'.  There was much contention over her choice of some victims.  Never a happy woman, her life had been darkened by the treatment of her mother, Catherine of Aragon, by her father, and her fall from her father's favour during the reign of Anne Boleyn.  Several suggestions for betrothal had been made during her youth but none came to anything.  She was briefly courted by a duke of Bavaria, who was seen as unsuitable.  

As she was thirty-seven when she came to the throne, it was essential that she marry and produce an heir, quickly, to prevent the Protestant Elizabeth succeeding her.  It was decided that she would marry the much younger Phillip of Spain.  A portrait of him was sent to her, which she found favourable.  There was more unrest across the country and at court when the marriage was announced, including Wyatt's Rebellion, headed by Thomas Wyatt, after which Wyatt was executed.  Phillip was to be named King of England, but the people did not want a Spanish king.  Elizabeth was said to have been involved in the ensuing unrest and was put under house arrest at Woodstock Palace, under the care of Henry Bedingfield.  

Phillip had no amorous feelings towards Mary, but accepted the marriage as a political move.  She, however, fell deeply in love with him and was desperate to provide him with an heir.  When her menopause began and she put on weight, she believed herself to be pregnant.  All preparations were made for the birth, but when months went by and no baby appeared it was agreed that she'd suffered nothing more than a 'phantom pregnancy'.  Phillip left England to command his armies in the Low Countries, and Mary was distraught.  After Phillip's brief return she went through another imaginary pregnancy, though some thought her claim that she was with child was more an act of madness and desperation.  Phillip did not stay around to find out.

A heartbroken Mary died shortly afterwards, having reluctantly named Elizabeth her successor, though she'd expressed a belief that her half-sister was really the daughter of Anne Boleyn and lute player Mark Smeaton, rather than Henry VIII.  Around this time, Phillip proposed marriage to Elizabeth, which she rejected.

Others important in Mary's court were her chief lady in waiting and friend, Jane Dormer, her 'mistress of robes', Susan Clarinceaux, Reginald Pole (the papal legate), and William Cecil, who became Elizabeth's chief advisor.  Jane Dormer later married the Duke of Feria, a Spanish friend of Phillip's.  

Elizabeth was the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty.   She was urged to marry, and had various suitors including King Erik XIV of Sweden.  Her closest relationship, though, was with the handsome, charming and popular Robert Dudley, son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland.  They are said to have been in love with each other, though Robert was married to Amy Robsart, the only child of a Norfolk landowner, Sir John Robsart of Syderstone Hall.  Theirs was originally a love match, but Amy did not hold her husband's attention and he spent more time with Elizabeth at court.  No-one knows whether or not Elizabeth and Robert were lovers, but most suspect that they were.  

After Robert's release from prison at the end of Mary's reign, he organised Elizabeth's coronation in January 1559.   She gave him the position of Master of Horse at court, and a house at Kew.  Amy did not follow him, visiting him in London only once.  She was most unhappy about his relationship with the Queen.  There was talk of Robert divorcing her and marrying Elizabeth.  In September 1560 Amy fell down some stairs while staying with friends (including a Mrs Odingsell) at Cumnor Place, near Oxford, the house of Sir Anthony Forster.  She broke her neck.   Robert's steward, Thomas Blount, was sent to Cumnor Place to report on the enquiry. There has always been much controversy over the incident, officially declared 'misadventure'; some think it was an accident, some that it was a murder arranged by her husband so that he could marry Elizabeth, and some that it was suicide due to her low state of mind and the fact that she probably had breast cancer.   Because of this controversy, the prospect of the Queen marrying Dudley was out of the question, but their closeness continued throughout their lives.  

Many years later, Robert married Lettice Knollys, the granddaughter of Mary Boleyn.  Elizabeth expressed a lifelong hatred of her.  

Elizabeth never married, seeming to have an aversion to it.  She told an imperial envoy "If I follow the inclination of my nature, it is this: beggar-woman and single, far rather than queen and married".

Others important in Elizabeth's life were William Cecil, Kat Ashley (originally her governess), and Blanche Parry, who succeeded Kat Ashley as Chief Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber.  

Last Child ends at the beginning of the Elizabethan Era, or the 'Golden Age'; I do hope this post has been helpful.



