And now there was a bride from Portugal.Īt least one woman in St. He was amorously insatiable, approachable, charming-all that a nation could ask of a King returned to his kingdom after being forced, by a dreary Parliament, to live in exile. Stories of his escapades never failed to amuse. Always the ladies! "Who will entertain him to supper tonight-and after?" asked his subjects indulgently. They had jeered as the effigies of past heroes were hanged and insulted, while they cheered when the merry, ugly, fascinating King moved among them, with his band of hilarious-mannered, elegantly attired, rakish courtiers who attempted to become as notorious as Charles himself. The feastings, the ceremonies and pageants delighted the people of London-always ready to admire a King who had made England merry after years of puritan rule. The King continued to sup with Lady Castlemaine each night, a fact which made many shake their heads and ask themselves what wedded happiness there could be for the Princess from Portugal, in spite of the fact that her bridegroom was reckoned to be the most charming Prince in the world, having inherited the gaiety, wit, tolerance, kindliness and, alas, the sensuality of his grandfather, the great Henri Quatre of France, these many years since murdered by the knife of Francois Ravaillac. All the bells in London were ringing to welcome the new Queen and by night the light from a hundred bonfires was reflected in the April sky.
Throughout the day the sounds of rejoicing had echoed in St. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title. But can she follow her calling to rule Britain without losing the love of her father?Ĭaptivating in its historical detail, lush and sweeping in its scope, and unforgettable in its dramatic depiction of relationships between monarchs and families, The Three Crowns is the singular story of the only joint sovereigns in British history. Raised under the Protestant guardianship of her uncle King Charles, James’s daughter Mary finds herself at fifteen facing a marriage to the Dutch and Protestant William of Orange, long prophesied to be destined for the throne.
But James’s devout Catholicism, and desire to return Britain to the rule of Rome, does not sit well with his subjects and his time as king is sure to be short.
Because of this, his brother, James, Duke of York, is heir-presumptive to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland-the three crowns of Britain. In post-Restoration England, King Charles II has fathered numerous bastards, but not a single legitimate heir. When an empire is at stake, one woman stands between the past and the future
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