Beware, Princess Elizabeth
Carolyn Meyer
Beware, Princess Elizabeth is a work of fiction based on historical figures and events. Some details have been altered to enhance the story.
HarperCollins Children’s Books
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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsChildren’s Books 2003
First published in the USA by Harcourt Brace & Company 1999
© Carolyn Meyer 1999
Carolyn Meyer asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
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Source ISBN: 9780007150304
Ebook Edition © MAY 2010 ISBN: 9780007389445
Version: 2016-08-11
For Elizabeth Van Doren – inspiration, archeditor, and friend
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE The Death of My Father
CHAPTER THREE The Lord Admiral
CHAPTER FOUR Suspicion of Treason
CHAPTER FIVE King Edward’s Court
CHAPTER NINE The Queen in Love
CHAPTER TEN Rebellion and Treachery
CHAPTER TWELVE Elizabeth, Prisoner
CHAPTER FIFTEEN King Philip’s Departure
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN King Philip’s Return
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN The Death of the Queen
The Tudors
Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England 17
November 1558
THERE WAS A TIME, long ago, that I loved my sister. There may have been a time that Mary loved me. But that all changed. It had to, given who we were: the daughters of Henry VIII. Our father at times adored us but often shunned us and occasionally nearly forgot us. We were not the sons he desired.
Worse: I am the daughter of the woman Mary hated most in the world. She never forgave me for who my mother was: Anne Boleyn, who took the place of Mary’s mother as queen.
When I was born Mary was forced to be my servant – not an easy thing for a proud young woman of seventeen. How she must have loathed that! But then, before I reached my third birthday, my mother was dead, her execution ordered by my own father – and Mary’s.
Yet, in spite of all, it seemed for a time that Mary was truly fond of me – before she turned bitter, before she recognised that we were enemies.
My path to the throne has been long and fraught with peril. Now I am ready to follow in the footsteps of my father, England’s greatest king. Mary, who hindered me at every turn, will soon be forgotten. But I promise you, history will remember me, Elizabeth, not for who my father was, or my mother or my sister, but for myself.