It was a lark - two boys, identical except for their clothes… which they switched. But suddenly
The Prince and the Pauper of Wales, Edward Tudor, was thrown to a filthy drunken mob - by his own guards. Beaten, starved, chased by dogs, forced to beg and steal…while even the prince's one friend, adventurer Miles Hendon, though the boy was only a demented beggar.
Tom Canty was thrust into an alien life of protocol, ritual, and diplomacy. He, too, was thought mad, for suddenly "forgetting" classic languages, courtyly manners, his role in world destiny. The beggar realized, with growing terror, that he was expected to rule, wage war, send people to their deaths…
Then King Henry VIII died. And unless two "mas" boys could convince someone of the truth, their fates would be sealed forever. By a crown.
Long live the king.