![]() ![]() Matilda's initial failure was thus contingent on circumstances and men unique to the 12th century. Henry acknowledged Matilda's right to rule, and made his nobles swear they would accept her as queen but her quick-witted cousin, Stephen, managed to undermine her claim by having himself crowned first. Then we are thrown back 400 years to Matilda, sole heiress of Henry I. We begin with Edward VI on his deathbed, learning therein about his friends and illnesses – not the stuff of queenship. How, then, could royal power lie in female hands?" The Tudor-centric viewpoint is the first problem. ![]() Man was the head of woman, and the king was the head of all. Specifically Castor claims to "expose the paradox which the female heir to the Tudor throne had no choice but to negotiate. Castor's book differs from Norton's in that it is limited to just five queens – Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Margaret of Anjou, and Mary Tudor – and is concerned only with their political struggles. ![]()
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