This is the story of the eldest son of James VI/I, Henry Stuart. Henry, the elder brother of Charles (I) and Elizabeth Stuart (the Winter Queen of Bohemia), died in his late teens. In his brief lifetime he showed interest in the arts, the sciences, the military, history and architecture. He set up his own parallel court at St. James’s palace and took his role as a future monarch seriously. He received his own investiture ceremony as the Prince of Wales and was given a state funeral when he died.

This book came into my life at the perfect time: I had just finished reading Daughters of the Winter Queen, which follows the life of Henry’s sister, Elizabeth, and her daughters. Henry is mentioned in the early years of her life, so it was interesting to follow up the book about her with this one. It was written solidly, with footnotes and endnotes alike (endnotes being reserved for sources, and footnotes commenting on the text directly), and was assembled with diligence. Two sets of colour plates make a good asset. I found the bits about the masques most interesting, particularly when Fraser gave a play-by-play and explained what exactly the audience would have known and understood when they saw certain characters and heard certain lines.

I’d recommend this book if you have a basic knowledge of the period—it makes a very useful book for filling in some of those gaps and connecting existing bits of knowledge together. And as stated, it pairs nicely with Daughters of the Winter Queen, by Nancy Goldstone. ( )