I've only recently started digging into Tudor history so this book had the perfect timing. "Tudor Princes and Princesses" is a well-researched book detailing the lives of each of the children of Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York.

Through the chapters, we're introduced to the world those princes and princesses were brought up in, the influences that shaped their personalities and life decisions as well as what their lives led them to later as adults. The authors does a great job presenting all this information in an organized manner while still being very accessible.

I especially appreciated that the author didn't ignore the 'side' characters in the royal children's lives as these people not only shaped them growing up, but often continued to play important parts in their lives. The book also did a good job providing nuanced explanations to some of Henry Tudor's actions especially which helped paint a more complete picture of him.

All in all, this is a perfect read for someone new to Tudor history like me, but also a fun read for history lovers in general. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the e-ARC of this book!

I love learning about English history, particularly about the Tudors but sometimes books chronicling history can be quite dry and hard to engage with. This book was NOT that. The author did a great job of keeping the reader engaged without inundating the text with too much historical quotation, which I find often makes my attention wander since it’s so hard to parse through. I really liked that she gave individual attention to each of Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth’s children and that she gave background on both of them and Margaret Beaufort as well. While this book wasn’t very long, it really packed in a lot of information that I appreciated as a lover of this time period. So many historical books focus on Henry VIII as an adult and his wives, so it was refreshing to see one focusing on him as a younger person and how his relationships with his siblings and losing several at such a young age may have affected him and his interactions and beliefs around children as an adult.

The only thing about this book I would have changed would have been the formatting of the e-ARC but that has nothing to do with the quality of the information in the book or the author itself. This was well-written and enjoyable and I would gladly add it to my shelf along with my other historical books about this English dynasty.

The year is 1485, and the last Plantagenet king, Richard III, is dead. The young man whose army defeated the king is Henry Tudor, and he is about to start a dynasty that will reshape world history forever. Henry Tudor, now King Henry VII, married the daughter of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, Elizabeth of York. Their marriage and their children would lay the foundation for the Tudor dynasty, but what was life like for the children who were the first generation of this remarkable dynasty? Aimee Fleming explores the lives of these royal siblings in her latest book, “Tudor Princes and Princesses: The Early Lives of the Children of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.”

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book. I enjoyed her previous book about Margaret More Roper, so when I heard that she was writing a book about the children of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, I was curious to see what new information Fleming would include in this book.

Fleming begins with the aftermath of Bosworth as King Henry VII begins his new life as a king and husband to Elizabeth of York. As they anticipate the arrival of their firstborn child, we get to see how their childhoods influenced their parenting style. The couple’s firstborn child, Prince Arthur Tudor, would be born in Winchester, the city where the mythical Camelot is supposed to be. As the heir to the dynasty and a boy named after the legendary King Arthur, the young prince was seen as the embodiment of the Tudor rose and the hope of the dynasty’s future. No pressure at all for the young prince.

After the birth of Prince Arthur, Henry and Elizabeth welcomed Margaret, Henry, Elizabeth, Edward/Edmund, and Mary into the family. While Princess Elizabeth and Prince Edward/Edmund died young, we get to see Princesses Margaret and Mary, as well as Prince Henry, grow up in the royal nursery, being educated for their important roles as future monarchs, and the bond they shared as siblings. They had to deal with the ever-changing world of the 16th century and navigate the uncertainty of court life, especially with the pretenders waiting in the wings to snatch the crown. Margaret, Henry, and Mary had to deal with the death of Prince Arthur shortly after he married Catherine of Aragon, and their mother, Elizabeth of York, after she gave birth to her final daughter, who also died. Blood may have connected these siblings, but love and shared experiences made this family tight-knit.

Overall, I thought this book was a nice review book for those who know about the Tudors, and a nice introductory book for those who are not familiar with this family. If either of these descriptions sounds like you, if you are a Tudor nerd, I recommend you read “Tudor Princes and Princesses: The Early Lives of the Children of Henry VIII and Elizabeth of York” by Aimee Fleming.

I love books that explore the childhoods of famous rulers—and this one is easily among the best I've read. Aimee Fleming offers a fascinating look at the children of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York before they became icons of English history.

Familiar figures like Henry VIII, Mary, and Margaret are shown as children shaped by their family dynamics and early experiences, which later echo throughout their adult lives. For instance, Henry VIII's anxious care for his son Edward makes much more sense when viewed in the context of the loss of his brothers.

One of the book’s strongest elements is its portrayal of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York as loving—but very different—parents who nonetheless managed to agree on how to raise their children. It adds real emotional depth to people often seen only through the lens of politics and power.

The writing is engaging and full of detail, and there are so many "aha!" moments made even more powerful by knowing how history turns out. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in British history or in discovering the human side of royal lives.

This book is an easy read, even with its inclusion of quotes from both original and secondary sources. I found the connections between the princes' and princesses' upbringings and the adults they became particularly interesting. The author effectively examines their education, significant childhood events, and relationships during their formative years, and the conclusion does a great job of tying all these elements together.

A good read, informative and well-written. I personally didn't learn anything new from it but I could tell the author had done her research. Good for anyone interested in the Tudors but doesn't want to get bogged down with academics.

I’ve been really interested in the tudor’s since listening to a podcast
I found this so interesting. You can tell how much research and facts have gone into
I learnt so much I didn’t even know and really enjoyed reading it. It was a easy read too it flowed lovely
I also loved the cover

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 stars)

This was such a refreshing take on a well-trodden era of English history. Tudor Princes and Princesses offers a fascinating window into the childhoods of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York’s children — those often overshadowed by their later roles in Tudor politics and religious upheaval.

