Get The Prince and the Pauper straight once, then move.

The story opens in Tudor London on the day Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, is born, and the same day Tom Canty is born into a poor family in Offal Court. Years later Tom lives by begging under a violent father, John Canty, and a grandmother who shares his cruelty. Tom has one escape. A kind old priest taught him some reading and Latin, and Tom fills his head with stories of princes and courts. He begins to play at being royal with other poor boys.

One day Tom wanders to Westminster and presses against the palace gate. A guard cuffs him away, but Prince Edward sees it, scolds the guard, and brings Tom inside. The boys talk, share food, and compare their lives. Edward is moved by Tom's stories of hunger and beatings, and Tom enjoys hearing about palace life. They notice they look exactly alike and swap clothes as a game. Edward then sees a bruise on Tom's hand from the guard, storms out to punish the man, and is driven off by the guard, who sees only a beggar. The crowd mocks him when he insists he is the prince.

Edward wanders into Offal Court, where John Canty seizes him and insists he is his son. Edward's royal talk gets him beaten. Meanwhile Tom is trapped in the palace. He tells the court who he really is, but everyone decides the prince has gone mad. Henry VIII, ill and near death, orders that nobody correct the prince's delusion. Tom, frightened and polite, starts learning etiquette from the nobles around him. His kindness and odd habits puzzle them. He also makes sensible rulings, including showing mercy to people sentenced to harsh deaths.

Edward escapes John Canty and meets Miles Hendon, a former soldier who has returned from years of imprisonment abroad. Miles finds the boy's royal claims amusing but takes pity on him and defends him from a mob. He humors Edward by treating him as a king and tries to bring him to safety. Edward is tough, proud, and sure of his rank, and he insists on a surprising degree of obedience. Their friendship grows as Miles plays a loyal knight.

Edward's trials get worse. John Canty reclaims him, and he falls in with a gang of thieves and beggars, led by a man called Hugo. He sees how the poor live and how the law treats them, with brutal punishments for small crimes. Miles rescues him, but Miles is later arrested because of a false claim from his brother Hugh, who has taken Miles's inheritance and wife. Edward ends up in prison, hearing the sentences passed down on others. He is horrified. He promises that if he regains the throne, he will change these laws.

Back at court, Tom grows more comfortable as the king dies, and he is set to be crowned. Edward escapes and rushes toward Westminster Abbey. On coronation day, he bursts in and demands the crown. Tom's advisers seize him, but Tom recognizes Edward and tries to give the crown back. Edward proves his identity by answering where the Great Seal is hidden. Tom had used it to crack nuts, not knowing what it was, and Edward's answer confirms the truth.