The King’s Daughter
Lady of the Roses
The Rose of York Trilogy
People in the Roses of York Series
Other
Pale Rose of England
recounts the adventures of the Scottish princess, Lady Catherine Gordon, and her husband, Richard, Duke of York (aka Perkin Warbeck) pretender to the throne of the first Tudor, Henry VII. Photos related to the book follow below.
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| Richard, Duke of York, also known by the Tudor nickname "Perkin Warbeck" |
No description of Lady Catherine Gordon survives but Richard's love-letter in which he calls her "the most beautiful ornament of Scotland" is preserved in the archives of Spain..
Where Richard and Catherine met
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| Stirling Castle |
"While guests and guards were downing malmsey and bellowing drunken songs of love in the great hall, Richard and Catherine escaped to the seclusion of the royal garden." Pale Rose of England, p. 18
St. Michael's Mount, England, where they landed
Climb to St. Michael's Mount
St. Michael's Mount, the torches
Church, St. Michael’s Mount, where Richard and Catherine prayed for God's blessing
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| Church, St. Michael's Mount |
View from the top
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| The curved wall in Pale Rose of England where Catherine begged Richard to abandon his bid for the English throne |
“After dinner that evening she stood with Richard in the high courtyard by the church, where the prior had met them, hidden from view in the curve of a turret screened by a stone wall.” Pale Rose of England, p. 37
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| The sheltered harbor on a sunny day, St. Michael's Mount, view from above |
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| The causeway where they crossed to Marazion |
From Richard's last letter to Catherine in Pale Rose of England, p. 274
"One day I will see you again, my Celtic princess, and we shall be reunited. Until that day comes, think me not gone, for I will always be with you and Dickon. Remember your promise to me at St. Michael's Mount."
Catherine's manor house, bequeathed her by Henry VII on his deathbed
Fyfield Manor, near Oxford, England, has survived the centuries and is in private hands. The owners very kindly allowed me to visit with Ricardian scholar Wendy Moorhen. The photos below are referenced by descriptions from Pale Rose of England.
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| Fyfield Manor given to Lady Catherine by Henry VII |
Lady Catherine's view of her estate
"As the sun began to set, Catherine made her way to a chair placed on the lawn near the house. It was a peaceful hour. She still couldn't believe her good fortune to be here, in her own home, on her own land. Sixteen hundred acres. She loved to sit and listen to the thrushesz and watch the light dim over the earth." Pale Rose of England, p.331
Conical bake house mentioned in Pale Rose of England
"Catherine excused herself to escape to the yew-tree walk that edged the summer garden where she had cut an arched opening into the greenery and set out a table and chair for her pleasure. The secluded spot afforded her solitude along with a view of flowers, and she often sat there in quiet contemplation and prayer, for it adjoined the church grounds." Pale Rose of England, p. 367
Where they're buried
Richard: Unknown.
Lady Catherine: St Nicholas Church, Fyfield, England
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| Lady Catherine's tomb, St. Nicholas Church, Fyfield |
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| Henry VII and Elizabeth of York |
Richard III: Compassionate, noble, a champion of the people, his crown costs him everything he has ever cherished. Grieving and bereft, he has no heart to keep what Fate has bestowed.
Anne Neville: Anne, the Kingmaker's beautiful daughter. She is Richard's only love, his light, his life .
