Michelle Beer's monograph not only expands our understanding of the practice of queenship in this significant transitional period of British and European history, it also fills an important gap by illuminating Margaret Tudor's often overlooked tenure as consort queen of Scotland and by giving much needed focus to Catherine of Aragon's exercise of the queen's office, instead of looking merely at her struggle to prevent the annulment of her marriage to Henry VIII. The book is organized along thematic lines rather than chronological case studies and the two women are woven together throughout in a balanced and effective way. The emphasis is on the practice of queenship, rather than a biography of either woman, yet enough biographical detail is given in the introduction so that those who are unfamiliar with these queens’ lives can understand the thematic analysis to follow.

The first chapter focuses on Elizabeth of York and the precedent that she set for both Catherine and Margaret as an exemplar of queenship as the first Tudor queen. Beer stresses the importance of learning by example for queens as well as having a model to emulate, particularly with regard to the practice of queenly hospitality and court ceremonial. The following chapters demonstrate how Margaret and Catherine took Elizabeth's example forward in their exercise of the consort's role in Scotland and England. Beer explores how clothing became a crucial way to project queenly majesty particularly in key moments such as around childbirth and churching rituals, in diplomatic events such as the Field of Cloth of Gold, and at moments when their position was threatened. For example, Beer argues that Margaret used clothing to (re)assert her queenly status during her exile in England after she was humiliatingly divested of the regency. In the following chapter, the emphasis is on the queen's social role as an important audience for her husband's courtly and chivalric performances, arguing this was a facet of their partnership, rather than evidence of the queen as a passive observer. This chapter also highlights the role of the queen as a hostess, demonstrating the important role that the queen, her household, and her apartments played in courtly activities and networking.

Next, the focus turns to gift giving and patronage—Beer stresses the critical nature of gift giving in creating bonds of obligation, which allow a foreign queen to begin to create a network or affinity around her which gives her power and influence at court. The final chapter considers the public performance of piety, a key aspect of medieval queenship, examining rituals like the Royal Maundy, acts of pilgrimage, and both public and private religious devotions. The conclusion offers a brief comparison of the regencies of both women; Catherine's successful stewardship of the realm during Henry's continental campaign of 1513 ironically resulted in James IV's death at Flodden which catapulted Margaret into the aforementioned regency for James V.

One of the overarching themes in Beer's work is the importance of a strong partnership between the king and queen. She argues that a queen benefits from a positive relationship with her ruling partner as it accords her access, influence, and funds, which in turn give her greater opportunities for patronage and enhancing her political power at court and beyond. In terms of the two partnerships in her study, Beer concludes that Catherine and Henry's partnership was strong—ultimately making it difficult for Henry to sever in order to pursue Anne Boleyn—while Margaret and James's partnership was developing well but was cut off by James's untimely death before it could fully develop for their mutual benefit.

This monograph is a very strong piece of scholarship; it is well constructed and clearly written and is highly recommended for both scholars and students. It offers an intensive comparative analysis of the experiences of two interesting women who played important parts in British history, which ultimately provides illuminating insights into the practice of queenship. Beer reinforces current ideas in queenship and Renaissance studies about the significance of areas such as gift giving and patronage with her examples. She also offers innovative discussions about public piety, the queen's role as hostess, and the use not only of material culture but also of material itself, for the projection of queenly authority.