The Constant Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels)

I've read some of Philippa Gregory's other works and enjoyed them. That being said, this is not one of my favorites of hers.

Catalina, the Infanta of Spain, was born to be Princess of Wales and Queen of England. She believes it is her duty and right by birth. When she finally reaches of age, she makes the journey to England where she is married to Arthur, future King of England. After Arthur's untimely death however, she has to find a way to reclaim her place and try to betroth herself to his younger brother, King Henry VIII. Through this she has to stand courageous and face down her opposers and those in the royal family who do not wish her to become a part of it, namely the King's mother.

Since these characters are all based on real people it is hard to say whether or not they are accurate. We have accounts in history but the vast majority of this book is speculation on what they may have thought or did. Catalina is pretty full of herself despite being the protaganist to choose for and you can't help but wonder if she could have had an easier happier life if she would have just put down her ambition. Arthur, her first husband, seemed to be a nice thoughtful man and it makes for a not so nice comparison to his brother Henry. Henry is described as a very selfish person and while history leads us to believe it is true, it is still hard to conceive that his brother could be so different.

Since most of this book did happen in history it stands to reason that it is a very accurate representation of the historical events. I don't know too much about English history, but I would imagine that if it were too different from what actually happened, there would be more criticisms of the books. For the parts that can't be verified, I thought Gregory did a great job at expressing what these characters wanted or needed in their life. I do have to say that I wasn't thrilled with the way she bounced around in viewpoints though. The whole book is filled with italicized sections that are supposed to be Catalina's personal thoughts and I found them hard to read and they disrupted the flow of the book. The book too moved very slowly and considering that a large part of Catalina's time was spent with Henry, it was only reflected as less than half of the book while the main parts were dedicated to her childhood and her time with Arthur. While these are important parts it just felt like it took forever to get to the main premise of the book.

Not the best but not terrible. I much prefer some of Gregory's other books over this one.

The Constant Princess
copyright 2005
390 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2011

I stopped reading after passage where Katherine claims that Christopher Columbus showed her one time maps of America. America! In 1501!

excerpt from book:

"Winter 1501 (...)
"And do you like maps?” he asked her.
She nodded. “Of course,” she said. “In my father’s library we have maps of the whole world,
and Cristóbal Colón made him a map to show him the Americas.”
1. Historians have traditionally argued that Columbus remained convinced to the very end that his journeys had been along the east coast of Asia.
2. Continent was named America in 1507—a year after Columbus' death, because Amerigo Vespucci, was the first to speculate that the land was not part of Asia but new unknown continent.
I know it is a work of fiction but author can invent some dialogue, introduce fictional persons, ect. but not charging major event like for example who won the war, or use the name of continent some years before the name have even been coined.

This is the second Philippa Gregory book and "the historical fiction" I have ever read and I am literally hooked to the point I feel the need to read the rest of Philippa Gregory's books.

The author put so much time into researching the life of Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife and the youngest daughter of Isabel and Ferdinand of Spain, and did such a wonderful job of describing her inner world, where she came from and her relationship with her first husband Prince Arthur (Henry's older brother), her in-laws, and her parents that I felt like I went back in time reliving her experiences with her while reading the book.

This is one of the best books I have read in a very long time. It has romance, adventure, royal intrigue, historical figures, and much more in addition to being written in a way the reader is able to understand each person's behavior and motivation behind it.

The only thing I didn't like about this book is it only covers a period of Katherine of Aragon's life and the book ends the day she married Henry VIII.

This is the story of what happened before the events of THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, the story of Henry VIII's first Queen, Katherine of Aragon. From birth Katherine, known then as Catalina had been destined to be a player in international politics. Like her sisters Catalina was a bargaining chip, a token that would be used to cement a bargain to further her parents', Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, ambitions. To that end Catalina was betrothed while still a toddler to Arthur, Prince of Wales to establish an alliance between Spain and England. Catalina studied statecraft by watching her parents drive the Moors from Spain, turning their country from an occupied land, an outpost of Islam into a world power and very Christian nation. When Catalina arrived in England to meet her bridegroom Arthur she had very definite ideas about her duties to her new countries, ones that she quickly discovered were at odds with what her soon to be husband and father-in-law expected from her. Catalina's parents ruled their united kingdoms of Aragon and Castille jointly but in England women were wives, mothers, sisters and daughters of kings but even Queens did not rule. A woman's role was to obey and provide her husband with many healthy children. When circumstances conspire to prevent Catalina, now called Katherine, from fulfilling any of the roles she had spent her life preparing for she continued to struggle to live up to her perceived destiny of ruling Wales and England.

This is an interesting tale of the life of Katherine of Aragon. The stories of Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I are familiar tales in which Katherine's influence is felt but she herself is usually kept in the shadows, exiled off stage an on-going threat to Anne, a relationship their daughters will continue after their deaths. Gregory has her own theories concerning the relationship between Arthur and Katherine and Henry VIII's character that give the reader much to think about. Her skillful telling of ill fated Katherine's life brings life to this shadowy troubled time.

I gave this book 4 stars, mostly because it was such an enjoyable read (I read a lot of books, but this one I actually listened to as audio recording on CDs, which I highly recommend, great voice performances for the different characters). There are a few problems with how both Katherine (or Catalina, if you prefer the Spanish variant of her name) and Henry VIII, her eventual husband, are portrayed. But given the disproportionate share of attention given by many writers to his later wives, such as Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, I felt this was a welcome glimpse into the (supposed) motivations and feelings of what must have been a very interesting woman. It would take a great deal of perseverance and belief in one's self for a foreign princess, even one from such royal parentage as King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, to successfully navigate the treacherous waters of England's Tudor court.

What I liked: Katherine and Arthur's young marriage was portrayed sweetly; I think arranged royal marriages were rarely happy, but this one could have been, once they worked their way into it. And the portrayal of Katherine being fixated on her royal destiny ("I was born to be a queen . . . "), although self-serving and single-minded, rang true to me. This author, Phillipa Gregory, has a talent for developing the characters of lesser-known supporting players, I enjoyed several of these.

What I didn't like: much has been written on the question of whether or not Katherine's marriage to Arthur was ever consummated, let's just say that I think the author's assumption helps her story line, but seems unlikely as a question of history. And Henry is portrayed in a very unflattering way vis-a-vis his brother Arthur; I'm not sure this view is very balanced.

But if you're interested in this historical period and setting, her books are well-written and informative, and I'd recommend this one.

I had just finished watching Showtime's production of The Tudors and found that I wasn't ready to say good-bye to King Henry VIII and his court. What better thing to do than to continue with the Philippa Gregory series, hence my picking up The Constant Princess. I know many readers here have talked about reading these books in their chronological order as opposed to the order in which the author wrote them. I chose to read them in the written order so this was actually the fourth one for me....The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen's Fool, The Virgin's Lover and now The Constant Princess.

While The Other Boleyn Girl concentrated on the Boleyn sisters and The Queen's Fool took us into Queen Mary's inner sanctum through the eyes of her "fool" Hannah and The Virgin's Lover explored Queen Elizabeth's reign, The Constant Princess takes us through the marriage of Queen Katharine and King Henry VIII as seen through Katharine's eyes. I actually find I prefer reading these books in the order the author has written them because I don't think I would have enjoyed reading about Katharine had I not already known what she went through in The Other Boleyn Girl (which still remains my favorite).

I felt the beginning half of the book was a bit tedious especially as Katharine reminisces about her life in Spain with her parents King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. These sections are all written in italics and usually, when I got to these parts, I found myself getting bored. Once she finally married Henry, the book took on a different spin and became a lot more enjoyable. I'm not going to rehash the entire storyline because so many other reviewers have already done so. I'm just here to give you my thoughts.

I love reading historical fiction but I also realize that there's some danger in doing so -- especially if the author takes liberties in reporting the history. If you're not familiar with the actual history, what happens then is that fiction sometimes becomes fact to the reader because you're believing what you're reading. Whether or not Queen Katharine lied to Henry about consummating her marriage to his brother Arthur is probably something no one will ever know to be true or not but, as far as Katharine leading an army to the borders to defeat the Scots is very questionable. However, it made for good reading and I'll probably always now think this truly happened exactly this way.

I just find it so amazing how much women had to do with some of the most incredible turns in history. Just to think that an entire kingdom was turned on its heal because of King Henry VIII's love/lust for Anne Boleyn which brought about the Reformation. It's just unbelievable to me how men will continue to be taken down in history by women. It's beguiling to say the least and it continues to this day.

So next in line is The Boleyn Inheritance which continues Henry's dalliances as he marries Jane Seymour, then Ann of Cleves and then Katherine Howard. Hopefully, by the time I'm done reading that, Showtime will be ready with Season 3 of the fabulous Tudor's production. If you're a fan of The Tudor family, I highly recommend you get your hands on these DVD's. That's my tip for the day. Enjoy!!

Philippa's Gregory novel, "The Constant Princess," is part of the Boleyn series that naturally leads to her break-out novel, "The Other Boleyn Girl." In this novel, the Princess of Spain who would later become the infamous Queen Katherine of Aragon has her life traced from its early beginnings as the Princess of Spain and daughter to the two most powerful players in Spanish history-Isabella and Ferdinand.

We trace her from her early beginnings as she witnesses the Crusade movement that her parents participated in and her move to England where she would complete her "destiny" as wife to Arthur. Gregory cleverly reveals Katherine's discomfort as an outsider to a court and country whose culture, practices, and nuances get under her skin. She picks up on everything from hygiene to the food that was preferred by the English. Interestingly, Gregory constantly displays a contrast between the view the common people have of Katherine (who love her and find her to be a charming Spanish Princess) and those in the court who openly disparage her, such as Henry VIII's own grandmother and father.

While the romance between Arthur and Katherine is short lived, it is an intense one, with her promising to become Queen at all costs-by marrying Arthur's younger brother Harry. This is probably where historians will disagree with Katherine's motives and accuracy of historical events.

You witness her struggles as her father refuses to pay her dowry, which would bar her return to Spain, being essentially expelled from the court and living in near poverty, her questioning of her parent's attempt to dominate the Moors, and her increasing worry that perhaps she will never fulfill the deathbed promise she made to Arthur. What I most liked about this transition is her brutal lesson into court politics as it allows her to become a savvy politician and tactician.

Once she marries Henry VIII, Katherine gradually gains control of him as he is portrayed as a selfish boy who was never taught to be a man. A young man who was never prepared to take on such a responsibility. She displays a lot of finesse and military wit as eventually her greatest challenge will be to fight the Scots.

Stylistically, Gregory takes a great chance flipping between first person and third person point of view. At times the switch is seamless, though there are instances where it disrupts the flow of the story. Katherine's internal conflict has been scoffed by other reviewers-her Catholic fate versus the impact Moorish culture had on her. I think this has to be taken in context. The best modern day example would be the conflict faced by Latinos who consider themselves Catholics but are entrenched in specific cultural acts such as "curanderos, fortune tellers, gay lifestyle, etc" things that are generally forbidden by the church. It's difficult to separate the two when your life and religious views are polar opposites. It's a great contrast, which not many people experience or understand. So, unless you've known someone whose faced such a conflict, it is difficult to empathize or understand.

Historical accuracy is also another major point of contention, but as long as you accept this to be historical fiction and it ignites your curiosity to verify certain facts you will be satisfied. If you are searching for 100% faithfulness to historical canon, then stay far away.

I liked the growth, the insight, and trials that Gregory shared with us through Katherine's eyes. I just wish she would have picked one point of view and stuck with it. Otherwise, it throws off an otherwise decent novel.

Who is this woman, whose fame rests on her inability to produce a male heir for Henry VIII? In this book the author attempts to envision her life.

The first part is credible. The author describes how Catalina, the child of Spain's powerful co-monarchs, could have developed a belief in her destiny. From this seed, Ms. Gregory builds the case for a steely purposeful woman who affects all the airs of the monarch she aspires to be and exudes its sense of entitlement. This is the attitude and the outlook she would have to have to endure her later abandonment.

I don't know the evidence on which history rests a judgment that Arthur was too sickly to consummate his marriage, but Gregory doesn't buy it... at all. Arthur is shown to be healthy. His fatal illness is sudden. His deathbed charge to his wife, while not realistic for the time, does have some novelistic development in how the young couple plans their future reign.

History pays little attention to the emotions of this abandoned 16 year old girl/widow. She is subject to international games over which she has no control and little access to knowledge. Gregory is at her best as she imagines Catalina's thoughts and feelings in the 7 years uncertain wait for Henry VIII. I don't know the historical probability of the attentions of Henry VII to his daughter-in-law but the writing (or maybe this plot line) doesn't ring true.

Another difficult plot line is the imagined pregnancy and the call to the doctor who is a Moor. Catalina's attitude to Moors would be highly unusual. After this, the story races to an end.

While the whole telling doesn't fully hold together, the book gives a different look at Katherine and posits some interesting ideas as to her character and how she might have interacted with her new English family.

Philippa Gregory's novels are one of my guilty pleasures, which I normally find quite irresistible. Reading this one resembled biting into a week old scone when one had expected a Godiva chocolate. It has none of the historical import of her other novels of the Tudor era, and frankly portrays Katherine of Aragon in a manner which verges on the ridiculous.

