‘I would advise no woman to give up anything she has managed to win. I would advise every woman to work as she can, and gain what she can, and keep it. No woman should be made to surrender her goods or herself. A wise woman will enrich herself as if she were the equal of a man, and a good law would protect her rights, not rob her like an envious husband.’

He smiles at me, very charming, and he shakes his head. ‘You would suggest a sisterhood of queens, a sisterhood of women,’ he says. ‘You would suggest that a woman can rise from the place where God has put her – below her husband in every way. You would overthrow the God-given order.’

‘I don’t believe that God wants me ill-educated and poor,’ I say staunchly. ‘I don’t believe that God wants any woman in poverty and stupidity. I believe that God wants me in his image, thinking with the brain that He has given me, earning my fortune with the skills He has given me, and loving with the heart that He has given me.’

Fictionalised discussion between Margaret Tudor and the Papal Ambassador, Three Sisters Three Queens (2016) Philippa Gregory.

When men have authority over women, women can be brought very low – and they will be brought low. We spent our time admiring and envying each other and we should have been guiding and protecting each other. Now I am dying, you are living with a man not your husband, your true husband is your enemy, your daughter is estranged from you, and Katherine has lost her battle against the prince she married for love. What is the point of love if it does not make us kind? What is the point of being sisters if we do not guard each other? M

Fictionalised letter from Mary Tudor to Margaret Tudor, Three Sisters Three Queens (2016) Philippa Gregory.