During the early 16th century, England would have been ruled by King Arthur Tudor, not Henry VIII, had the first-born son of Henry VII lived into adulthood. The history of England would have been very different; the massive religious, social, and political changes of Henry VIII’s reign might not have been necessary. In naming his eldest son Arthur, Henry VII made an impressive statement about what the Tudors hoped to achieve as rulers. The name gave the young prince a great deal to live up to. Arthur’s education, exposure to power and responsibility, and marriage to Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon, all indicate that the young prince was being shaped into a paragon of kingship. This book explores Prince Arthur’s life and assesses what type of king he would have been.
