It was a time of great mourning. It was then that I realized how much I had cared for my mother and that William Aigret had been such a loving little boy.

It was a great loss. There were only two children now—Petronilla and myself, but I had become the heiress of Aquitaine.

Also by Jean Plaidy

Victoria Victorious

0-609-81024-3

$13.95 paperback

An unforgettable novel of Queen Victoria and the remarkable life she lived—a life of romance, triumph, and tragedy.

The Sixth Wife

0-609-81026-X

$13.95 paperback

The intriguing story of Katherine Parr, the last of Henry VIII’s six queens.

Katharine of Aragon

0-609-81025-1

$14.95 paperback

The life of Katharine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife.

Royal Road to Fotheringhay

0-609-81023-5

$12.95 paperback

The haunting story of the beautiful—and tragic—Mary, Queen of Scots.

In the Shadow of the Crown

0-609-81019-7

$13.95 paperback

A dark and fascinating portrait of Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII, whose long road to the throne was paved only with sorrow.

Queen of This Realm

0-609-81020-0

$14.95 paperback

An account of Elizabeth I, from motherless child of an all-powerful father to monarch who launched England into the time of its greatest glory.

The Thistle and the Rose

0-609-81022-7

$12.95 paperback

Margaret—Princess of England, but Queen of Scotland—finds herself torn between loyalty to the land of her birth and to that of her baby son, now King of the Scots.

Mary, Queen of France

0-609-81021-9

$12.95 paperback

The story of Princess Mary Tudor, a celebrated beauty and born rebel who would defy the most powerful king in Europe—her older brother, Henry VIII.

The Lady in the Tower

1-4000-4785-4

$12.95 paperback

A vivid telling of the story of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I.

The Rose Without a Thorn

0-609-81017-0

$12.95 paperback

The captivating story of young Katherine Howard, born into poverty but destined for the court of Henry VIII, where she soon catches the eye of the unhappily married king.

The Loves of Charles II

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$14.95 paperback

The fascinating life—and loves—of England’s King Charles II.

Available from Three Rivers Press wherever books are sold


BOOKS BY JEAN PLAIDY

FROM THREE RIVERS PRESS

THE WIVES OF HENRY VIII

The Rose Without a Thorn

The Lady in the Tower

Katharine of Aragon

The Sixth Wife

THE TUDOR PRINCESSES

Mary, Queen of France

The Thistle and the Rose

THE TUDOR QUEENS

In the Shadow of the Crown

Queen of This Realm

The Royal Road to Fotheringhay

Victoria Victorious

The Loves of Charles II

THE NORMAN TRILOGY

The Bastard King

The Lion of Justice

The Passionate Enemies

THE PLANTAGENET SAGA

Plantagenet Prelude

The Revolt of the Eaglets

The Heart of the Lion

The Prince of Darkness

The Battle of the Queens

The Queen from Provence

Edward Longshanks

The Follies of the King

The Vow on the Heron

Passage to Pontefract

The Star of Lancaster

Epitaph for Three Women

Red Rose of Anjou

The Sun in Spendor

THE TUDOR NOVELS

Uneasy Lies the Head

Katharine, the Virgin Widow

The Shadow of the Pomegranate

The King’s Secret Matter

Murder Most Royal

St. Thomas’ Eve

Gay Lord Robert

The Spanish Bridegroom

THE STUART SAGA

The Captive Queen of Scots

The Murder in the Tower

The Wandering Prince

The Three Crowns

The Haunted Sisters

The Queen’s Favorites

THE GEORGIAN SAGA

The Princess of Celle

Queen in Waiting

Caroline the Queen

The Prince and the Quakeress

The Third George

Perdita’s Prince

Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill

Indiscretions of the Queen

The Regent’s Daughter

Goddess of the Green Room

Victoria in the Wings

THE QUEEN VICTORIA SERIES

The Captive of Kensington Palace

The Queen and Lord M

The Queen’s Husband

The Widow of Windsor

THE FERDINAND AND ISABELLA TRILOGY

Castille for Isabella

Spain for the Sovereigns

Daughter of Spain

THE LUCREZIA BORGIA SERIES

Madonna of the Seven Hills

Light on Lucrezia

THE MEDICI TRILOGY

Madame Serpent

The Italian Woman

Queen Jezebel

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION SERIES

Louis the Well-Beloved

Flaunting, Extravagant Queen

The Road to Compienge

Myself, My Enemy

Evergreen Gallant

The Goldsmith’s Wife

Beyond the Blue Mountains

Defenders of the Faith

The Scarlet Cloak

Daughter of Satan

Copyright 1949, 1972 by Jean Plaidy

Reader’s Guide copyright 2006 by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. The excerpt is from The Courts of Love, copyright 1987 by Jean Plaidy.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

www.crownpublishing.com

THREE RIVERS PRESS and the Tugboat design are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Originally published in Great Britain by Robert Hale, London, in 1949, and subsequently in the United States by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, in 1973.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Plaidy, Jean, 1906–1993

Murder most royal / Jean Plaidy.

Includes reader’s guide.

1. Anne Boleyn, Queen, consort of Henry VIII, King of England, 1507–1536—Fiction. 2. Catherine Howard, Queen, consort of Henry VIII, King of England, d. 1542—Fiction. 3. Great Britain—History—Henry VIII, 1509–1547—Fiction. 4. Henry VIII, King of England, 1491–1547—Fiction. 5. Queens—Great Britain—

Fiction. I. Title.

PR6015.I3M77 2006

823'.914—dc222005008992

eISBN: 978-0-307-34539-4

v3.0