 

Readers' feedback for Kings and Queens

I compiled this list of review excerpts when Kings and Queens had been out for just a few months, because I was so overjoyed that readers liked it; I was nervous about how it would be received.  I was also thrilled to bits that Last Child won two online book blog awards at the end of 2015 ~ thank you so much, everyone who voted for it!

Both titles are FREE on Amazon from Sept 9th - 12th, 2018.

Meet charismatic property developer Harry Lanchester, from the point of view of the six women in his life.  A contemporary drama spanning the years 1971~2007, Kings and Queens is the story of Henry VIII and his six wives, 450 years on. 

"This is not a simple Kindle-Indy published by an amateur, but a professional work that heralds the arrival of a serious novelist who can share a table with the very best, both past and present."

"Kings and Queens is so different, so good, I had to force myself to slow down and spend a few days with it."

"KINGS AND QUEENS is a superior novel filled with emotion and suspense. It is based on and informed by historical fact, but it doesn't allow those facts to overwhelm the plot or the reader. I'm glad to hear that Tyler's planning a sequel."

"But we know the plot - how can it hold our attention? you might ask. Yes, we've all had the basic story drummed into us at school ("divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, outlived" as the version I remember), but there are sufficient variations to keep the plot engaging, and lots of small in-jokes with names and places that liven it up, too. It was interesting to see how each wife was despatched, too - no beheadings here!"


"Re-telling a well-known and well-loved tale and transposing it from the 16th century to the modern day is a courageous thing to do. But it is done with consummate skill and works incredibly well. I loved the author’s choices of names too – what fun!"


"The characters of the different wives are cleverly conveyed through their own words and perceptions, effortlessly showing you which of them is wily and clever, which are vacuous and naïve, even though none of them are truly evil, realistic characterisation, so true to life."


"the blog post about Henry VIII was really helpful. I kept flicking back to that while reading the story to see the parallels and think it made it more enjoyable."

"Crystal clear, economical writing with almost no digression ... for a novel of 120,000 words, it feels much lighter and much more accessible than that ... fans of history will LOVE working out how Terry gets round the beheadings, the eviscerations and the executions, all those Tudor affectations, and I laughed out loud how she solved the "Anne of Cleves" problem (a sequence which is possibly my favourite in the book)"

"she did her usual masterful job of making mundane details of peoples' lives utterly fascinating."


"I felt like I should dislike sexist and chauvinistic Harry but I couldn’t help but fall in love with the character. A true testament to Terry’s wonderful story telling."

"This is a very clever book from someone who knows her Tudor history in great depth. As a student of the 1485-1603 period, I was amazed by how seamlessly Tyler put the real events of history into the 20th century setting of the life of Henry VIII."


"Without actually executing or burning them at the stake, Harry Lanchester kills his loved ones and loyal followers as surely as Henry did - and yet somehow, the reader feels sorry for him - as the history scholar does for Henry. A misguided, almost childlike character who drinks and eats to excess, but believes he is invincible."

As a reader and a historian, I am incredibly picky when it comes to history-based fiction. Presented with a modern day spin on one of my favourite periods therefore, I was either going to love it or hate it.  What can I say? In Kings and Queens, Terry Tyler achieves the impossible – Henry VIII, his wives and his associates are recreated in dazzling technicolour, their voices coming through loud and clear on every compelling page.


"It was strange that although you knew the story that this was based on and therefore what was going to happen Tyler still managed to throw in a few surprises which added to its originality."

"This is a very clever book from someone who knows her Tudor history in great depth... For those of us who know our Tudor history, the read becomes not what but how Tyler will write the stories. She does it with breathtaking skill and ingenuity."

Hever Castle, the Boleyn's family seat

"Terry Tyler may well have just invented a brand new way to educate. I was never enthralled by history in school. But while reading this novel, I found myself pausing to look back at the equivalent piece of history in order to compare the stories."

"she did a tremendous job of making the story believable, and I can assure you that she got all the facts correct and in the right order.
Besides that, and most importantly, it is a tremendous read, written with Terry Tyler’s inimitable style."

