I'm glad that I did read 'The Tudor Throne'. Brandy Purdy tells Mary's and Elizabeth's perspective after the death of King Henry VIII, King Edward's reign and the end of Queen Mary's reign.
Mary remembered her life when King Henry VIII loved Queen Catherine. Mary was nicknamed 'Princess Marigold' for the red-golden hair and it seemed all was well until it changed when Anne Boleyn appeared. Throughout the book, Mary would always refer Anne Boleyn as The Great Whore. You come to know Mary as a girl/lady who only wanted love and to be loved in return. I think that's the main theme of Mary's life when she eventually becomes England's Queen and would marry Prince Philip of Spain. In the beginning, Mary did love Elizabeth.
As for Elizabeth, it's never sure if she remembered anything about her mother but Brandy Purdy tells what Elizabeth might have remembered as a small child. I'm sure Elizabeth remembered some detail even though in real life, she never really mentioned her mother. It's nice to read that Elizabeth remembered the Spanish lullabies that Mary used to sing her. It was funny how Mary would try to dress Elizabeth up as if she was a doll.
During King Edward's reign, there was a funny story of the man with cakes and ale. It is kind of interesting to think that Thomas Seymour was this man with cakes and ale, trying to capture the heart of Mary and eventually Elizabeth. Of course the catchy tune started getting annoying. Speaking of Thomas Seymour, other than the usual power-hungry individual, he was also a pervert!
Still, the ladies had their challenges in King Edward's reign - Mary dealt with the ongoing harassment of Edward and the council while Elizabeth had a love affair with Thomas Seymour under Katherine Parr's roof. The harassment that Mary went though I knew but reading Elizabeth's perspective of the love affair with Thomas Seymour was different to me. Since not too much is known, it's an interesting spin of what was happening. It may explain why Elizabeth remained a 'virgin' for the rest of her life. Elizabeth learns a hard lesson when it comes to love and being burnt.
Mary hears the rumors but still would want Elizabeth to stay with her. Elizabeth wanted to be alone so kindly refused the offer. Elizabeth would want to share with Mary but just not at the moment. The sisterly love was still there but it would be start of that love being strained.
When Mary would become queen, she would notice that the people also cry out for Elizabeth. It's interesting to note the jealousy that she would feel towards Elizabeth. Also, the way that Elizabeth acted toward the English people, Mary thought it was uncharacteristic for someone of royal blood. It's too bad that Mary didn't realize till later how important the love of the English people would be. During Mary's reign, the relationship between the sisters would turn from love to hatred. Elizabeth had to endure being sent to the Tower and eventually on house arrest during her sister's reign.
I didn't like the treatment that Mary went through with Philip of Spain. Mary thought that she was being loved with Philip when he really was a bastard. The part of him naked and admiring himself in the mirror was too much. He really wanted Mary to bend to his will since it was the duty of a wife. Despite doing all he wanted, Mary loved the guy. Really Philip didn't deserved Mary's love.
As for Elizabeth, she knew that Philip was a dirtbag. She saw the way Mary acted towards Philip and truly pathetic it was. Only another reason to not be married. Elizabeth saw that Philip didn't care for Mary and he seemed appalled at her behavior. It's really too bad that Mary couldn't see it. She was madly in love with Philip. People do say that love is blind. Since Mary was her enemy and Philip can save her, Elizabeth played with Philip. It's a likely scenario when people thought that Philip would marry Elizabeth. Still, Elizabeth despised the way Philip treated her sister.
More hardships that Mary would endure - phantom pregnancies and the unloving behavior of Philip. Mary would refer Elizabeth as not her sister at all since Elizabeth was the daughter of Smeaton (the lute player), which shows the depth of her hatred. The burnings of the Protestants continued giving way to the 'Bloody Mary' nickname. Elizabeth on the other hand knew how the people were feeling during the burnings. She understood the unrest of the English people and only hoped that Mary would open her eyes. Even though they were technically enemies, Elizabeth still loved Mary.
At the end of Mary's life, Elizabeth was with Mary. Now I know that she was at Hatfield during this time but it was nice to read that the sisters seemed to come to terms with one another. Mary asking Elizabeth favors and Elizabeth promising to keep such as to not have the Catholic faith die out and taking care of Mary's huge debts. At the end, Mary would come terms that Elizabeth was going to be a good queen and she was what England needed.
Overall, I did enjoy the book. It's a good perspective of the two sisters who loved one another only to become enemies in the end. As Elizabeth saw it, they did love one another but it was the matter of religion that seemed to tear them apart.