In several of her other novels set in the Tudor era, Philippa depicts the characters very vividly, and the dialogue and personal reflections of these characters are so intriguing and tied into actual history that I sometimes need to remind myself that I'm reading fiction and not a newly found piece of correspondence or diary. This one fulfilled none of that promise. Katherine of Aragon, after all, was not only a devout Catholic and a woman of incomparable integrity (sometimes stubborness...) but the daughter of Isabella. Her depiction as something of a harem seductress, adapting varied Muslim Arabic ways, clothing, etc., during her marriage to Arthur had a level of believability on a par with her bedding a Martian.

The tragedy of the failure of Katherine's marriage to Henry is lost in the maze, because Katherine is depicted as a scheming liar who deliberately pretends she was a virgin when she married Henry. There are many aspects of Katherine's character which could confuse us, and treatment of these (for example, her placing herself and Mary in horrid living conditions rather than to acquiesce with Henry's desire for an annulment), particularly in view of what an extraordinary woman she was (certainly Isabella's equal in commanding forces), could have been fascinating, as is the case with varied other characters in other novels by Philippa Gregory. But there is no indication in the least that Katherine lacked integrity - if anything, she could take it to extremes. An opportunity to explore what could have been highly insightful was lost in this portrayal which was totally at odds with anything one would know of Katherine.

Many of Philippa's novels are highly insightful and enjoyable. This one, at best, is one to purchase for .01 used and tuck into one's bag for when a British Rail journey becomes unexpectedly, unbearably long and one is at one's wit's end.

Read in June, 2012

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The Constant Princess by Philippa Greggory

The historical novel based on Katherine of Aragon was a great read. The thought of being born a royal princess was nothing like being groomed or brainwashed into thinking that your inferior and nothing but a pawn to gain lands for your family. How sad that these women were brought up this way. Most made the best of their situations and have come to love their betrothed others just produced an heir and were content with that.

The Author brought Katherines story alive as she was betrothed to Auther, Prince of Wales. Her love for this man and her loss of her dear husband to sickness, as his dying wish he wanted her to marry his brother Henry so that she may be Queen of England.

She did become Queen of England, ruled as a regent when Henry was away, bore children that were stillborn and those that hadn't live long. However she did bore Henry a daughter, Mary. Later on in life Mary was the Queen Of England

As a fan of Philippa Gregory's other books about the Tudor households, I was delighted to discover this one, which I hadn't heard about, and it seemed that Queen Katherine of Aragon was a completely fitting subject for the type of work Ms. Gregory has produced so far.

Unfortunately, this one is out of balance, in my opinion. There is far too much time spent of Katherine (Catalina's) early childhood, too much time spent on making sure the readers understand how her parents shaped her. It's a case of, "Alright, I got that several pages ago, let's move along."

WARNING: The following may be considered "spoilers", particularly for those unfamiliar with the events that unfolded around that era of the Tudor reign.

The best parts of the book are the way the relationship between Catalina and Arthur is fleshed out, particularly since Gregory presents a version of it quite different from that which has gone down in history (but which was soon, and then often, questioned), and the deft political and personal maneuvers that lead Catalina to become Queen by marrying Arthur's younger brother, with no foreshadowing at all of how this would be her ultimate undoing.

After that, however, Gregory seems to have gotten into a hurry to finish the book, which goes from sometimes excruciated history detail to moving forward in leaps and bounds. At the end of the book, she jumps from the first suggestion of Anne Boleyn as competitor for the throne, at the end of one chapter, to Katherine being called in to court and, a few hundred words later, the book ends.

This was my biggest disappointment: I had looked forward to reading about Katherine's life AFTER she was thrown over. Gregory excels at bringing life to uncertain aspects of a time in history; she did so at the beginning of this book (too much) and again in the time of Catalina's and Arthur's brief marriage, and it is just too bad that she abandoned the events where she did.

It would have been fascinating to consider Katherine perceptions of events after Anne Boleyn, especially since Gregory makes frequent (sometimes excessive) use of a device in which the story is interrupted with Catalina/Katherine's thoughts on it.

I wish Gregory had devoted less energy to what felt like a Michener-esque display of the historical research she had done by over-describing things and having her characters wax inappropriately eloquent about details, and had instead spent that time and effort on telling the story.

The worst thing I can say about a book is that I never finished it. I did finish this book, but I was skimming, not really reading, the last 20% or so, just in a hurry to get to the end, mostly to see what Gregory left in and what she left out or stopped short of. I don't normally write reviews of books I don't finish, but since I did technically finish this one, disappointments and all, I gave it two stars.

I still look forward to the possibility that Gregory will write another book about the Tudor reign. She's a prolific author on this subject and others, and not every book is going to be a jewel.

This is the story of Katherine of Aragon and her struggle to overcome in her rise to become a beloved Queen of England. Best known for being displaced in favor of Anne Boleyn, this is the story before Anne's reign. Of Katherine's betrothal since birth to the English prince and of her childhood with her mother Queen Isabella. A smart, loyal, and wise young woman, Katherine marries her husband's brother after his death in order to secure her place as queen and does the work of both monarchs.

"The Constant Princess" was a decently good read. It was not as engaging or page turning as "The Other Boleyn Girl," but it had its merits. I enjoyed reading about a historical figure that I had only known as a minor character in other historical novels. It was interesting to see someone whom I thought of as fairly insignificant in a spotlight role. I learned a lot about the reign of Katherine of Aragon and about her as a person. At first I will admit, I didn't like her very much. In the beginning Gregory has the character go on and on about how she thinks she is the grace of God himself and chosen to be the Queen from birth. It made me feel as if the character was deluded and fanciful.

As the plot went on however, the young Princess was no stranger to hardship and I liked her more and more. I feel that this is the mark of a very good author when he/she can make me feel so attached to the character as a person, not just a character.
However, after Katherine's initial struggles to become Queen (a little more than halfway through the book), the excitement and mystery of the book was no longer as enthralling. Mostly it talked about her struggle with miscarriages, the death of her child, and her struggle to keep her younger husband away from women who try to seduce him.

I actually put the book down about 10 - 20 pages from the very end. I just kind of stopped caring and was looking to go on to something else. So overall, "The Constant Princess" was a good, if not a great, read.

I like long books. I like historical books. I liked this book. We all know how Katherine's story ends but her life story - if even a bit fictionalized - made for a great book.

The narrator was spot on. She did a great job.

The telling of Catalina's early life was interesting. The daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, she was brought up as the Infanta of Spain and, from an early age, the Princess of Wales and future Queen of England. She had to go through a lot to achieve both of those later titles. It's interesting that just the other day I saw an article about whether Prince Arthur could have been impotent. I'm glad Philippa Gregory gave us a different look at their relationship.

As the book neared the end I felt a bit anxious because I didn't want to read about the pain Katherine was about to undergo. So, unlike many who have commented, I liked the way the book ended.

If you are like me ~~ a historical fiction fan ~~ you'll pick this book up and snuggle down on the couch for a cozy reading. I can guarantee that this is a cozy reading and you'll finish the book in a short time ~~ but it is not the best historical fiction I've picked up. After reading Jean Plaidy's books, I am hard pressed to even compare Gregory in the same genre ~~ while riveting, the writing style is just not the same. You also get the feeling she is taking great liberties with historical facts. Plus, in this one, Katherine (whom I have always wanted to know more about) is just not all that winning of a character.

Katherine or Catalina is an Infanta of Spain. She is the daughter of two of Spain's most notorious rulers (I am not going to say that they are the greatest because they did a lot of harm to a lot of people of different faiths). From birth, she was betrothed to marry Arthur, the prince of England and the future king. That alone gave her an inflated sense of self-worth. She comes to England as a spoiled young child and eventually falls in love with her husband. Tragically, he died. But on his deathbed, she promised to fulfill his wishes for an united England. She goes on to marry Henry after waiting seven long years of poverty and unwanted by either her parents and by Henry the Seventh, whom she spurned his marriage proposal. Then it goes on to where she conquers Scotland while Henry was fighting in France. That's it. Gregory skipped entirely the Boleyn affair, Mary's birth and all those details that I would love to read more in depth (especially since I am a fan of the new Showtime series, "The Tudors").

While it is entertaining, there are some things that did drive me nuts as a reader. One thing, Katherine keeps repeating to herself that she's born to be a queen. Ok, I get that, and understand that, but come on, after fifteen times of saying that, I really get it and that alone starts to turn me off of the character. (I was like, NO WONDER Henry went after other women!) I do agree with the author's assessment that Henry is a spoiled young boy who hasn't been tried by war or treasonous friends or whatever. But eventually, he does become to be a ruler in his own right and a very dangerous one at that.

The constant reference to being God's chosen people and following God's will ~~ it is annoying but that is how people think back then and still do. Katherine took it to a new art. I found her first miscarriage very interesting, her love affair with Arthur very sweet and tragic ~~ and her subsquent marriage to Henry interesting. It is a very interesting novel to read ~~ as long as you keep in mind that it is fiction and it is entertaining. It is not as good as "The Queen's Fool" or "The Other Boleyn Girl" ~~ those two novels I just loved. But it is entertaining and written well ~~ definitely better written than "The Queen's Lover" ~~ which is my least favorite of the Tudor series.

So go ahead and snuggle on the couch and read ~~ you will be carried back into time where danger and intrigue are the way of life. That I can guarantee you of.

8-15-07

After reading The Virgin's Lover, I was hoping for a little pick-me-up. I got it with this book.

I did like the telling of Katherine from the beginning, instead of the usual point when Anne is trying to be Queen of England. It was refreshing to see a young Katherine, instead of the usual, old one.

I went along with the whole, "Maybe she lied" thing, for the book to work, and it does, for the book. But overall, I don't think she would have lied about something that was so important. I'll skip the theology, but I think Henry was bored of her, wanted a son, and did the "modern" thing and picked and chose the verses he wanted to condemn her.

Her singular ambition to be Queen is just the same as Anne's ambition to do the same, but yet Gregory made Katherine a bit more sympathetic. Maybe because Anne is the villianess still, even though it's towards the end of the book, and you know it.

I wasn't too happy with how the book ended. I wish she would have gone on to tell us about her end days. But I guess she felt she covered that in The Other Boleyn Girl, and felt it was too much rehash. But I still would have liked to have seen it from her POV.

Although some felt the switch between the narratives was annoying I didn't find it so. I think we all catch ourselves doing that a little in our lives.

One thing that I didn't like at all was the whole relationship between her and King Henry VII. I just wasn't convinced with that whole thing. It was a bit too convienient for me.

I really did like her take on Henry VIII in his early years. A bit of a spoiled child, who really tried hard. He was actually endearing to me. His actions made me laugh and reminds me that young men can truly be sweet and genuine. I think he did love her, truly, in the beginning of their relationship. I like how Gregory showed that the King Henry we know now, the fat ugly man, was once lovely, funny, child. She showed that side of him very well.

Lots of people are warning you that this presentation of Queen Katherine's story isn't historically accurate. Piffle. You probably already knew that, and you probably didn't care.

When I read a historical novel, whether it's about Anne Bolyn or Merlin or Queen Esther, it's not because I want a factual history of who begat whom. I'm perfectly happy to read a non-fiction account of such things, and if you read through some of my book reviews you'll see that I do so rather often.

What you want from a historical novel, or at least what *I* want, and why I'm recommending this book, is "a" story (not "the" story) of a prominent individual, and how he or she got that way. Whether wholly factual, like Marie Antoinette, or semi-mythical, like King Arthur, we wonder what courage or presence of mind or fears that individual dealt with. I've read nearly every Arthurian tale I could get my hands on, just because I love seeing Merlin painted first as a dotty Dumbledore-like wizard, next as a mystical psychic, another time as an engineer who inherited a sword made from a meteorite. All of them are true; none of them are true. That's what fiction is about. I'm perfectly willing to suspend my disbelief, and to dive headlong into good talespinning. And Gregory certainly achieves that.

The key question behind Gregory's handling of Catalina/Katherine is this: the woman undeniably was brought to England to marry the older son, married the younger son after the first boy's death, and eventually had to deal with Anne Bolyn (who gets a lot more airplay). To the last, Katherine maintained that she was the true queen and Henry was her husband. She was steadfast, she was resiliant, and she was, as the title says, constant. From where does one get such strength? How can one be so sure of one's rightness? Katherine of Aragon got it from _somewhere_, certainly -- and Gregory gives her a story worth reading.

Is it factual? I doubt it. For one thing, as in most romances (and this certainly is one, if not following a usual format), the hero and heroine are just a little too shiny, and they make understandable if not good decisions. (The young Arthur, Henry's older brother, is a sensitive new-age kind of prince.) I do prefer stories in which the characters grow up a little more -- Henry was painted as a bit too petulant and spoiled, when I know full well he was brilliant too -- but I enjoyed reading the story. Set aside what you "know" about these characters, and I think you'll enjoy it too.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about the Spanish Queen of England. The character development of Catalina (Katherine) expertly took you from her childhood in Moorish palaces to the Queen who controlled and manipulated a young King Henry in order to rule England her own way. I now think of Katherine of Aragon as more than just Henry VIII's first wife and victim.

