Congratulations to
England, 1605
Anne of Denmark, Queen of England, gives birth to her daughter Mary, her first child since coming to England in 1603 when her husband James succeeded to the English throne.
Although they would have preferred a son, both parents are pleased the child is healthy, and their courtiers are thrilled with the birth of the first royal child on English soil in nearly seventy years.
The Scottish family has been welcomed by the English and the reign has started out well, despite continuing tension between the Catholics and the Protestants.
Although Anne has enjoyed the opportunities in England for promoting her artistic interests, she feels inferior to James, and finds satisfaction in rearing her four children, in particular her eldest son Henry.
Anne is determined to bring about an engagement for him with the Spanish infanta. But with anti-Catholic sentiment on the rise, it is not necessarily the wisest match.
Anne becomes pregnant again, but almost immediately afterward the news is clouded by the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot, aimed at the near total destruction of the royal family.
The troubling psychological impact on James is enormous, and Anne worries for the stability of their family.
Can she secure a suitable match for Henry? Will her children survive to adulthood?
Or could the Stuart reign already be doomed to fail…?
