Matilda, Lady of Hay

Description

1210, and King John has been on the throne for 11 years. On his orders, a well-dressed lady and her 35-year-old son are imprisoned with nothing but a sheaf of wheat and a side of raw bacon to sustain them. Eleven days later both lie dead. The lady is married to one of the richest and most powerful lords of the Marches and every British monarch since Henry VIII is descended from her.