Catalina, was born the last daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Her childhood had many contrasts - constant war with the Moors and other neighbors in an effort by her parents to unify Spain into one country; but also a childhood of luxury and beauty in the Moorish palaces conquered by her famous parents. Catalina was betrothed to Prince Arthur in England at her birth and her parents raised her to know she was destined to be Princess of Wales and Queen of England. This marriage was planned to form a political alliance between Spain and England so the 2 countries could become an invincible war machine against their enemies.

As a young girl of 16, she was sent to England to marry Prince Arthur who dies months after their marriage. After his death, Catalina is left alone and destitute by her Spanish family and the English Tudor family, but she maintains her dignity and assertion that she was born to be Queen of England - she is the "Constant Princess". She grows into a strong and determined woman and endures loneliness, rejection and poverty in a foreign land away from her family and friends to get what she wants. I highly recommend this fictional account of Katherine's life.

This is a historical novelization of Queen Katherine of Aragon, first wife of King Henry VIII. It starts with Katherine(Catalina) as a child and ends when Anne Boleyn is in the process of usurping her as Henry VIII's wife.

The first half of the book was interesting with the portrayal of 15th/16th century Europe and the making of political alliances between countries. It showed that royal parents such as Ferdinand/Isabella and Henry VII/Elizabeth viewed their offspring more as chess pieces than family members. This seems to be the historical part. The fiction part seems to be portraying Katherine and Arthur as a royal couple that fall in love (serendipity!). She has Katherine and Arthur consummate their marriage as well. The future king Henry VIII is attracted to Katherine. If I wanted to have only history I'd stay with Alison Weir or Antonia Fraser. I don't object to this.

The novel seemed to go astray by portraying Queen Katherine with 20th/21st politically correct sensibilities. Spain bore the brunt of struggles against the Moslems during her life. It's a little easy that her family would have been so discerning to surgically excise what they didn't like about Moslems, and appreciate what was positive(their advances in science and medicine). I doubt Queen Katherine would have been so appreciative of it.

What I would have liked to see:

-The rivalry of Katherine and Anne Boleyn.

-The years when Mary Tudor was a child.

To me it seemed that after the battle against King James of Scotland, it was fast forwarded to her divorce with Henry VIII. I had the impression that her editors were hurrying the author to get another Tudor Era historical novel to the printing presses. I was a little disappointed after reading "The Other Boleyn Girl".

The Constant Princess / 0-7432-7249-8

Everyone loves Tudor history, but too often we only really start to pay attention when Anne Boleyn enters the scene. In "The Constant Princess", Gregory has put together an entertaining fictional account which attempts to bring us the early years of Katherine. While a lot of historical detail has clearly gone into the novel, it is important to remember that the work is fictional, and not meant to be a history text.

Katherine's childhood and tutelage under her iron-willed mother Isabel is shown, and we are given a careful look into the character of Katherine. She is deeply religious, yes, but incredibly strong-willed and driven. She also understands that while her parents love her, she is their bargaining chip first and a daughter second. When her arranged marriage fails due to the tragic death of her young husband, she is faced with a choice: go back to Spain and become a minor Spanish duchess, or spin the audacious lie that she is still a virgin and eligible to marry the next English heir.

Gregory carefully notes the animosity against Katherine by the chilly royal family, and emphasizes the relative poverty in which Katherine was forced to live during the time between her husband's death and her eventual marriage to Henry. Henry is seen here as a spoiled child, who is more than willing to leave the mundane affairs of rulership and budgeting to his older, more competent queen. We see the impetuous and careless cruelty that causes Henry to abandon his pregnant queen to seek the arms of someone else rather than accept a temporarily imposed chastity. Thus we also see in his treatment of Katherine a shadow of things to come later: if Henry cannot remain faithful to his wise and valuable princess-wife, what hope have the later girls to come?

The character of Katherine is sterling here, and it is easy for the reader to agree that her lie is a necessary evil in order for her to become what she feels destined her to be. We sympathize with Katherine the girl as she is beset by difficulties that she bravely tries to weather; we fear for Katherine the woman, whom we know will be forced aside later for a younger woman. We feel a sympathy with this lesser-known figure of the famous drama and it is easy to imagine that Katherine may not blame Anne, but rather recognizes that her husband is an inconstant monarch destined to betray her.

~ Ana Mardoll

I've lived in Spain on two occasions, and pride myself on having travelled to many Moorish cultural legacies in Spain, as well as important strategic sites in the Reconquista. I am fascinated by the 700-year rule of the Moors, who made the Caliphate in Spain the gem of a Europe plunged into the Dark Ages; Granada and Cordoba were centers for learning, medicine, culture, and architecture, vastly advanced in terms of technology and hygiene, their learning unmatched. Unfortunately, after Isabel and Ferdinand captured Granada, the last stronghold of a weakening Moorish empire, all of the wise physicians, poets, and scholars were expelled, executed as heretics, or forced to convert to Christianity in the Holy Inquisition.

The beginning of "The Constant Princess" finds a young Princess Catalina of Aragon on the battlefield near Granada, terrified as an accidental fire turns the camp into an inferno. Queen Isabel rides out to calm the panicking soldiers, and Catalina learns early on the power a leader has on her men, the show of invincibility, and her mother's absolute belief that she is favoured and chosen by God. There are numerous episodes between the Christian monarchs and their soldiers in recapturing Spain from the Moors, including battles between Moorish and Christian soldiers and the anecdote of Boabdil fleeing Granada in defeat, with his mother's admonishment of "weeping like a woman for the land he could not defend as a man." There are beautful descriptions of the Catholic monarchs entering Granada to take control of the city.

These early years as the daughter of monarchs on a crusade have shaped her to her very core, teaching her how to effectively lead, strategize, and respect one's enemy. Catalina is betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales, and as a homesick sixteen-year-old, finds herself alone in dreary England. She strives to keep some semblance of her Spanish court around her. Not speaking English, she is only able to converse in French and Latin, and finds her new husband to be cold and aloof.

Eventually, Catalina, now Katherine, and Arthur learn to love each other passionately, but her heart is broken when Arthur dies only five months after their marriage. She makes a deathbed promise to Arthur that she will lie about being a virgin and wed his younger brother Harry instead, but King Henry lustfully wants her for himself and attempts to force Katherine to marry him. Refusing, she is spited by being forced to live as a pauper on the fringes of court for seven long years in exile, with her surviving father King Ferdinand and her husband-in-law bargaining over her dowry.

Katherine courts favour with the young prince, and is finally Queen of England, a title she has owned since childhood. She discovers in her long trials that her mother was not the saint that she believed as a child; after a series of miscarriages, Catalina secretly enlists the help of a Moorish physician, recoiling from him as a heathen, but realizes that when Ferdinand and Isabel expelled the Jews and Muslims from Spain, so, too, did they rid Europe of its most accomplished physicians, poets, and scholars.

Catalina comes to realize her parents' grave error as there are no learned doctors in England, no libraries to match the splendours of the Alhambra, with its translated Greek manuscripts and treatises on medicine and learning, no hygiene (the Alhambra had hot baths and piped running water; in England, some English bathed only once a year), and poor dietary habits: fruits and vegetables are not viewed as edible food in England, nor is most water potable. The wretched weather dampens her spirit as she longs for the searingly hot summers of Andalusia.

The Alhambra in particular is brought to beautiful life in the days when it was still an enchanted palace; neglect, later invasions and misguided restorations have since destroyed portions of this beautiful surviving Arabic palace, with its delicate stucco filigree, intricate tiling, secret gardens, and omnipresent fountains (it is truly one of the wonders of the world and should be visited). Gregory's loving attention to the Alhambra's architecture, sacred Qur'an inscriptions, and Moorish ballads, dress, food, and customs rang true with my scholarly studies of Moorish culture in Spain.

I found "The Constant Princess" to be well-written and absorbing, particularly in its detailled descriptions of life in Granada under the Moors and its high praise for Moorish culture (once despised and destroyed after the Reconquista) and its attention to historical detail and daily life in Spanish and English courts. Catalina is a powerful narrator, and much of the action is solely comprised of her internal thoughts as she struggles with years of exile in England waiting to finally ascend the throne and rule England as she was trained to do since childhood. Fans of historical fiction and Spanish history should greatly enjoy "The Constant Princess," but if you prefer swashbuckling action to details of court life, you'd best look elsewhere as "The Constant Princess" tends to meander.

Philippa Gregory's novels are one of my guilty pleasures, which I normally find quite irresistible. Reading this one resembled biting into a week old scone when one had expected a Godiva chocolate. It has none of the historical import of her other novels of the Tudor era, and frankly portrays Katherine of Aragon in a manner which verges on the ridiculous.

In several of her other novels set in the Tudor era, Philippa depicts the characters very vividly, and the dialogue and personal reflections of these characters are so intriguing and tied into actual history that I sometimes need to remind myself that I'm reading fiction and not a newly found piece of correspondence or diary. This one fulfilled none of that promise. Katherine of Aragon, after all, was not only a devout Catholic and a woman of incomparable integrity (sometimes stubborness...) but the daughter of Isabella. Her depiction as something of a harem seductress, adapting varied Muslim Arabic ways, clothing, etc., during her marriage to Arthur had a level of believability on a par with her bedding a Martian.

The tragedy of the failure of Katherine's marriage to Henry is lost in the maze, because Katherine is depicted as a scheming liar who deliberately pretends she was a virgin when she married Henry. There are many aspects of Katherine's character which could confuse us, and treatment of these (for example, her placing herself and Mary in horrid living conditions rather than to acquiesce with Henry's desire for an annulment), particularly in view of what an extraordinary woman she was (certainly Isabella's equal in commanding forces), could have been fascinating, as is the case with varied other characters in other novels by Philippa Gregory. But there is no indication in the least that Katherine lacked integrity - if anything, she could take it to extremes. An opportunity to explore what could have been highly insightful was lost in this portrayal which was totally at odds with anything one would know of Katherine.

Many of Philippa's novels are highly insightful and enjoyable. This one, at best, is one to purchase for .01 used and tuck into one's bag for when a British Rail journey becomes unexpectedly, unbearably long and one is at one's wit's end.

Read in June, 2012

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The Constant Princess by Philippa Greggory

The historical novel based on Katherine of Aragon was a great read. The thought of being born a royal princess was nothing like being groomed or brainwashed into thinking that your inferior and nothing but a pawn to gain lands for your family. How sad that these women were brought up this way. Most made the best of their situations and have come to love their betrothed others just produced an heir and were content with that.

The Author brought Katherines story alive as she was betrothed to Auther, Prince of Wales. Her love for this man and her loss of her dear husband to sickness, as his dying wish he wanted her to marry his brother Henry so that she may be Queen of England.

She did become Queen of England, ruled as a regent when Henry was away, bore children that were stillborn and those that hadn't live long. However she did bore Henry a daughter, Mary. Later on in life Mary was the Queen Of England

As a fan of Philippa Gregory's other books about the Tudor households, I was delighted to discover this one, which I hadn't heard about, and it seemed that Queen Katherine of Aragon was a completely fitting subject for the type of work Ms. Gregory has produced so far.

Unfortunately, this one is out of balance, in my opinion. There is far too much time spent of Katherine (Catalina's) early childhood, too much time spent on making sure the readers understand how her parents shaped her. It's a case of, "Alright, I got that several pages ago, let's move along."

WARNING: The following may be considered "spoilers", particularly for those unfamiliar with the events that unfolded around that era of the Tudor reign.

The best parts of the book are the way the relationship between Catalina and Arthur is fleshed out, particularly since Gregory presents a version of it quite different from that which has gone down in history (but which was soon, and then often, questioned), and the deft political and personal maneuvers that lead Catalina to become Queen by marrying Arthur's younger brother, with no foreshadowing at all of how this would be her ultimate undoing.

After that, however, Gregory seems to have gotten into a hurry to finish the book, which goes from sometimes excruciated history detail to moving forward in leaps and bounds. At the end of the book, she jumps from the first suggestion of Anne Boleyn as competitor for the throne, at the end of one chapter, to Katherine being called in to court and, a few hundred words later, the book ends.

This was my biggest disappointment: I had looked forward to reading about Katherine's life AFTER she was thrown over. Gregory excels at bringing life to uncertain aspects of a time in history; she did so at the beginning of this book (too much) and again in the time of Catalina's and Arthur's brief marriage, and it is just too bad that she abandoned the events where she did.

It would have been fascinating to consider Katherine perceptions of events after Anne Boleyn, especially since Gregory makes frequent (sometimes excessive) use of a device in which the story is interrupted with Catalina/Katherine's thoughts on it.

I wish Gregory had devoted less energy to what felt like a Michener-esque display of the historical research she had done by over-describing things and having her characters wax inappropriately eloquent about details, and had instead spent that time and effort on telling the story.

The worst thing I can say about a book is that I never finished it. I did finish this book, but I was skimming, not really reading, the last 20% or so, just in a hurry to get to the end, mostly to see what Gregory left in and what she left out or stopped short of. I don't normally write reviews of books I don't finish, but since I did technically finish this one, disappointments and all, I gave it two stars.

