the King's Traitor: Reginald Pole and Tudors

Reginald Pole was a favourite of Henry VIII before later enraging him, becoming known as the ‘King’s Arch Traitor’, and was once suggested as a potential husband to Mary. Forced into exile where he survived multiple attempts on his life, Pole was a key figure in Reformation Europe and Tudor England. Until now his story has been shrouded in mystery. Reginald Pole lived through the reigns of three Tudor monarchs, yet he is little known to most lovers of Tudor history. This book brings to life a man who became a cardinal and almost Pope; who so angered Henry VIII that a price was set on his head and attempts were made to kill him; and who was even once suggested as a prospective husband for Mary Tudor. He and Mary, paired in the minds of many during their lives, died on the same day. Pole was a key figure in Reformation Europe – but was he a man who lacked conviction in his beliefs, as some say? Was he a heretic as one Pope denounced him? Or was he simply a man who tried to do his best, whatever the cost both to his country and to his family? Set against the background of a tumultuous half-century in England’s history, The King’s Traitor answers these questions.