Aimee Fleming brings real care and detail to this lesser-explored chapter of the Tudor story. Rather than focusing solely on the most famous names (like Henry VIII and Margaret), she gives thoughtful attention to all the siblings, including those who died young or whose stories were less politically prominent. I really appreciated the insight into their daily routines, educational expectations, sibling dynamics, and the lingering shadow of the Wars of the Roses over their formative years.

This book does a great job of bridging political history with personal biography, making it accessible and compelling for both casual Tudor readers and seasoned enthusiasts. I especially enjoyed how Fleming connected childhood experiences to the traits these figures would later exhibit as adults — it made their history feel more complete and human.

Huge thanks to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the ARC. You continue to publish exactly the kind of rich, thoughtful history that I love to read and recommend!

Tudor Princes and Princesses: The Early Lives of the Children of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, by Aimee Fleming (book cover is in image) is an academic look at the children of Henry VII and of Elizabeth York. It provides some insight about the lives of their children, and how they developed based on their upbringing. For Tudor enthusiasts like me, this will be a great read, but may not be as accessible to other readers like Dan Jones' Henry V, which is accessible to non-academic readers.

Thank you Pen & Sword | Pen & Sword History and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: Jun 30 2025

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Thanks to NetGalley and Pen Sword Books for this free copy of "Tudor Princes and Princesses: The Early Lives of the Children of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York."

After reading a fiction book about Henry VIII, I wanted to read this historical book about Henry and his siblings' childhood and what shaped their adult lives.

It's mind-boggling that they had very little interaction with their parents and actually lived in separate castles from them.

From a very early age, they were taught multiple languages and court diplomacy. The girls understood that their sole purpose was to marry into royalty and cement foreign relations with other countries.

Author Fleming also paints the siblings as very loyal and protective of each other which was heartwarming, especially in that world where they were royal pawns.

‘All of Henry and Elizabeth’s children would have known from a very young age that this expectation was place upon them, and it was to be part of their royal duties to marry whoever was deemed fit and proper, and to do right by their parents, their spouses and by England.’

I didn’t learn anything new or exciting from this book however, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and devoured it quite quickly.

The perfect read for any Tudor and history reader.

The book recounts the events of the childhood of the children of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Hardly anything is left out. For example, it talks about upbringing and education under difficult conditions. At the end, in the conclusion, the development of the children is once again beautifully described.
I really enjoyed the book. It is very informative. Sometimes you can't process everything so quickly, but the beautiful writing style makes it possible to read the text easily and quickly.
The book is well worth reading.
It's perfect for people who are very interested in British history!

A fascinating look at the childhoods of Henry VII, Elizabeth of York, and their children. Three of whom would grow up to shape Europe and the Modern world.

An intriguing and informative look at.the children of the Royal Tudor household. Well-written, descriptive and well-paced.

A look at the early Tudor dynasty though the lens of the family life of Henry VII, his wife Queen Elizabeth, and their children. They had seven children in total, although Henry VIII gets all the recognition. Here we see them as a family unit, in some very like other upper class families of the time period, but in many others utterly remote. Its not hugely in depth and doesn't take too close a look at any one child, but it is a very interesting way to examine the early Tudor era, with so much high politics wrapped up in the life or death of a single child.

Tudor Princes and Princesses is an interesting and informative book. Aimee Fleming looks at the lives of the children of Henry vii and Elizabeth of York, discussing their childhoods, education, relationship with their parents and subsequent roles in political alliances. She shows how their upbringing and relationship with each other and wider family members influenced their actions and beliefs, and, as such, those of their children and grandchildren who would be so important and influential in the future of England and Scotland.
Aimee’s book will be a welcome addition to my Tudor history collection and I am grateful to Netgalley and Pen and Sword publishing for the chance to read and review Tudor Princes and Princesses.

Tudor Princes and Princesses is a brilliantly researched and well fleshed out narrative of one of the most exciting and tumultuous eras of British History. While focusing primarily on the famous royal figures, many of the supporting 'characters' are also explored. The inclusion of people not always spoken about in great detail was a welcome appearance. This history is brought to life through the people who made it. Well written and nuanced, this is the perfect book for people who want an inside look into the primary figures of Tudor England.

Tudor Princes and Princesses is a detailed non-fiction account of the early lives of the children of Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York.

Having grown up obsessed with Tudor England and still having a strong interest in that period of history into adulthood, I gravitate towards this brand of historical non-fiction. It is evident that the author is very knowledgeable and conducted a lot of research when writing this book. I learned a lot.

Unfortunately, I just found the formatting and writing to be a let down. The writing is not very engaging and it almost reads like a textbook.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for providing an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I read this book on my travels and it was a great companion on train journeys and in coffee shops where I always looked forward to bringing out my kindle to read a chapter or two.

Many will know of the more famous children of Henry VII (Henry VIII I’m looking at you), but when it comes to naming his siblings and other children of the union of the House of York and Lancaster, Henry VIII tends to take centre stage. I really enjoyed getting to know the lives of the Tudors through the chapters and found it to be a really well written and enjoyable story from the start.

It was an easy book for me to consume as I both love the Tudors and learning more about this era so it delivered on all fronts. An easy 5/5.

Quick read…very fun to deep dive into the world of the Tudors and learn about their princes and princesses. Learned some new information. Will definitely purchase when it releases.