I still look forward to the possibility that Gregory will write another book about the Tudor reign. She's a prolific author on this subject and others, and not every book is going to be a jewel.

This is the story of Katherine of Aragon and her struggle to overcome in her rise to become a beloved Queen of England. Best known for being displaced in favor of Anne Boleyn, this is the story before Anne's reign. Of Katherine's betrothal since birth to the English prince and of her childhood with her mother Queen Isabella. A smart, loyal, and wise young woman, Katherine marries her husband's brother after his death in order to secure her place as queen and does the work of both monarchs.

"The Constant Princess" was a decently good read. It was not as engaging or page turning as "The Other Boleyn Girl," but it had its merits. I enjoyed reading about a historical figure that I had only known as a minor character in other historical novels. It was interesting to see someone whom I thought of as fairly insignificant in a spotlight role. I learned a lot about the reign of Katherine of Aragon and about her as a person. At first I will admit, I didn't like her very much. In the beginning Gregory has the character go on and on about how she thinks she is the grace of God himself and chosen to be the Queen from birth. It made me feel as if the character was deluded and fanciful.

As the plot went on however, the young Princess was no stranger to hardship and I liked her more and more. I feel that this is the mark of a very good author when he/she can make me feel so attached to the character as a person, not just a character.
However, after Katherine's initial struggles to become Queen (a little more than halfway through the book), the excitement and mystery of the book was no longer as enthralling. Mostly it talked about her struggle with miscarriages, the death of her child, and her struggle to keep her younger husband away from women who try to seduce him.

I actually put the book down about 10 - 20 pages from the very end. I just kind of stopped caring and was looking to go on to something else. So overall, "The Constant Princess" was a good, if not a great, read.

I like long books. I like historical books. I liked this book. We all know how Katherine's story ends but her life story - if even a bit fictionalized - made for a great book.

The narrator was spot on. She did a great job.

The telling of Catalina's early life was interesting. The daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, she was brought up as the Infanta of Spain and, from an early age, the Princess of Wales and future Queen of England. She had to go through a lot to achieve both of those later titles. It's interesting that just the other day I saw an article about whether Prince Arthur could have been impotent. I'm glad Philippa Gregory gave us a different look at their relationship.

As the book neared the end I felt a bit anxious because I didn't want to read about the pain Katherine was about to undergo. So, unlike many who have commented, I liked the way the book ended.

If you are like me ~~ a historical fiction fan ~~ you'll pick this book up and snuggle down on the couch for a cozy reading. I can guarantee that this is a cozy reading and you'll finish the book in a short time ~~ but it is not the best historical fiction I've picked up. After reading Jean Plaidy's books, I am hard pressed to even compare Gregory in the same genre ~~ while riveting, the writing style is just not the same. You also get the feeling she is taking great liberties with historical facts. Plus, in this one, Katherine (whom I have always wanted to know more about) is just not all that winning of a character.

Katherine or Catalina is an Infanta of Spain. She is the daughter of two of Spain's most notorious rulers (I am not going to say that they are the greatest because they did a lot of harm to a lot of people of different faiths). From birth, she was betrothed to marry Arthur, the prince of England and the future king. That alone gave her an inflated sense of self-worth. She comes to England as a spoiled young child and eventually falls in love with her husband. Tragically, he died. But on his deathbed, she promised to fulfill his wishes for an united England. She goes on to marry Henry after waiting seven long years of poverty and unwanted by either her parents and by Henry the Seventh, whom she spurned his marriage proposal. Then it goes on to where she conquers Scotland while Henry was fighting in France. That's it. Gregory skipped entirely the Boleyn affair, Mary's birth and all those details that I would love to read more in depth (especially since I am a fan of the new Showtime series, "The Tudors").

While it is entertaining, there are some things that did drive me nuts as a reader. One thing, Katherine keeps repeating to herself that she's born to be a queen. Ok, I get that, and understand that, but come on, after fifteen times of saying that, I really get it and that alone starts to turn me off of the character. (I was like, NO WONDER Henry went after other women!) I do agree with the author's assessment that Henry is a spoiled young boy who hasn't been tried by war or treasonous friends or whatever. But eventually, he does become to be a ruler in his own right and a very dangerous one at that.

The constant reference to being God's chosen people and following God's will ~~ it is annoying but that is how people think back then and still do. Katherine took it to a new art. I found her first miscarriage very interesting, her love affair with Arthur very sweet and tragic ~~ and her subsquent marriage to Henry interesting. It is a very interesting novel to read ~~ as long as you keep in mind that it is fiction and it is entertaining. It is not as good as "The Queen's Fool" or "The Other Boleyn Girl" ~~ those two novels I just loved. But it is entertaining and written well ~~ definitely better written than "The Queen's Lover" ~~ which is my least favorite of the Tudor series.

So go ahead and snuggle on the couch and read ~~ you will be carried back into time where danger and intrigue are the way of life. That I can guarantee you of.

8-15-07

After reading The Virgin's Lover, I was hoping for a little pick-me-up. I got it with this book.

I did like the telling of Katherine from the beginning, instead of the usual point when Anne is trying to be Queen of England. It was refreshing to see a young Katherine, instead of the usual, old one.

I went along with the whole, "Maybe she lied" thing, for the book to work, and it does, for the book. But overall, I don't think she would have lied about something that was so important. I'll skip the theology, but I think Henry was bored of her, wanted a son, and did the "modern" thing and picked and chose the verses he wanted to condemn her.

Her singular ambition to be Queen is just the same as Anne's ambition to do the same, but yet Gregory made Katherine a bit more sympathetic. Maybe because Anne is the villianess still, even though it's towards the end of the book, and you know it.

I wasn't too happy with how the book ended. I wish she would have gone on to tell us about her end days. But I guess she felt she covered that in The Other Boleyn Girl, and felt it was too much rehash. But I still would have liked to have seen it from her POV.

Although some felt the switch between the narratives was annoying I didn't find it so. I think we all catch ourselves doing that a little in our lives.

One thing that I didn't like at all was the whole relationship between her and King Henry VII. I just wasn't convinced with that whole thing. It was a bit too convienient for me.

I really did like her take on Henry VIII in his early years. A bit of a spoiled child, who really tried hard. He was actually endearing to me. His actions made me laugh and reminds me that young men can truly be sweet and genuine. I think he did love her, truly, in the beginning of their relationship. I like how Gregory showed that the King Henry we know now, the fat ugly man, was once lovely, funny, child. She showed that side of him very well.

Lots of people are warning you that this presentation of Queen Katherine's story isn't historically accurate. Piffle. You probably already knew that, and you probably didn't care.

When I read a historical novel, whether it's about Anne Bolyn or Merlin or Queen Esther, it's not because I want a factual history of who begat whom. I'm perfectly happy to read a non-fiction account of such things, and if you read through some of my book reviews you'll see that I do so rather often.

What you want from a historical novel, or at least what *I* want, and why I'm recommending this book, is "a" story (not "the" story) of a prominent individual, and how he or she got that way. Whether wholly factual, like Marie Antoinette, or semi-mythical, like King Arthur, we wonder what courage or presence of mind or fears that individual dealt with. I've read nearly every Arthurian tale I could get my hands on, just because I love seeing Merlin painted first as a dotty Dumbledore-like wizard, next as a mystical psychic, another time as an engineer who inherited a sword made from a meteorite. All of them are true; none of them are true. That's what fiction is about. I'm perfectly willing to suspend my disbelief, and to dive headlong into good talespinning. And Gregory certainly achieves that.

The key question behind Gregory's handling of Catalina/Katherine is this: the woman undeniably was brought to England to marry the older son, married the younger son after the first boy's death, and eventually had to deal with Anne Bolyn (who gets a lot more airplay). To the last, Katherine maintained that she was the true queen and Henry was her husband. She was steadfast, she was resiliant, and she was, as the title says, constant. From where does one get such strength? How can one be so sure of one's rightness? Katherine of Aragon got it from _somewhere_, certainly -- and Gregory gives her a story worth reading.

Is it factual? I doubt it. For one thing, as in most romances (and this certainly is one, if not following a usual format), the hero and heroine are just a little too shiny, and they make understandable if not good decisions. (The young Arthur, Henry's older brother, is a sensitive new-age kind of prince.) I do prefer stories in which the characters grow up a little more -- Henry was painted as a bit too petulant and spoiled, when I know full well he was brilliant too -- but I enjoyed reading the story. Set aside what you "know" about these characters, and I think you'll enjoy it too.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about the Spanish Queen of England. The character development of Catalina (Katherine) expertly took you from her childhood in Moorish palaces to the Queen who controlled and manipulated a young King Henry in order to rule England her own way. I now think of Katherine of Aragon as more than just Henry VIII's first wife and victim.

Catalina, was born the last daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Her childhood had many contrasts - constant war with the Moors and other neighbors in an effort by her parents to unify Spain into one country; but also a childhood of luxury and beauty in the Moorish palaces conquered by her famous parents. Catalina was betrothed to Prince Arthur in England at her birth and her parents raised her to know she was destined to be Princess of Wales and Queen of England. This marriage was planned to form a political alliance between Spain and England so the 2 countries could become an invincible war machine against their enemies.

As a young girl of 16, she was sent to England to marry Prince Arthur who dies months after their marriage. After his death, Catalina is left alone and destitute by her Spanish family and the English Tudor family, but she maintains her dignity and assertion that she was born to be Queen of England - she is the "Constant Princess". She grows into a strong and determined woman and endures loneliness, rejection and poverty in a foreign land away from her family and friends to get what she wants. I highly recommend this fictional account of Katherine's life.

This is a historical novelization of Queen Katherine of Aragon, first wife of King Henry VIII. It starts with Katherine(Catalina) as a child and ends when Anne Boleyn is in the process of usurping her as Henry VIII's wife.

The first half of the book was interesting with the portrayal of 15th/16th century Europe and the making of political alliances between countries. It showed that royal parents such as Ferdinand/Isabella and Henry VII/Elizabeth viewed their offspring more as chess pieces than family members. This seems to be the historical part. The fiction part seems to be portraying Katherine and Arthur as a royal couple that fall in love (serendipity!). She has Katherine and Arthur consummate their marriage as well. The future king Henry VIII is attracted to Katherine. If I wanted to have only history I'd stay with Alison Weir or Antonia Fraser. I don't object to this.

The novel seemed to go astray by portraying Queen Katherine with 20th/21st politically correct sensibilities. Spain bore the brunt of struggles against the Moslems during her life. It's a little easy that her family would have been so discerning to surgically excise what they didn't like about Moslems, and appreciate what was positive(their advances in science and medicine). I doubt Queen Katherine would have been so appreciative of it.

What I would have liked to see:

-The rivalry of Katherine and Anne Boleyn.

-The years when Mary Tudor was a child.

To me it seemed that after the battle against King James of Scotland, it was fast forwarded to her divorce with Henry VIII. I had the impression that her editors were hurrying the author to get another Tudor Era historical novel to the printing presses. I was a little disappointed after reading "The Other Boleyn Girl".

The Constant Princess / 0-7432-7249-8

Everyone loves Tudor history, but too often we only really start to pay attention when Anne Boleyn enters the scene. In "The Constant Princess", Gregory has put together an entertaining fictional account which attempts to bring us the early years of Katherine. While a lot of historical detail has clearly gone into the novel, it is important to remember that the work is fictional, and not meant to be a history text.

Katherine's childhood and tutelage under her iron-willed mother Isabel is shown, and we are given a careful look into the character of Katherine. She is deeply religious, yes, but incredibly strong-willed and driven. She also understands that while her parents love her, she is their bargaining chip first and a daughter second. When her arranged marriage fails due to the tragic death of her young husband, she is faced with a choice: go back to Spain and become a minor Spanish duchess, or spin the audacious lie that she is still a virgin and eligible to marry the next English heir.

Gregory carefully notes the animosity against Katherine by the chilly royal family, and emphasizes the relative poverty in which Katherine was forced to live during the time between her husband's death and her eventual marriage to Henry. Henry is seen here as a spoiled child, who is more than willing to leave the mundane affairs of rulership and budgeting to his older, more competent queen. We see the impetuous and careless cruelty that causes Henry to abandon his pregnant queen to seek the arms of someone else rather than accept a temporarily imposed chastity. Thus we also see in his treatment of Katherine a shadow of things to come later: if Henry cannot remain faithful to his wise and valuable princess-wife, what hope have the later girls to come?

The character of Katherine is sterling here, and it is easy for the reader to agree that her lie is a necessary evil in order for her to become what she feels destined her to be. We sympathize with Katherine the girl as she is beset by difficulties that she bravely tries to weather; we fear for Katherine the woman, whom we know will be forced aside later for a younger woman. We feel a sympathy with this lesser-known figure of the famous drama and it is easy to imagine that Katherine may not blame Anne, but rather recognizes that her husband is an inconstant monarch destined to betray her.

~ Ana Mardoll

I've lived in Spain on two occasions, and pride myself on having travelled to many Moorish cultural legacies in Spain, as well as important strategic sites in the Reconquista. I am fascinated by the 700-year rule of the Moors, who made the Caliphate in Spain the gem of a Europe plunged into the Dark Ages; Granada and Cordoba were centers for learning, medicine, culture, and architecture, vastly advanced in terms of technology and hygiene, their learning unmatched. Unfortunately, after Isabel and Ferdinand captured Granada, the last stronghold of a weakening Moorish empire, all of the wise physicians, poets, and scholars were expelled, executed as heretics, or forced to convert to Christianity in the Holy Inquisition.

