christina smee

When a young blacksmith’s daughter arrives at Middleham Castle in the north of England little did she know that it was here that she would meet and fall in love with one of the most powerful and enigmatic men of the Fifteenth Century. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later to become King Richard 111, takes possession of the castle upon his marriage to a wealthy heiress but this does nothing to diminish the love Christiana has for him. She bears the duke an illegitimate son and against all odds continues to live and work as a servant within the castle walls. Christiana’s devotion spans twenty four years and follows Richard’s fortunes from the north of England to the battlefields of the Wars of the Roses and his ultimate death. Christiana’s story does not end with the death of the king and she finds it within herself to carry on despite being a woman alone and destitute until she eventually finds the love and happiness that had always existed but never acknowledged.