I can't understand why this author hasn't been snapped up by a big publisher as her writing is far better & more original than some authors who have been published in the 'real world'


Well she's only gone and done it again hasn't she??!! I bloody love it!


“Kings and Queens” is the perfect read for anyone captured by the drama of almost 500 years past, as well as those who simply appreciate the battles that can rage in ones’ own heart.


Kings And Queens ~ all the drama and intrigue of the Tudor Court, in modern times ~ here!  (or here, if non-UK!)

A micro history of Henry VIII

I’ve written this to go with my new novel, published on April 25th; there is a link to it in the beginning of the ebook.

Kings and Queens is the story of twentieth century property developer Harry Lanchester - which is also a modern day version of the true life story of Henry VIII and his six wives.  Kings and Queens can be read as any contemporary drama; you do not need knowledge about this period in history in order to enjoy it.  However, I wrote this for readers who don't know much about it but feel they would appreciate the novel more if they knew a little background about my characters’ historical counterparts before reading. 

Incidentally, you will see the trouble I had with the names of my characters; fifty per cent of the men are called Thomas, never mind the Catherines, Marys, Henrys and Annes!

A (very) micro history of Henry VIII and his six wives

The Wars of the Roses came to an end when Henry VII (Henry Tudor), of the House of Lancaster (red rose), beat Richard III (House of York – white rose) in battle, and claimed the throne.  He married Elizabeth Woodville (House of York), thus uniting the two houses.  Their children were Arthur, Henry, Margaret and Mary. 

Henry and his siblings were brought up in Eltham House.  His paternal grandmother, Margaret Beaufort, was an enormously determined woman who did much to facilitate her son’s claim to the throne.

So Arthur, as eldest son, was heir to the throne.  He married Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain.  However, he died as a youth, while his father the King was still alive.  The young Henry had intended to go into the church and was also a keen musician, but now became heir apparent.  He married his late brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon, and became King shortly before his eighteenth birthday.  He and Catherine were said to be in love (ie, it wasn’t just political); she was a great help to him in matters of state, and was also very popular with the people.

Henry got rid of some of his father's old courtiers almost immediately, and started to distribute titles/knighthoods/land to his own friends, and spend money.  The people he kept on and who were his biggest influences were Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and Thomas More.  His father had been avaricious and shrewd, and left the country with bursting coffers.  Henry VIII was the opposite: flamboyant, a lover of luxury and partying, keen huntsman, philanderer, etc.  He overspent throughout his reign; this was a feature of it, not only on feasting and fine clothes but on wars, campaigns, and the building of palaces and great houses.  His whole court was one of opulence. 

Henry’s good friend Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk, was married to Henry’s sister Mary for a while, about which Henry wasn’t pleased as he hadn’t given them permission.  Charles married twice more; in my story, Will’s wife Rosie comes from my imagination only and bears no relation to Catherine Willoughby (the fourth Mrs Charles Brandon) apart from her surname; Charles Brandon’s wives had little bearing on the real life story.   Henry’s sister Margaret married James IV of Scotland.  For the sake of the story, I combined the two sisters in my novel.

Catherine of Aragon bore Henry only one child who lived past infancy – Mary (later to become Queen Mary, also known as Bloody Mary because she burnt a whole bunch of heretics at the stake).  Henry had affairs, usually with the ladies in waiting at court, one being with Lady Elizabeth Blount, who bore him a son, Henry.  This son was recognised in the line of succession although a bastard, but died when he was seventeen.

Henry and Catherine were married for about fifteen years when Henry met the young and beautiful Anne Boleyn.  The Boleyn’s family seat was Hever Castle in Kent.  Previously, Henry had had an affair with her sister, Mary, who was known for her 'dalliances'.  She was married to a William Carey at the time, and later married a commoner called William Stafford, with whom she was said to have had a happy marriage.  The Boleyns were a very ambitious family.  The father, Thomas, was made Earl, and there was also a brother, George (Lord Rochford), who was probably homosexual but married Jane Parker, later Lady Rochford.  Henry fell madly in love with Anne, who was known for her wit and allure.  She had spent some time at the French court, the height of sophistication in those days.  Henry wanted her to be his mistress but she refused, which heightened his desire to marry her. 