The beginning of "The Constant Princess" finds a young Princess Catalina of Aragon on the battlefield near Granada, terrified as an accidental fire turns the camp into an inferno. Queen Isabel rides out to calm the panicking soldiers, and Catalina learns early on the power a leader has on her men, the show of invincibility, and her mother's absolute belief that she is favoured and chosen by God. There are numerous episodes between the Christian monarchs and their soldiers in recapturing Spain from the Moors, including battles between Moorish and Christian soldiers and the anecdote of Boabdil fleeing Granada in defeat, with his mother's admonishment of "weeping like a woman for the land he could not defend as a man." There are beautful descriptions of the Catholic monarchs entering Granada to take control of the city.

These early years as the daughter of monarchs on a crusade have shaped her to her very core, teaching her how to effectively lead, strategize, and respect one's enemy. Catalina is betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales, and as a homesick sixteen-year-old, finds herself alone in dreary England. She strives to keep some semblance of her Spanish court around her. Not speaking English, she is only able to converse in French and Latin, and finds her new husband to be cold and aloof.

Eventually, Catalina, now Katherine, and Arthur learn to love each other passionately, but her heart is broken when Arthur dies only five months after their marriage. She makes a deathbed promise to Arthur that she will lie about being a virgin and wed his younger brother Harry instead, but King Henry lustfully wants her for himself and attempts to force Katherine to marry him. Refusing, she is spited by being forced to live as a pauper on the fringes of court for seven long years in exile, with her surviving father King Ferdinand and her husband-in-law bargaining over her dowry.

Katherine courts favour with the young prince, and is finally Queen of England, a title she has owned since childhood. She discovers in her long trials that her mother was not the saint that she believed as a child; after a series of miscarriages, Catalina secretly enlists the help of a Moorish physician, recoiling from him as a heathen, but realizes that when Ferdinand and Isabel expelled the Jews and Muslims from Spain, so, too, did they rid Europe of its most accomplished physicians, poets, and scholars.

Catalina comes to realize her parents' grave error as there are no learned doctors in England, no libraries to match the splendours of the Alhambra, with its translated Greek manuscripts and treatises on medicine and learning, no hygiene (the Alhambra had hot baths and piped running water; in England, some English bathed only once a year), and poor dietary habits: fruits and vegetables are not viewed as edible food in England, nor is most water potable. The wretched weather dampens her spirit as she longs for the searingly hot summers of Andalusia.

The Alhambra in particular is brought to beautiful life in the days when it was still an enchanted palace; neglect, later invasions and misguided restorations have since destroyed portions of this beautiful surviving Arabic palace, with its delicate stucco filigree, intricate tiling, secret gardens, and omnipresent fountains (it is truly one of the wonders of the world and should be visited). Gregory's loving attention to the Alhambra's architecture, sacred Qur'an inscriptions, and Moorish ballads, dress, food, and customs rang true with my scholarly studies of Moorish culture in Spain.

I found "The Constant Princess" to be well-written and absorbing, particularly in its detailled descriptions of life in Granada under the Moors and its high praise for Moorish culture (once despised and destroyed after the Reconquista) and its attention to historical detail and daily life in Spanish and English courts. Catalina is a powerful narrator, and much of the action is solely comprised of her internal thoughts as she struggles with years of exile in England waiting to finally ascend the throne and rule England as she was trained to do since childhood. Fans of historical fiction and Spanish history should greatly enjoy "The Constant Princess," but if you prefer swashbuckling action to details of court life, you'd best look elsewhere as "The Constant Princess" tends to meander.

....because we never stop being reminded that Catalina is a "princess of Spain" and the "Princess of Wales" from the very first! I wanted to love this book because I'm interested in learning about Catherine of Aragon, but this is obviously not the place. Right now I'm trying to decide whether to spend time finishing this book! The main character, sadly, is not one we can really love or sympathize with...she's so busy touting herself as princess and queen that it's hard to see underneath that. Also, I think the story seems ridiculous because it jumps from Catherine being cast aside and living in poverty after Arthur's death to manipulating Henry and ending up as the one in charge and "ruling" England! I know this is a novel, fiction....but much of it is not the slightest bit believable. This is the first book by Phillipa Gregory that I've read, and it's disappointing...perhaps I'll talk myself into trying another one some time due to many of the glowing reviews here of a number of her other stories. I'm a person who despises picking up a book and not finishing, but in this case, I may have to go against my principles!

Since there is a lot of buzz going around regarding Philippa Gregory's new novel ('The Other Queen,' scheduled for release on 9/16/08), I thought I'd post a quick review of one of her earlier novels, 'The Constant Princess.'

While there's been a lot of non-fiction books written about Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine of Aragon, there hasn't been too much written in the historical fiction arena, other than as a minor character in other novel's about Henry, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I, or Mary I.

This well-written novel is written from the perspective of Katherine herself. It begins with her childhood as the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand and tells the story of her betrothal to Arthur, the eldest son of Henry VII and heir to the English throne. A beautiful love story emerges between Katherine and Arthur as they grow up together and Katherine is raised in the English court in preparation for her future role as Queen of England.

I don't want to give away any spoilers for those who are unfamiliar with Katherine's story beyond this. It's enough to say that her life took many unfortunate turns and she was very much alone in a foreign and hostile country far away from her family who eventually abandons her, too. She relied on her faith to endure and sustain her through some horrific circumstances and maintained her dignity throughout. This novel is never boring or slow....it keeps your attention and draws you into Katherine's world. She is a very sympathetic character and inspires admiration for her perseverance and dignity. I highly recommend this novel if you're just now discovering Philippa Gregory.

This was a good book and I'm glad it's going to be made into a TV series. The prelude takes place in July 1491, then the story takes place from Nov. 1501 to autumn 1513. I liked when it discussed the cultural differences of Spain and England. I very much recommend that you read The Daughters of Spain by Jean Plaidy before reading this book.

Catalina is daughter of two of the greatest monarch's Europe has seen. She has known since she was three that in addition to being an Infanta of Spain she is the Princess of Wales and will one day be Queen of England. Nothing will stop her from claiming these titles that she see's as her birth right. Not the death of her first husband Arthur, her parents refusal to pay the rest of her dowry or her inability to secure a betrothal to Arthur's younger brother, Harry.

I'm a Gregory fan, for the most part. There are always things about her novels that make them slightly irritating, but that rarely effects the breakneck pace I read them at. The Constant Princess was no different. I really enjoyed Catalina/Katherine's thoughts and life as she journeyed from Spain to England. Her life is usually thought of as the First wife of Henry VIII, the woman set aside for Anne Boleyn, and the mother of 'Bloody" Mary I. It was nice to see her young and in love, even if her first, love filled marriage is short.

Her time waiting to become princess again is a bit long. Catalina's italicized thoughts take up pages and pages where before they book up a page at the very most. Her waiting and scheming would be very irritating if you didn't know she would be successful. All the odds are against her and her attitude, as well as Henry VII and his mother Margaret Beaufort are irritating.

Her actual reign as Henry's queen is more interesting and gives a lot of insigt into a time I didn't know much about. She was a much stronger woman that I would have previously given her credit for. I'd been putting off reading The Constant Princess because Katherine didn't interest me as much as Henry's other wives/other historical women, but I'm glad I did pick it up. A very enjoyable read.

The woman that we have all come to know as Queen Katherine of Aragon began as the Infanta Catalina of Spain. As is expected of any princess, a marriage is arranged for her; she is to marry Prince Arthur - England's King Henry VII's eldest son. Upon reaching England, Catalina finds that this marriage is not what she expects it to be, and neither is the boy she married. As fate would have it, Arthur's life is extinguished during The Sweat that swept England soon after their marriage. King Henry, not wanting to lose the valuable asset he just brought to England, soon marries her to his other son, who would later become Henry VIII...

This was my first Philippa Gregory book that I read and I was NOT disappointed. There is an amazing love story that really pulled on my heart strings. I instantly connected with Catalina (I continued to think of her as that throughout the whole book) and very strongly felt what she felt. Gregory's writing style instantly pulls you in and never lets go until the end. I enjoyed getting to know Catalina from her early days, something that is not really focused on in other novels.

Gregory DOES change many events in the book from what is known to have really happened. The good thing about this though, is that this is Historical Fiction and that is what I expect. If you are looking for true facts, check out a non-fiction book, but for a good story, try this on for size.

This is the first work of several by Philippa Gregory dealing with the wives of England's King Henry VIII. This week tells the story of Henry's first wife, Queen Katherine of Aragon, the daughter of Isabella and Fredinand. However, Catalina originally traveled to England as the bride of Henry's older brother, Arthur, raised since birth to be the next king of England. As a young couple, Catalina and Arthur make plans to bring about a glorious kingdom. However, after Arthur falls ill, Katherine knows that she must take drastic measures if she is going to achieve her destiny as she has been taught since childhood- to be Queen of England.

Quote: "In those days before her coronation, Catalina established herself as the undeniable queen, and those who had ignored her years of poverty now discovered in themselves tremendous affection and respect for the princess. She accepted their admiration, just as she had accepted their neglect."

I liked this book a lot, especially because I really enjoy this period in history, both in fiction and nonfiction. Katherine does not always get a lot of press among Henry's wives, especially in her early years, before another future queen comes on the scene. I am looking forward to reading the next two books of Gregory's about wives of this court, although it will be difficult to adjust to leaving Katherine's perspective. I am hoping that Gregory will next turn her attention to the monarchs of Scotland who lived during this time.

This is the story of Katherine of Aragon. It begins with her life in Spain as a girl, Catalina the Infanta. She grows up watching Ferdinand and Isabel rule and fighting in battle. She is betrothed since she could remember to Prince Arthur of Wales, thus joining Spain and England against France. The descriptions of Spain and the Moors in Cordova, the Alhambra, La Granja, etc. made you wish you could be there to see the colors of the gardens, the smell of the spices and the colorful garments. Gregory excells in taking you there.

It is a bittersweet story for Katherine who does marry Arthur and after his death his brother King Henry VIII. She is the first of his wives. She ends up being the better leader, taking command of his army as Regent and defeating the Scots soundly. Alas, we know how she is rewarded. The ending was too rushed, but otherwise a great read, my favorite of the Tudor Court series.

This fictional biography is well written and researched. It mainly focuses on Katherine's childhood and early years as queen. Philippe Gregory makes the presumption that Katherine had not only consummated her marriage to Prince Aurtur, but also made a bedside promise to him to continue their plans of development of England as king and queen. Her slant on their relationship makes more sense than believing the marriage was only an aquaintenship.

The only disappointment was skipping over the hardships Katherine faces when Anne Bolyn came into the picture. It skipped to a very brief description of her trial, and didn't address the years of exile until her death. Even with this lack, it is one of the author's best works. I highly recommend it.

I loved reading Gregory's books- The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance- so I thought for sure The Constant Princess would be a great read. Boy, was I disappointed. I thought the author hurried through this one and that maybe she didn't research well enough. It read like a predictable romance in the beginning, which I found repetitive and sticky sweet, almost boring. Then it just got worse. I didn't really connect with Katherine as I had wanted and I really didn't understand why the author shifted from first person to third person. That really bothered me.
I must say that I am glad I started with Phillipa Gregory's other novels before I began this one, otherwise I don't think I would have read anything else by her.
My quest to gain knowledge of Katherine of Aragon must continue and I hope to find what I'm looking for in Jean Plaidy- an expert in historical fiction about the queens of England.

Knowing absolutely nothing about the history, I was able to enjoy this book without being put off by the apparent historical inaccuracies. My main problem with the book is that it seems the entire end of the book is cut off. We go into great detail about Katherine's life for many years, we see her relationship with Arthur, her relationship with Henry, we share her sorrow when she loses her babies. The main part of the book ends with Katherine being pregnant (we assume with Mary), but we don't get to experience her joy of finally having a child. The relationship between Katherine and Henry goes from being amicable (and him being an apologetic cheater) to years ahead when he's leaving her for good, with no explanation as to how we got there. How did Katherine fall out of favor? Why did Henry reconcile with Anne after sending her away from court? There's a huge gap at the end, almost as if they ran out of budget and had to cut some pages, so they just took a bunch out.

Yes, this work is fiction. It doesn't pretend to be anything else. Don't read this book for historical fact. Read it for Philippa Gregory's stunningly beautiful prose and masterful storytelling capability.

I could not put this book down. After I read it, I felt so sad and empty that it was over, so I promptly went to the beginning and started over. And I've read it numerous times since. The way Gregory writes Katherine/Catalina was brilliant. The Katherine in this story is brave beyond belief, strong, stubborn yet vulnerable, intelligent, heroic, and tragic.

