Forsaken Queen

The ‘Forsaken Queen’ begins when a security guard at Hampton Court Palace is attacked. He claims that a ghost was responsible but no one believes him, except that is for a group of Year 6 school children. These three excited children read of it when they discover they are to visit the Palace. Of these three children, it is Henry Taylor whom the story revolves around. He is the plaything of the playground bullies (who are mostly girls so adding to his embarrassment) and lives with his father above an antiquated bookshop. His life is turned upside down when a new boy, the enigmatic Simeon Temple, arrives at school. The other main character is Dominique Hooper, an Afro-Caribbean gymnast, who herself suffered at the hands of the school bullies. Instantly, she shares an affinity with Simeon who soon becomes the bullies’ next target. It isn’t long though before Simeon humiliates the main bully, Maddison Manners, gaining the respect of the playground in doing so. The children decide to investigate the incident at Hampton Court. They hatch an elaborate plan to break into the chapel to see if there is any truth to the guard’s claims. They soon find there is as they are chased by the ghost of Jane Seymour into the crypt below. There they find the Queen’s heart. It would seem though that others desire the heart as they pursue the children through the palace. Back home, Henry finds an old diary within a dusty hardback, written by the hand of Queen Jane. With Simeon’s help (his father, a genealogist has a device that can translate old manuscripts) they are able to read the entries. There is enough in the letters for the children to believe that there was something suspicious about the young Queen’s death. A visit to The Tower of London provides Henry with an all important clue. He is able to discover a secret message on the parchment wrapped around the heart. The message gives an indication as to where the children can find the last page of the diary entry. Even more remarkably, Henry discovers a mysterious blue ink within his desk drawer. He is astonished when he spills the ink upon the diary sketches: the people in them move and speak. Through the use of this ink, the children are transported back to the 16th Century and are able to find further clues as to what fate befell Queen Jane. Henry concludes that the last page rests with Queen Jane at Windsor Castle. It is there that their hooded assailants arrive, capture the children and attempt to kill them. It is Simeon’s father that rescues them and tells them all about Servamus – a secret agency that has manipulated history to protect its mysterious masters. Simeon’s father, along with many others (including his own son) work against them to try and repair history and those wronged by their lies. Mr. Temple located the last diary entry but leaves it to the children to read. Soon the children discover the awful truth that the Queen was killed by some of those closest to her, motivated by revenge and a want for power. This truth the children publish online, only for their web site to be closed down the very next day. The children return the heart to Hampton Court, where once again, they encounter the Queen. But this time, she is grateful. Their assistance has redeemed the Forsaken Queen. Throughout the story, the relationship between the children changes: at times it becomes strained, rivalries and suppressed feelings breeding angst and envy. Ultimately, the children work together, with Dominque particularly becoming a dominant and decisive character.