During this time, a new clerk was appointed – Thomas Cromwell.  He came from humble beginnings (the son of a brewer in Putney) but had worked his way up.  Over the years he gained Henry’s favour and became Chancellor and Lord Privy Seal.

At the time, England was Roman Catholic, and deferred to the Pope for all decisions over such questions as whether or not a king’s marriage was legal in the eyes of God, or if it could be annulled, or ended by divorce.  Henry wanted to divorce Catherine and marry Anne - Catherine was older than him, had grown fat, and he was said to be bored with her; she was nearing the menopause and was unlikely to bear him a son.  Catherine was a devout Catholic but Anne was in favour of reform – what came to be called Protestant.  To cut a VERY long story of about five years short, in order to do what he wanted, Henry eventually got his marriage to Catherine declared invalid, and married Anne.  It was finally facilitated by Thomas Cranmer, who Henry had made Archbishop of Canterbury because he was in favour of the new religious changes.  Henry declared himself head of the new Church of England.  Much was also engineered by Anne’s father and uncle.  There was great feeling in the country that Henry was pushing out the old (Catherine, Catholicism and deference to the Pope) to usher in the new (Anne, and religious reform).  This was not popular, as the people had loved Catherine and felt strongly about religion.  In the north of the country, in particular, there was much bad feeling, as many monasteries were burned down, taken over and ransacked, the profits going into the country’s coffers or spread around selected nobles.

Henry required everyone to sign a paper saying that they accepted him as head of the Church.  His old friend and mentor, Sir Thomas More, would not do so, because of his religious conscience.  Henry had him beheaded. 

During the latter years of Henry’s marriage to Anne, he had a fall during a joust which gave him a leg injury from which he never recovered, and was said to change his temperament.  He was no longer physically active, grew fat, and was in much pain.

Anne gave birth to Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I).  She didn’t have any more children, and Henry began taking mistresses again.  He regretted the execution of Thomas More, and blamed Anne for bewitching him.  He began to lose interest in her, especially as she gave him no son and heir.  Anne was a great social butterfly and her court was always full of musicans, poets, etc.  Half of them were thought to be homosexuals, especially her favourite lute player, Mark Smeaton, and Francis Weston, who was thought to be her brother George’s lover.  Also present was one who had adored her since before Henry’s time, Thomas Wyatt.  Rumours started amongst her ladies that she took lovers.  This was all untrue, but fuel was added by George Boleyn’s wife, Jane, because she was jealous of George and Anne’s close relationship.  Anne’s friends and brother were rounded up and beheaded, as was Anne.  Thomas Boleyn was a broken man.

During the latter days of Henry’s marriage to Anne, he became enamoured of Jane Seymour, who became one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting.  He married her only ten days after Anne’s execution.  She quiet, innocent and demure, the opposite of Anne, and did not interfere in matters of state, which he liked.  Her brothers became important at Court – Edward, the elder one, who was ambitious and a cold fish, and the younger, Thomas, a bit of a loafer.  She gave birth to Henry’s son, Edward, and died a few weeks later. 

During the time Henry was married to Jane, there was a huge rebellion in the north, headed by Lord Darcy of Pontefract castle, and a rabble rouser called Robert Aske; it was mostly about the religious changes. Charles Brandon headed the mission to quell it, and many were hanged or beheaded, including Ask and Darcy.  Henry made promises to the Northerners that he did not keep, including not attending a meeting they had arranged in which compromises were to be discussed.  After the rebellion was over, Pontefract castle was given to a lord called Ralph Elleker.

After Jane died, Henry went into mourning for about 2 years.  Then Thomas Cromwell said they should search for a new wife for him, as he only had one son.  He came up with Anne, of Cleves in Germany, for political reasons, and because the family were Lutherans – Cromwell was this way inclined, too.  She was the less vivacious younger daughter of the Duke of Cleves, her elder sister Sybilla having married John Frederick of Saxony.  Henry agreed to the betrothal after seeing only her portrait, but when they met she did not appeal to him (there are many stories about this) and the marriage, which lasted only 6 months, was never consummated.  He had it annulled.  Anne got on very well with his daughters Elizabeth and Mary.  After the marriage she was given property and land, referred to as The King’s Beloved Sister, and was still invited to court as an honoured guest.  She lived for many years but never married again and grew very fat; she was said to be content with her life. 