There are times in the early part of the book where you just want to tell Katherine to shut up about the "I will be the Princess of Wales and Future Queen of England" thing, and there are times when you'll be annoyed with her intolerance towards anything non-Catholic. But here's the beauty of Gregory's storytelling: Katherine emotionally grows up during the course of the book. She evolves. She learns. She questions things she previously thought were unquestionable, like her mother always being on the side of God. Her life takes her down paths that she never thought she'd tread. You will love her, root for her, want to protect her, and smack her...all at the same time.

This is a truly wonderful book that blew me away. You don't have to be a royal watcher or a royal junkie to love this book. You just have to love brilliant writing.

This is the fictionalized story of Catalina, the first wife of Henry the VIII, and the one he was wedded to the longest, unless you buy that the marriage was fairly annulled.

The thing with historical fiction is that you have to read it with acceptance that a writer will make up or fill in that which she cannot know, railing against a writer for doing this when the book is labeled historical fiction is silly.

What we do now about Catalina is that she was the daughter of two strong rulers -- Ferdinand and Isabella. The royal upbringing taught her how to endure with dignity and the royal blood probably saved her life. History shows her to be a woman who again and again patiently accepted adversity and indignities for her belief that she was the rightful Queen of England. The book embellishes this trait, but the truth of it is well-represented in the history books.

Catalina came for a warm, sunny palace into a cold rainy land filled with strangers. She was widowed early, having married Henry's older brother, and then spent years in limbo while her father-in-law tried to see if she could do better than her for the spare who was now the heir. She was reduced to tatters, couldn't pay her staff, and had to sell her valuables, but she waited. And she did this when she was still a child, really.

Decades later her husband sought to deny their marriage, to have it annulled. He kept her daughter from her. She stripped her of her title, only allowing her the title of Dowager Princess due her for being his brother's widow. In seeking to take away her dignity he lost his own.

This is the historical truth and it's fascinating, but these facts alone don't make a novel, they don't honor the fact that this woman lived. What the book does is imagine what the flesh and blood woman would have been like, where did she get her resolve? Did she love Henry? Did she love his brother, Arthur? Did she ever doubt? Did she ever want to waiver? She'd denied her first marriage was consummated and Henry was eager to believe it until he wanted her gone. What the author does is give one theory on her first marriage that there would be no way to verify...

But that's okay.

It doesn't matter if Gregory is right, and it's doubtful that she was exactly right, because that ceases to be the point. We don't know and will never know what Catalina did or felt, but what Gregory reminds us is that she lived, and that she felt love for her countries -- Spain and England -- and that she was cast aside for no other reason than she hit menopause before producing a male heir for a man who'd become a petulant child. And that she deserved better than that, but that she knew that.

I like the historical woman and I liked the fictional version I met in the book, and I don't need to think that Gregory got her exactly right, because writing this genre seems pretty thankless. I can enjoy both the framework of history, as well as the made-up story.

The journey of the fictional woman was from a place of a well-indoctrinated child with many admirable qualities, but also the prejudices of her parent, to a place where she can question her past beliefs. There is no indication this is factually true, but was believable and interesting in the context of fiction.

When history buffs get angry at fictional elements in a book clearly marked as such, when they get wild-eyed because a writer doesn't support their pet theory, they harm the memory of the historical character more than help that memory, because they don't allow the person a chance to live again. They also insult the reader by saying they can't comprehend the difference between the truth and the make-believe parts. I'm sure there are confused people, aren't there always?

I recommend this story for history buffs, for people who enjoy women's fiction, and for those people who can handle both in one book.

The author does quite well in telling the story of the young Infanta Katalina, daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, betrothed at three years old to Arthur, Prince of Wales, son of England's Henry VII.
She knows she will one day be ruler of a distant cold land.

Her reception in England is rude and shocking as she is insulted by an arrogant and seemingly coarse King Henry VII, and married to the callow and awkward Arthur.
She must hold on to all her faith and strength against the rude attentions of the king and the domination of the king's cold and hard mother Lady Margaret of Beaufort.
After the death of Arthur, the ambitious Katalina aims to marry Arthur's younger brother Henry Prince of Wales against the opposition of the king (who had himself hoped towed Catherine) and the dowager king's mother Margaret.
The author does well in exploring the young Katalina's emotions and the power play in the English court.
the central themes are that Catherine's marriage to Arthur was consummated and Catherine kept this a secret in order to become Queen after Arthur's death.
This forms the base of the narrative. The truth is we will never know and historical novel writing is indeed about surmising and filling in the gaps.
What I disliked about the book was the political statement by the author who uses the novel to try to praise what she refers to as "the rich beautiful and tolerant culture of the Muslims of Spain."
The truth is that the Muslim Empire of the Moors was built on conquest and aimed to forcibly convert non-Muslims, treating minorities with a Dhimmi status (Ever heard of the slaughter in Spain by the fanatical Almohads?)
Whatever the case, this was not the time and place for the author to make a political statement about what she sees Christian bias and the need for accommodation with the Islamic world.
It is doubtful that Catherine of Aragon cherished Islamic culture and she certainly did not regret her country's defence against the Moors.
Why ruin the novel with this 21st century PC drivel about 'prejudice' against poor innocent Moslems and how Katherine realizes the wrongs of all of this and how the war against the Moslems by Spain is sooo wrong. The Spanish were fighting to get their land back from the Islamic Empire.,..hardly something to apologize about.
Clearly the author was trotting out the line so popular today that we shouldn't fight back against Moslems.
You wouldn't have got that sort of drivel in a histroical novel twenty years ago or before.

A friend of mine LOVES Phillipa Gregory, and she encouraged me to start with this one saying, "It's not the best book, but it has good background information." Understatement. It's definitely NOT the best book and the background information can't possibly be worth the time I just invested in it.

Whatever you do, do not spend money on this book. If you MUST read it, BORROW it! I got to page 160 and nearly quit reading it after seeing that all the 1-star reviews here on the store were saying what I was already feeling about the book. It got mildly better in the 2nd third of the book, but then awful in the last third again.

The book is written in 3rd and 1st person narrative, the 1st person being all in italics which is jarring and distracting. It's choppy and repetitive. I started skipping those sections entirely, but the last third of the book is practically all italics, and I don't know why.

I'll save you the trouble of reading it. Here are the bullet points:
-- Catherine of Aragon was betrothed to Arthur, son of King Henry VII, first Tudor king;
-- she repeatedly refers to herself as "Infanta of Spain, Princess of Wales, Queen of England";
-- she marries Arthur, consummates the marriage (contrary to actual history), loves him passionately;
-- he dies;
-- she spends years in poverty waiting to marry Henry VIII;
-- she has a miscarriage and a newborn death;
-- there's some war with France and Scotland;
-- there are two pages of a courtroom scene after Henry falls for Anne Boleyn;
-- thank God, the end of the book!!!

Wikipedia would be far more interesting (and quicker) to read.

What I love about Philippa Gregory is her ability to take characters from history that are well known to us in an over-simplified, one dimensional ways and completely re-tell their stories. She has given us the strong Elizabeth I as a lovesick, indecisive fool rather than the steely ruler we normally think of, and demonized Anne Boleyn nearly as badly as did her contemporary court accusers. Now Katherine of Aragon, normally seen as stubborn, unattractive and clingy, is presented to us as a military strategist, a skilled puppeteer of powerful men, and a passionate lover. Her religious fanaticism is re-examined and presented in a new light, and a respect for Muslim culture (and semi-Muslim living!) is surprisingly juxtaposed against her Catholic faith.

While I love Gregory's imaginative and interpretative abilities regarding Tudor England, I'd actually rank this with 3.5 stars rather than four. Nit-picky? Perhaps. The book is good - better than just "OK." But the story still left me wanting more action in some places, less "poor me" introspection at other times, and to see this fiery Katherine actually assert herself at least once, rather than smile and maneuver. I wanted more passion in the story - it was only sparked in here and there. It's not Gregory's best (read The Other Boleyn Girl, Wideacre or Earthly Joys for that), but it's good Gregory.

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory. This novel is by one of the foremost historical fiction writers. Her books are well researched and her characters come to life in an unforgettable way. The constant princess is Katherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella who were the rulers of Spanish kingdoms in the late 1400's and early 1500's. Their daughter, Catalina, was betrothed from a young age to marry the prince of England in order to unite the growing Spain with England and make the developing countries strong against powerful France. Catalina is constant in fulfilling her duty of becoming the 15 year old bride, renamed anglicized "Katherine," and ultimately becoming Queen of England, always enduring great difficulties but also finding love. You'll be spellbound by the book and you'll appreciate European history with the insights you gain through this admirable woman's story.

I found this book amazing in outlining Katherine's great ambition to become the Queen of England and her journey to the throne. From her marriage to Author to her divorce, Katherine is presented as one of the strongest women of her time and literally paves the way for Elizabeth to be the queen she would become.

I understand a lot of you other reviewers who are angry that the novel is not necessarily historically accurate in whether Katherine was a virgin or not, but the novel is meant to be more than that. She was a woman born to be Queen of England, she may have possibly lied to attain the throne. Will we ever know, I certainly think not, and I don't think her word is enough in historical hindsight to confirm her virginity. Yes she was a very devout woman, but even those who are devout will do things that are uncharacteristic to achieve their goals.

I have also heard this book called a romance and I would say that is an utter mischaracterization of the book. Yes Gregory presents Katherine's great love for Arthur and presents it as a great push for her to become queen, but it is more about Katherine's struggle to reach the throne than anything else. Their love affair gave us an interesting view of Spain and yes could be called cheesy as well, but it is this that sets up her fight for the throne.

Read the book, and form your own opinion. I'm a history junkie too and though Gregory's theory could be wrong, it's an interesting look of a woman remembered for being the first anulled wife of a king. Katherine was a strong queen and if she had had a son, who knows how everything would have turned out.

Philippa Gregory does a wonderful job researching her history. The story about Katherine of Aragon is compelling and that Ms. Gregory has set the story around Katherine's youth and at her most powerful is a nice change from her just being Henry XIII's abandoned first wife.

At the end of the book, the author answers some questions. This helps put in context her telling of Katherine's tale. The only thing I questioned was her assumption that Henry's self focus was based on an indulged youth as "second son" because he was not expected to ascend the throne. Henry's elder brother, Arthur, died when Henry was only 11 and he doesn't actually become king till seven years later. There was lots of king-in-training time.

Philippa Gregory has written some excellent historical novel in the past and this one is certainly up there with the best of them. She has the ability as an author to draw you into the story in such a way as to make you feel that you have gone back in time. The sights, the sounds, even the smells of 16th century England seem to be there before your eyes and under your nose.

Children were married young in those days and the three year old child Katherine of Aragon has been betrothed to the English King's son Prince Arthur. The Prince is the heir of Henry VII. Even at that tender age Katherine realises that it is her destiny to rule England, a far off land, of which she knows nothing...

Her arrival at the English court as a young girl does not start well and Arthur seems somewhat childish in her eyes. Slowly she begins to adapt to her life at English court and the strange customs of the land and slowly but surely a tender love develops between the two. Something that is far from normal in the arranged marriages of the time.

But when Arthur dies Katherine is left to make her own future. How can she now be the Queen . . .?

Philippa Gregory has got the formula for these books down to a fine art and they are very interesting well researched books that are extremely readable.

This is typical Phillipa Gregory historic fiction. Katherine's marriage and intimate relations with her first husband, Arthur, is well written and Gregory's version of events surrounding this time in her life are believable, although her lifelong obsession with carrying out Arthur's wishes of another Camelot were over-dramatic and over-written.

This novel does include Gregory's trademark descriptions around events, clothing, and locations, all of which are captivating and intricantly detailed. You quickly become attached to Katherine's character. You will experience the victory of her long-awaited coronation as England's Queen, as well as the desperation of her last days in exile.

If you enjoy Gregory's other works, and have a moderate interest in Henry's first wife, then this book should be an enjoyable read for you.

Book The Constant Princess is about King Henry VIII's first wife Katherine of Aragon, mostly before they get married. She is betrothed to Henry's older brother Arthur at the age of three and grew up her entire life knowing that she would someday be the queen of England. Her first marriage gets off to a rocky start, but eventually she and Arthur learn to love one another and have a rather passionate four months together before he dies. It is at this point that Katherine's fate is undecided. She is the right political match for Henry but she's 6 years his senior, and since he's only 11 at the time that's a big deal. Henry VII, Henry VIII's father, takes a liking to Katherine and proposes marriage to her after his wife Elizabeth dies in childbirth. Katherine at first accepts but then realizes that her power would be minimal with such a strong king and decides to wait for Henry to figure out that they should be married. Of course he does, they are betrothed, but Henry VII doesn't make life easy for Katherine, keeping her in poverty by refusing her allowance and making life otherwise miserable for her. He soon dies, though, leaving Henry free to choose his wife, so he chooses Katherine. The story ends with Katherine's triumphant victory over the Scots through a battle that ended in King James's death.

While I really enjoyed the first half of this book, the middle and latter half really brought me down. Katherine suffered the plight of so many other of Gregory's heroines: power greed. Gregory paints such a power hungry picture of Katherine that she ceases to be a "real" character for me and moves into the archetype that she created with Anne Boleyn. And while I don't doubt that someone of Katherine's station has to be power hungry, the overt manipulations, the decisions, the plotting, all get old after a couple hundred pages. And the epiphany on the battle field where Katherine realizes that if she were to lay waste to Scotland that she would be perpetuating her mother's wrongs, fell flat for me. I guess Katherine had grown and matured by that point, but the switch was so abrupt that it felt lacking in sincerity.

