In 1533, Katherine Willoughby married Charles Brandon, Henry VIII’s closest friend. She would go on to serve at the court of every

Tudor monarch except Henry VII and Mary Tudor.

Duchess of Suffolk at the age of fourteen, she became a powerful woman ruling over her own households and wielding influence through her proximity to the king. She grew to know Henry well. In 1538, just three months after Jane Seymour’s death, it was reported that they had been ‘masking and visiting’ together, and in 1543 she became a lady-in-waiting to his sixth wife, Catherine Parr. Henry had a reputation for tiring of his wives once the excitement of the pursuit was over, and in February 1546, only six months after Charles Brandon’s death, it was believed that Henry intended to wed Katherine Willoughby himself if he could end his present marriage.

This is the remarkable story of a life of privilege, tragedy and danger lived by a woman who nearly became the seventh wife of Henry VIII.

• 'A gripping biography of the woman who might have been Henry VIII's seventh wife' PHILIPPA GREGORY
• 'A vivid and fascinating account ... brings Katherine Willoughby deservedly to the forefront of the Tudor age' ALISON WEIR 
• Author has a proven sale record: his book 'Richard III' has sold over 15,000 copies and is the standard work on the subject
• Hardback was featured in several daily and Sunday newspapers, including the Independent, The Times, the Daily Mail online and the Express online
• Tie-in article written by the author appeared in the March 2015 edition of BBC History Magazine
• Katherine is connected to several heritage sites: she lived at two great houses in Lincolnshire, Grimsthorpe Castle and Tattershall Castle, and spend a great deal of time at Hampton Court