Thomas Cromwell was not popular with Henry after the Anne of Cleves episode.  Charles Brandon and others had never liked him, because of his religious viewpoint, and he was beheaded.  Henry was said to have regretted this, too, saying that he had no-one else as good to oversee the coffers of the realm. 

During the time Henry was with Anne of Cleves, he met Catherine Howard.  She was just seventeen.  He called her his ‘rose without a thorn’.  She was from the same family as the Boleyns (the Howards, a very powerful and large family), but was an orphan.  She was brought up in the house of a dowager duchess, who housed many like her.  There, she was initiated into certain sexual practices by her music teacher, Henry Mannox.  She had a lover, Francis Dereham, from when she was only fourteen.  When Henry saw her he became infatuated, and as soon as Anne of Cleves had gone, she became his intended.  He showered her with gifts, and gave her anything she wanted.  She was said to be very frivolous and girlish; in fact, probably just young.  Before she and Henry married, a girl from the house in which she grew up showed up at court and told Catherine she was in need of money, a job and a home.  Her name was Jane Bulmer.  Catherine made her one of her ladies-in-waiting, partly to make sure she kept quiet about her past.  She and Henry married.  Then Francis Dereham showed up too, and she appointed him to her household, which she did because, again, she was scared he would reveal her past.

Henry wanted Catherine to give him a son, but she failed to get pregnant.  Then she fell in love with Thomas Culpepper, Henry’s groom.  They would have secret trysts, arranged by the late George Boleyn’s wife, Lady Rochford, who was also one of her ladies.  A man called John Lascelles had a sister who had known about Catherine’s activities before she met Henry, and he warned Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, thus bringing about Catherine's downfall.  Enquries were made, and Francis Dereham was arrested.  Catherine’s ladies were questioned, and evidence about Thomas Culpepper given by Jane Bulmer and Lady Rochford.  Culpepper, Dereham, Lady Rochford and Catherine were all beheaded, Lady Rochford because she had facilitated the trysts.

During this time, Princess Mary had led a really lonely and unhappy life, kept away from her mother Catherine of Aragon who lived in very reduced circumstances (she died while Henry was married to Anne Boleyn).  Many marriages were arranged for Mary but failed to come to anything, and she grew bitter about the way she and her mother had been treated, and more devout. Princess Elizabeth was said to have vowed never to marry, and was headstrong like her mother Anne Boleyn.  Prince Edward was greatly cossetted, and never in very good health.  

About two years later, Henry was introduced to Catherine Parr.  She had been married twice, firstly to Edward Borough who went mad, then to the elderly Lord Latimer, who was very ill.  She was having an affair with Thomas Seymour, the younger brother of Jane Seymour and uncle of Prince Edward, and wanted to marry him.  However, Henry wanted to marry her – and one didn’t refuse the King of England!  They married shortly after Lord Latimer died.  Henry sent Thomas away to maintain a position on the continent, to keep him from Catherine, who was most upset by this.  Henry was said to be very happy with her apart from the fact that England was swaying towards Catholicism again by then, and Catherine was in favour of reform.  He saved her from being tried for heresy.  Her lady-in-waiting, Anne Askew, was burnt at the stake for it; despite Catherine's protection she was put on the rack by the Chancellor Thomas Wriothesley (pronounced Risley).  Catherine did a great deal to bring Henry closer to his daughters again. 

During his marriage to Catherine Parr, Henry died.  This was probably brought on by his lifestyle and obesity.  He was fifty-five.  After he died, Catherine married Thomas Seymour.  She was a fair bit older than him, and he'd had a flirtatious relationship with her step-daughter Princess Elizabeth, who lived with her.  Whether or not this was consumated nobody knows, but Elizabeth was sent to live elsewhere.  

Prince Edward became King on Henry’s death, with the country actually being run by a council of 16, including the Lord Protector, Edward Seymour, and John Dudley, Viscount Lisle.

Here I shall end the story, as the rest will be in the sequel!

I hope this adds to your enjoyment of Kings and Queens, and thank you for reading.