So, while I would recommend this book to lovers of Gregory's work, especially the Tudor era novels, I would recommend those who want a less stock portrayal of Katherine to steer clear of it. I will read her next book, the Boleyn Inheritance, because I like her story telling and can tolerate her women when they get greedy, but I would love a more holistic portrayal of the life and times of the Henry VIII court that what was found in the Queen's Fool.

This book had a great beginning. The first chapter really hooked me in. The image of a barefoot princess standing atop a chest watching her mother ride off into flaming battle is particularly haunting. I wish I could say that the rest of the book was as striking to me.

Now, I'm not going to comment on the historical inaccuracies of this book, since so many other reviewers have been gracious enough to cover everything I'd want to say, but since it's been proven that Ms. Gregory has taken liberties with historical facts (I'm okay with that - there's a reason the word FICTION is part of the genre title), I wish she would add some details into the story to make it more interesting.

I loved the descriptions of the Moorish culture in Spain, like the Alhambra, but unfortunately that's the most interesting part of the book. After the part where Arthur gets sick, nothing really interested me. When Catalina and Arthur get married, they act like petulant children, instead of teenagers who were raised to rule a country someday. Then they magically fall in love after a huge fight, and have a storybook romance with not a fight between them. I know this book is historical fiction, but considering the liberties the author has taken with a lot of other facts in this era, couldn't she have put some conflict into the mix to liven the story up? As a writer, I can tell you that no story is interesting without conflict of some sort, and we see no conflict in about 100 pages of this book. Ms. Gregory could have added adventurous hunts, matrimonial fights, conflicts with spying servants, snarky castle-mates, etc, but there is next to nothing of interest happening after the first chapter. As far as story ideas go, this was very disappointing to me.

I really didn't think the multiple point of view storytelling was particularly beneficial to the story. Ms. Gregory would have done quite well to cut out the first person altogether. The story flowed just fine without it.

As somewhat of a history nerd, I have collected a lot of knowledge about this time period, and knew how the story is going to end. If you don't, I'm sure you can gather it from the other reviews on here. After the first hundred pages, I debated whether I wanted to finish this book or not. I already knew the ending, but I'd hoped the quality of the storytelling will improve. Not really.

Before the slings and arrows start up, I will say that yes, this is a work of fiction. However, given my previous encounters with the works of Philippa Gregory, I didn't have much hope either of the novel being that good either.

Gregory's Katherine (or Catalina, as she is known through most of the book) is continually aware that she is the adored, youngest daughter of Spain's Isabella and Ferdinand, and destined for greatness. We first encounter her as a small child, with her parents' armies, watching the conquest of the last outpost of the Moors in Spain, Granada. She learns not to ever show fear, and that absolute faith in God is what is needed for survival. When she arrives in England to become the bride of King Henry VII's son, Arthur, both of those traits will serve her for what awaits ahead. Catalina has a grand marriage, but her young bridegroom is shy, and not quite what she had expected, still she makes the best of it, and falls passionately in love with her Arthur, only to face disgrace and poverty after a short marriage of mere months. A deathbed promise has her tenaciously hanging onto her rank as Arthur's widow, and she stubbornly maintains that she is still a virgin, even though she knows it's a lie, even though that lie will haunt her for the rest of her life, and bring her to disaster.

Along the way, we are treated to some florid writing, a world where everyone lies, quite a few inaccuracies (I can't imagine the Spanish court adopting moorish dress in private), a Katherine of Aragon who was noted for her sincerity, piety and kindness becoming a Machivellian schemer, a Henry VII who is lusting after his daughter-in-law, and a Henry VIII who is as dense as he is charming. Despite the author's note, and her use of a bibliography, I found this to be a disappointing read. Part of the problem is that I'm familiar with the history of the period, and Gregory's twisting of the facts and that she focuses mostly on the more base emotions is off-putting after a while, and the main turn of the plot -- namely that Katherine's one true love is Arthur -- is ludicrous, given her defense of her marriage later on in life in the face of the divorce and fight that Henry put up. I honestly can't see this woman putting up with twenty years of marriage to a man that she's stringing along and manipulating.

If you haven't read the recent excellent nonfiction works on Henry VIII and his queens by Starkey, Fraser and Weir, you might enjoy this one, but those who have studied the Tudors may find themselves either laughing at this work or flinging it at the wall in disgust.

"The Constant Princess" was written by Philippa Gregory, the author of many excellent books including "The Other Boleyn Girl" and "The Virgin's Lover." I expected it to be a lot better than it actually is.

This book is about Catalina, the daughter of Spain's King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Catalina has been betrothed to Prince Arthur, son of the King of England, ever since she was a young girl. Catalina grows up and fulfills her destiny by marrying Arthur when she is 15 years old. Their marriage is uncertain at first, but soon the newlyweds fall in love and plan their future together. Their happiness is cut short when Arthur falls ill and dies several months after the wedding. Catalina is forced to grieve for her husband in secret so she can find a way to honor the deathbed promise she made to him, which was to marry his younger brother instead so that Catalina can still become Queen of England.

It takes many years of waiting (and fending off the unwanted advances of her father-in-law) before Catalina finally gets her way. She marries the headstrong Henry VIII and becomes Queen Katherine of England. Never letting go of her love for Arthur, Katherine carries on with her life and struggles to carry a child to term, maintain her husband's affections, and rule a country.

There are parts of this book that are very interesting, but a lot of the content is repetitive and dull. Catalina is an admirable character, but her whole "I am the Infanta of Spain!" song and dance gets really annoying after a while, as does her constant whining about her "destiny." Also, the portion of the book devoted to Catalina and Arthur's romance is supposed to be very touching, but I think it contains way too many chapters detailing the two of them telling stories and singing songs in bed. How boring. Finally, the whole concept of Henry VIII's father lusting after Catalina seemed a bit farfetched to me, and that aspect of the story took away from the rest of the book.

This is the fourth book of Gregory's that I've read so far, and it is definitely my least favorite. If you're interested in learning more about Katherine of Aragon, I'm sure you will appreciate bits and pieces of the story, but it just isn't as gripping of a novel as Gregory's other works.

I was quite disappointed with the Constant Princess after having LOVED The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queens' Fool and having enjoyed The Virgin's Lover (although it wasn't as good as the previous two).

What can be seen as a prequel to The Other Boleyn Girl, this novel tells the story of Catalina, Infanta of Spain, Princess of Wales as she moves to England from her beloved Spain to marry Prince Arthur and eventually become the Queen of England, her lifelong goal as we are so frequently reminded. The author breaks from her usual writing style to introduce Catalina's thoughts in the form of stream-of-consciousness rants which interrupt the third person storyteller every few pages or so. It is completely distracting and did nothing but take away from the telling of the story.

What could have been an extremely riviting tale became boring and monotonous- pages upon pages described simply her idolization of her parents King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and her "especial relationship" with her G-d which proved she was born to be Queen of England, despite what she had to go through to claim her title.

Additionally, about 2/3 of the way through the novel it shifted from a love story/hardship story to a novel about plotting and waging a war, which was utterly boring and disjointed.

I hope the author can return to the greatness of her prior novels (The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queens Fool). If her subsequent novels are going the direction of this one, I will no longer be reading them.

When I heard that Philippa Gregory's new novel focuses on the life of Katherine of Aragon from the Tudor period of England, I knew I had to have it. I've read and loved THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, THE VIRGIN'S LOVER and THE QUEEN'S FOOL, all by this author. They whisked me from modern day back to a period of time and a place that I can't get enough of. Needless to say, this was an auto-buy for me.

While it wasn't exactly what I expected, Philippa Gregory never disappoints. The painstaking historical research she performs for each work of fiction is apparent on every page. It's hard to believe that she wasn't there as a close confidante of the people about whom she writes. It is as if she assumes their identity while penning the pages of these books.

THE CONSTANT PRINCESS begins with Katherine of Aragon's childhood in Spain, something I don't recall ever reading about, where she was known as the Princess Catalina. We become acquainted with her extraordinary mother, Queen Isabella of Spain, and even in his absence, we are given a glimpse of her father, King Ferdinand. This book takes pains to show us what made Katherine into the strong, Catholic queen she was to become.

When Katherine first travels to England before her sixteenth birthday, she is to be wed to Prince Arthur, Henry VIII's older brother, future heir to the throne of England. What starts out as an uneasy match soon turns into true love, but then true love turns into sorrow when Arthur dies early in the marriage.

While Katherine may be without her true love, she is left with a mission and a promise to her late spouse. The mission: to become Queen of England. Katherine does what she has to do in wedding the little brother of the man she loved, Henry VIII, never dreaming what course her life is to take.

The main premise of the story is no surprise to anyone interested in the Tudor time period; the story's bare bones facts do not change after 500 years. The thing that does change with this book is the perspective and inside view into a very plausible interpretation of the events of the time.

The picture Ms. Gregory paints of Henry VIII as a spoiled and cosseted youth seems extremely likely. What else would contribute to a man selfish enough to put aside wife after wife in order to reach his one true goal of an heir to the throne? What kind of man could be callous enough to end the lives of two women and divorce two others simply because he grew tired of them or because they did not produce the much-needed heir, not to mention breaking with the Catholic Church in order to form the Church of England when things didn't go his way? The other two wives were lucky in that one died before him without a trip to the executioner's block and the final, Katherine Parr, managed to outlive him. An admirable feat if ever there was one.

While this was a riveting book revealing the resolve of Katherine of Aragon from an early age, I was sorely disappointed that the novel ended at the point where Henry VIII was to divorce his queen. I would have loved to have read more by Philippa Gregory of Queen Katherine's life after the divorce and the stoic determination that was shown to be a part of her even after she had been put aside by the King of England. I can only hope for a sequel!

At any rate, this is a beautifully written book that will transport, entertain and amuse anyone with an interest in history and most certainly those of us who can't get enough of the Tudor time period.

--- Reviewed by Amie Taylor

Click here now to buy this book from the store.com.

I will admit first that I sped through the last 50 pages, as I was getting a little bored with the story by then, since I already knew how it would end. But for the other 90 percent of the book I found truly fascinating and a great read!

I had no problems understanding which events and themes were real and which were fiction. I was suprised that the author could be so sure that the marriage between Catalina and Arthur was in fact consumated, but I didn't take her word for it anyway. The blend of fact, fiction, and assumption is what makes historical novels so wonderful.

Catalina/Katherine's battle to understand whether she was to despise/destroy or accept those of different faiths was especially interesting to me, and it seemed especially relevant right now, as Muslims, Christians, and Jews fight once again based age old prejudices and differences. There are some great parrallels to current events that I could not help but to see. Of course, I don't know how the author could possibly know if this was something that Catalina often pondered, but I thought it was a brilliant tie-in for the story.

This book is a little weird for me, because of the simple fact that there were moments when I wanted to shake Katherine of Aragon. The sections about her life with Arthur were a little far fetched but if you are purely romantic you will like the idea of the time that she spent with her first husband. I have to say that I have never believed that the marriage was consummated and the fact that this book made me sort of dislike Kathrine, made me a little upset. I have always loved Katherine of Aragon for her steadfast nature, being a stubborn woman myself, I will always think of her as portrayed by Irene Papas in Anne of the Thousand Days....which is super good. I think that she was a woman who was walking the fine line of religion intolerance and radicalism but in her inner most heart she was a great lady.

I decided to do the Tudor books by this author in the sequence they go based on history. I enjoyed this look at Katherine of Aragon's life. It was honestly very sad. I admire her courage in trying to stay true to herself and her beliefs. I wish there had been more friends for her willing to stand up for what's right, but that was a very dangerous thing to do when faced with Henry VIII.

This book starts out very strong. The scene where 5 year old Infanta Catalina watches her mother and father ride out on their horses to calm a hysterical camp is awesome. It made me want to read more about Queen Isabella.

The book goes downhill somewhat when Catalina grows up and goes to England. Philippa Gregory doen't really flesh out this part of the story it's choppy and full of abrupt character sketches. She sticks to the usual view of Henry VII as a stingy, mean, crafty low man who snatched the greatest prize in England but she also makes him into a lustful old goat. She makes poor, sickly Prince Arthur into a girl's romantic dream and she turns Catalina into a modern woman. That was the biggest mistake.

The political correctness in the novel was as obvious and annoying as a Kevin Costner movie but making Catalina sound and act like a modern woman spoils the book. On top of that she's presented as being scheming, vengeful and contemptuous of Henry right from the start. That is too far from the historical evidence.

Also, Thomas Woolsey, the most important man in young Henry VIII's life is mentioned only two or three times. Woolsey was a major player in Katherine of Aragon's tragedy so this makes little sense. It's not a bad book but it reads like it was hastily put togehter. I much prefer Jean Plaidy's Katherine of Aragon Trilogy.

The wives of King Henry VIII have always fascinated me, especially Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. After reading The Other Boleyn Girl, one of the best historical fiction works out there, I eagerly deleved in The Constant Princess.

