Avalon… the forgotten queen. And Arthur… the king who will sacrifice everything…
What if Avalon was a person, not just a place?
Destined to be together… torn apart by circumstance.
The Forgotten Queen Trilogy is an emotionally authentic Arthurian retelling that uncovers the human story behind the legend.
“Intelligently written and immersive, readers who love historical fiction with Arthurian legends will adore this.”
—Jamie Michele, Readers’ Favorite
Book 1, The Forgotten Queen: The Rise of a King
In a land abandoned by Rome, where fragile alliances replace open war, Arthur of Camelot is determined to unite the realm—whatever the cost.
Avalon was never meant to be part of that cost. Hidden away since childhood, marked by a power she does not fully understand, she has lived a life shaped by silence, restraint, and survival. But when her path collides with Arthur’s, something long buried begins to surface—something neither of them can ignore.
Yet kings do not choose for themselves.
To secure peace, Arthur must take a political bride. And with that choice, a future that once seemed certain is quietly, irrevocably undone.
As Camelot rises, so too do the forces that will fracture it—ambition within the court, desire that refuses to be contained, and betrayals that will echo through legend itself. Guinevere. Lancelot. The knights who swear loyalty… and the truths they will not survive.
Arthur will gain a kingdom. But in doing so, he may lose the one person who made him worthy to rule. And history will never tell her story.
In Camelot, love is not forbidden—
it is sacrificed.
Book 2, The Forgotten Queen: The Burden of Power
Camelot is no longer at peace. In the wake of Guinevere’s betrayal, the fragile alliances holding the realm together begin to fracture.
War gathers at Arthur’s borders. Enemies rise within his own court. And as whispers spread through the kingdom, even Excalibur—the sacred sword that once made him unstoppable—has begun to fail him.
But the deepest wound is not to Camelot. It is to Arthur himself.
Once willing to sacrifice everything for his kingdom, Arthur now finds himself hollowed by grief, watching Camelot slip steadily toward ruin despite his efforts to save it. After a devastating battle leaves him standing at the edge of death, a past he thought buried begins to rise once more.
Bound by secrets, power, and a past neither of them escaped unscarred, Avalon returns to a Camelot where fear and dark enchantments move unseen beneath the surface. As new threats rise against the crown, Arthur is forced into an alliance he neither trusts nor wants—while feelings long buried begin to awaken once more. Yet love has already destroyed him once. Dare he risk it again?
As Morgana’s influence tightens around the realm, Arthur and Avalon must decide whether love is worth the suffering it demands… or whether some wounds are too deep for even time to heal.
Because sometimes the greatest danger is not losing a kingdom—but believing your heart can survive being broken twice.
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Book 3, The Forgotten Queen: When Duty Calls
Camelot stands at the height of its glory. The wars that once threatened Albion have been beaten back.
The realm Arthur fought to unite has finally begun to heal. And beside him stands Avalon—not hidden in the shadows of history, but crowned at last as his queen. Together, they have found a love forged through sacrifice, grief, and impossible choices. Yet one sorrow remains beyond their reach. A child.
As hope begins to fade, Avalon turns inward, searching the mysteries of a power she was taught to fear. What she discovers will change her forever. Wounds once thought permanent begin to heal. The limits of magic itself begin to bend. And as enemies long buried rise once more, Avalon steps toward the destiny she has spent her life trying to escape.
But destiny was never hers alone.
Beyond the walls of Camelot, old darkness gathers its strength. Morgana. Nimue. The final unraveling of a kingdom built upon fragile peace. And beneath it all lies a truth Arthur has always known: greatness is not measured by what a king is willing to gain… but by what he is willing to sacrifice. For even legends cannot outrun fate forever. Camelot will face its final reckoning. And the love that once saved Arthur may demand everything in return.
Some love stories end in tragedy.
The greatest endure—even after death.
Near Present-day Glastonbury, England
Avalon has long been remembered as a mythical island. But what if Avalon was a woman—the legend the island was named after?
Hidden away as a child and marked by mysterious powers, she becomes the heart of Camelot and the woman history forgot. This trilogy blends Arthurian legend and myth with historical realism, imagining what Camelot might have looked like in post-Roman Britain.
Review by Jamie Michele for Readers’ Favorite – ★★★★★
Annette Mackey’s Camelot: The Forgotten Queen is set in fifth-century Britain, where Avalon grows up beside a secluded lake near Glastonbury with her mother, Lady Vivian. Avalon is the daughter of Merlin, a wizard attached to King Uther’s court, and from childhood she knows her future has been connected to Uther’s son, Prince Arthur Pendragon. Vivian believes Arthur is meant to rule Britain and that Avalon has a place beside him. Everything changes when Excalibur brings their paths together as Arthur moves closer to the crown. The sword carries ancient power that links Avalon to the prince, drawing her toward the royal world she has only watched from a distance. As Arthur prepares for kingship, Avalon must understand what her connection to him may ask of her and where she belongs in the future Vivian has predicted.
Annette Mackey’s Camelot: The Forgotten Queen follows Avalon as her connection to Arthur draws her from the lake country into Camelot’s royal world. Mackey does a beautiful job with period details, breathing life into fifth-century Britain. Avalon is fascinating, and Mackey develops her into a fully fleshed-out heroine whose place within Arthurian legend feels her own. The supernatural elements fit naturally beside the historical setting, giving Avalon’s abilities a place within Camelot. That is apparent when a spell changes her eyes to brilliant green as the magic moves through her. Mackey shines in making Camelot a character in its own right, from servants rushing through stone corridors with water during siege preparations to Arthur reviewing stable placements before a tournament. Intelligently written and immersive, readers who love historical fiction with Arthurian legends will adore this.
What other books has Annette Mackey written?
Annette Mackey has written the Class Collision series available on Amazon as well as Music Rhythm Worksheets. She also authored the original The Forgotten Queen novel.
“My first publication of The Forgotten Queen was in 2013. It did earn a silver award from Reader’s Favorite. But because I was in a rush to finish the story, the characters and the story had not been fully fleshed out to my satisfaction.”
Then, in September of 2024, I took a second look at the published version of this novel and was stunned by how many details I had left out. Instantly, I began typing a new, updated, and extended version of the story in the evenings after work.
The result is THE FORGOTTEN QUEEN, the trilogy. I will be removing this older version of the story from Amazon soon because I feel the trilogy better represents my vision.”
Annette Mackey
A retired choir director and piano/voice teacher, Annette spent decades studying the stories people tell through music. Her fiction reflects that same fascination with human nature, weaving together history, mythology, romance, and emotionally authentic character journeys. Her novels feature complex characters, unexpected turns, and themes of love, duty, sacrifice, and the enduring hope that goodness can prevail even in the darkest of times.
Annette lives in Idaho with her husband and is the mother of four children and grandmother of six.