The following is an extract of "Bards and Beauties" by Cameron Gardner, a book that details the many songs written during the reign of the Tilneys:
One of the most popular lullabies of our age is "Three Pretty Princesses", but many mothers singing it to their babes are unaware of the bloody history of the song. It was composed during the reign of Queen Cecily I, formerly known as Ava Tilney. From the very moment she was crowned Queen to her deathbed, doubts about the her legitimacy followed Cecily like a black dog. According to her rival to the throne, Duke Edward, as well as a Fairfax Palace baker, Queen Cecily was not actually Ava Tilney, but rather a look-alike who had been posing as Ava for the Princess's safety. He maintained that the Queen had hired two girls to alternate between posing as Ava, and that the real Princess was killed with her family during the Autumn Ball Massacre. Cecily, of course, denied these claims her entire life, but this mystery was enough to inspire an unknown bard to write the tune:
Three pretty princesses, which of them is true?
A simple slicing of a throat and now there's only two.
Two pretty princesses, which will be undone?
An arrow from the balcony, and now there's only one.
One pretty princess girl, reaping what was sown,
Only she knows which she was, and now she's on the throne.
YOU ARE READING
Three Pretty Princesses
FantasyPrincess Ava Tilney of Dulcinea is a bright green-eyed girl with a secret that could tear the royal family apart. Pauline is a bright green-eyed orphan with a melodic voice and courageous heart. Evalyn Hawthorne is a bright green-eyed merchant's dau...
