Princess Melilot is a character from the story The Bound Princess in Laurence Housman’s book The Field of Clover (Melilot is also a plant, known as ‘sweet clover’). In Housman’s story, a spell is cast over the princess by her step-sisters, who are jealous of her beauty and charm. She is first turned into a rose-tree and then turned back into herself but is rooted to the ground in an enchanted sleep, unable to move or speak. The hero of the story carries out tasks to break the spell, and on waking, the Princess marries him. King was much in demand as a book illustrator. Her delicately detailed drawings which use the curves and natural imagery of Art nouveau were ideal to illustrate fantastical stories.