Norrington, Ruth

"Lady Arbella Stuart, once favoured heir to the throne of Elizabeth I, is one of England's forgotten princesses. Descended from Henry VII through his eldest daughter Margaret Tudor, she was first cousin to James I, niece of Mary Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley and granddaughter of Bess of Hardwick." "Her life, which began with such bright promise in 1575, was to be blighted by illness and by the cruelty of her cousin King James I after her marriage in 1610 to William Seymour, which he opposed." "Modern medical research has confirmed that Arbella was just one of the many members of the British Royal Family who have suffered from the hereditary disease of porphyria, which is believed to run through to the cause of the 'madness' of George III nearly two centuries on. A study of their health clearly reveals the physical suffering they endured, as well as intermittent bouts of mental derangement. Arbella herself became gravely ill with the disease in her twenties and was to die from it in 1615, probably childless, after being incarcerated by James in the Tower of London." In the Shadow of the Throne sheds new light on the relationship between Arbella and other members of the House of Stuart, often stormy but united by blood - and by a common illness.