I'll go through the good points first, as I enjoyed this book overall. There just could have been some fine-tunning to make it go from good to great.

The writing style is very smooth, and has a good flow to it as always. As with Phillipa Gregory's other works, you can see the vivid picture of the intricate chess games of the court and what a fragile world everything was built upon in these times.

I also enjoyed her portrayal of Catherine as a strong, independent woman who would stop at nothing to achieve her dreams. Too many novels paint Catherine as "the victim", and I enjoyed this new and different perspective.

You read so many novels about the old King Henry and Queen Catherine, but this is the first I have read that shows them when they are young. Again, you gain new perspectives on Catherine, while also realizing that King Henry always was a spoiled child, who always believed he would get his way.

I also loved how the Moors were painted so beautifully, and given such a voice. You see that these people were brutally treated, and that the Spanish Inqusition destroyed a Europe that could have been, as the moors held so much knowledge on medicine, literature, science, and health. This greatly enhances the text, and gives the story a richness that would not have been there otherwise.

However, while I liked this novel, it did not have the complexity of The Other Boleyn Girl, or some of the richness of characters that we saw. There were more characatures in this story, and I am guessing that there might have been deadlines. Yet, if the characters and the plots have been more developed, this would have been a five star read.

There is a large debate over whether Catherine and Arthur's marriage was consummated, and obviously this story takes the perspective that it was. What bothered me about this aspect was that the "romance" and how Catherine proclaimmed him as her "first and only love" was a little too much. I know this is a story, and yes, some arranged marraiges did grow into love, but they were children themselves, and hardly married. In some ways, this is highly unrealistic and detracts from the true meaning and historical elements of the story.

Finally, I wish that this book had been longer. If you look at all great works of historical fiction, including "Boleyn Girl", they are long. As this is a slim novel compared to her other works, you do not receive as rich a picture of the Tudor Court or the characters themselves. The story ended so abruptly after the defeat of Scotland, that I wish it had gone on more, until Anne really came into the picture. It would have been a lot thicker, but the reader would have a broader idea of the times, and would finish with a more rewarding feeling.

Overall, this is a pleasant little read. I enjoyed the interpretation of Catherine, especially her determination. I also am glad I gained more knowledge of the Tudor court, but I just wish the book had been longer and more fine-tunned!

Read The Constant Princess for a "beach book", and The Other Boleyn Girl for substance!

I've been a big fan of Philippa Gregory and I'd looked forward to reading her new novel. But I have to say this is a total disappointment.

1) Unsatisfactory ending: The story ended when it got interesting. (When Anne began to threaten her status.) Where's the beef? How can you talk about Katherine's life without her divorce or the painful process leading to the divorce?

2) Weak and contradictory charactor development. Her description of Katherine's personality/charactor in this novel and that in Other Bolyne Girl do not really match. I didn't feel the Queen in "Constant..." and the Queen in "The Other..." are the same person. Katherine in "The Other" was totally in love with Henry but Katherine in "Constant" was a very calculative woman who married him b/c of his status.

3) Lack of continuity: Except for Henry, Katherine and other minor charactors, no major charactors in "The Other..." appeared in "Constant."

I hope her next novel will be much better than this. It's got to be.

A decent historical novel. The writer certainly sympathizes with Katharine [Catalina] of Aragon, like many royal offspring removed to a strange country for political purposes. Her situation perhaps more intriguing because her husband the prince dies before he gains the throne and before they have any children. She becomes a stranger in a strange land. Most of the tension in the story comes from how she copes and works her way back to power. How much of Ms. Gregory's story actually happened is a guess, but it is fun to speculate. For example, the book gives more credit to Katharine than Thomas Howard for the English victory at Flodden Field.

However, as another review says, the novel is fiction, not history. The Moorish Spain of Catalina's childhood is portrayed as a kind of heaven on earth where Muslim, Catholic, and Jew lived in harmony and climate control. The historical reality was far more messy than that. It is also hard to imagine such a tolerant Catalina becoming the mother of Bloody Mary--one of the least tolerant rulers in England's history. Perhaps there will be another installment telling us how young Mary became embittered...

I came to this book after reading The Other Boleyn Girl and enjoyed every minute of that reading. I was very curious about this work and wondered what Gregory would do with this queen, known for her faith and her steadfast refusal to give Henry VIII his divorce, which would have much more far reaching effects than in just their case.

If you have never read Gregory before, start with this novel and then go to The Other Boleyn Girl. I think this novel really gives you a wonderful sense of Catalina/Katherine and all of the choices she has to make for heart and country. Gregory's theory regarding the marriage and death of Arthur Tudor are fascinating and somewhat logical (if overromanticized). Arthur comes off very well in this novel, as a king thwarted by death, if somewhat unrealistically forward thinking.

Catalina comes off as somewhat haughty, but I think that this is a far more realistic perception of this character than many are willing to give.

I think that this work could act as a prequel to the Other Boleyn Girl, because after reading this, Gregory's characterization of Katherine in the Other Boleyn Girl becomes much more three dimentional.

I also like how she portrayed Henry. To see the spoiled brat prince that Henry was makes the man much more easy to understand - not sympathetic by any means - but just understandable.

A nice companion piece to the Other Boleyn Girl, but definitely stands on its own merits.

I was expecting a lot more from this book. I found it actually kind of boring at times. I love Philippa Gregory but I wasn't impressed by this one. I think Katherine was a great and admirable woman and I hate how her life ended but nothing too much happened in this book. Here's a summary: Katherine came from a powerful kingdom whose parents were great warriors. She married King Henry VIII's brother out of love but he died and married King Henry VIII who was much younger than her and who did have a boy's puppy love for her. They reined side by side for the first few years of their marriage and Henry trusted and honored Katherine. Until he began to come into manhood and became paranoid and had a wondering eye. From there it tells how Henry falls out of love with Katherine and in love with Anne Boleyn and how he tries to denounce their marriage and cast her out which she eventually dies of emotional and physcial neglect. That sums it up.

Anytime I can read, watch, inhale, exhale anything about Kings and Queens of England, especially the infamous Tudor dynasty, I do, but I know little facts about C/Katherine of Aragon. I actually checked The Constant Princess (TCP) out of the library, but returned it after I got my hands on The White Queen (P. Gregory), because Henry VIII’s first wife is never really associated with sensational myths and legends. After finishing The White Princess, the last book in Gregory’s Plantagenet series, I absolutely had to go back to TCP and find out what happened to Elizabeth and Henry VII’s marriage. TCP (published several years BEFORE The White Princess) absolutely did not delve into the conclusion of Henry VIII’s parents, but I was not disappointed because the story of Catalina (later Katherine) was absolutely fascinating. From childhood with two powerful monarch parents to her two marriages to contrary brothers, Katherine is the face of bravery, courage, determination, and independence. Learning more about her largely hypothesized life made what I know about her own tragic ending even more sorrowful. The very ending of the book threw me for a loop as, after only two pregnancies (she had six total), she recounted how she would not back down and that she was the true Queen of England and the book suddenly ended. I would have loved to hear Gregory’s account of the circumstances around the future Queen Mary’s birth, but I suppose the book was already long enough!

I, perhaps like most, had very little knowledge of Katherine of Aragon, or Catalina, as Gregory refers to her, beyond her being Henry VIII's first wife. Yes, I knew she had married his older brother, and after his death, had been subject to humilation and ill treatment by her father-in-law, but little more. I found this work of Grergory's to really dig into her personality and the events as they may have unfolded. I enjoyed the style of the work very much, as it passed between third person and the musings of Catalina herself in the first person. I have read many of Gregory's other works, and enjoyed The Constant Princess just as much.

I loved the ending!! Not quite where I expected the book to stop, but it made perfect sense!

This book is of course not as good as The Other Boleyn Girl, but I am glad I read it because it set up the rest of the series of Gregory's books about Henry's wives. Not sure I would love it on it's own, but it was good in the context of the other books. PS, if you are just beginning to read Philipa Gregory, you can go to her website and she tells you the order of books. I did that, and have enjoyed reading them "in order."

From a history teacher's perspective, it is pretty good. I mean, obviously, this is fiction, but it follows the basic history and makes it a lot more fun than my kid's history books! But do keep in mind that these books are not for girls under 16. There are a few references to "adult situations."

The first book of Philippa Gregory's that I read was the excellent The Other Boleyn Girl, and it was a double-edged sword, in that got me started on a path to read the rest of her books, but also meant I'd forever compare the rest of her books to it. Like The Boleyn Inheritance, this book suffers in comparison. It has several of the same flaws: it's repetitive, and it's not that well written. For some reason, Gregory chose to include not just third-person narrative passages written in the past tense but also first-person italicized passages from Katherine's point of view that vacillate between the past and present tense. These accounts begin from the time she was five years old, yet the voice remains constantly that of a grown woman. In my opinion, these sections take away more from the story than they add to it, and the book would have been better off if Gregory had incorporated them into the overall narrative. Or perhaps if they'd been better edited, they would have fit in better. Some of the tense shifts really suffer from poor editing and make for confusing reading at times.

Perhaps Gregory's great flaw is a flaw shared by many writers of historical fiction: the novel can only be as good as the story that she has to tell. When history provides only sketchy accounts of an event, Gregory simply cannot be relied upon to fill it in to this reader's satisfaction. This book is marred by her inclusion of an 11th-hour cry for peace in the Middle East that reads as unbelievable and unwieldy in the mouth of a woman whose daughter turned out to be such an infamous religious fanatic, still vilified in popular culture and history books to this very day. Gregory's author's note confirms that this belief is more her idea than Katherine's, and she should have known that it had no place in her book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book because of the way Gregory imagined the romance between Katherine and Arthur, and because she did a wonderful job of building a strong character who carries the book well on her own despite lapses in the writing.

I still haven't managed to strike gold as I did with "The Other Boleyn Girl" but I will keep trying, at least until I finish her Tudor series. Hopefully, I'll discover that she's a great writer, and not just a mediocre one who once managed to capture lightning in a bottle.

While I am mostly a fan of the romance genre, I knew that this is a work of historical fiction and not a romance. That being said, this book was a disappointment. I did not like ANY of the characters which makes it difficult to read. A large portion of this book is written in the first person (from the perspective of Catalina/Katherine) and I would have expected to really understand and empathize with that character. I did not. Katherine, her father Ferdinand, Henry VII and Henry VIII all were portrayed as self centered and self promoting to the core. There was also a lot of repetition and Katherine's attempts to be a warrior queen like her mother just didn't seem believable. I did learn a little about the history of the time and about life in the monarchy which appeared very depressing. While I have not given up on this author or the historical fiction genre, it will be awhile before I pick up a book like this again.

I have read several of Philippa's other books, and enjoyed them quite a lot. This one happens to be about my favorite Tudor Queen, so I was very excited to read it. It ended up being a big disappointment! I'm not about to talk about the parts of history that were inaccurate, I don't read Gregory's books for accuracy, they are fiction and I feel that gives her a little bit of room to rewrite history. However, there simply wasn't enough going on! We get it, she waited, years and years she waited, it felt like that's what were were waiting as readers! I'm still a Gregory fan, of course, but this is not her best work. I wish Gregory had focused less on the waiting in a little castle, and talked more about her as Queen, because she was so great.

I really, really wanted to like this book. When I saw it on the shelf and read its back cover, and I was very interested and immediately set about reading it. The idea of a romantic fiction story involving Queen Catherine and set against the backdrop of pre-Reformation England was quite intriguing. Further, I saw that its end date was in 1529 (five years before the break between Henry VIII and Rome), so it promised to be free from the controversy surrounding the 1534 Act of Supremacy.

In many ways, the book delivered. Its characters were well-developed and the dialog well written. I especially savored the depiction of the final reconquista of Spanish Granada, despite the fact that Ms. Gregory seems unaware that Moslems do revere Jesus and Mary (although they do not respectively acknowledge them as Son of God and Mother of God), and therefore would in all likelihood not knowingly have defiled an Ave Maria prayer in the manner depicted in the first chapter of the book (Granada, 1491).

Unfortunately, this book proved very problematic from that point onward. As the sincerely devout daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel (the Catholic) - under whose rule Catholic Spain completed its 800-year fight for liberation from the Moors - the Infanta would not have been prone to the repeatedly expressed sense of hyper-predestination that Ms. Gregory's writing ascribes to her. This stood out as a major anachronism pasted onto someone who in reality would have been unable to embrace such a mentality so alien to the Catholic and Apostolic Faith she professed.

Similarly, Ms. Gregory's hamfisted attempt near the end of the book to put the concept of peaceful coexistence between Christians and Moslems into the mind of Queen Catherine is just plain risible. Unlike our era, the 16th Century world believed in (and fought over, and died for) doctrinal and objective truth - hence all those wars of religion from 1517 to 1648. So that sort of secular Enlightenment thinking is as blatantly out of place in Imperial Spain and Tudor England as atomic warfare. (I would assume this is an example of the author simply projecting her personal ideology into the past.) Nor, I suspect, would the Infanta have harbored much in the way of positive inclinations toward the Moorish civilization that had subjugated her people from 711 to 1492, for that matter. (Moorish Spain was not a tolerant place, Ms. Gregory. That's why the Spaniards fought for 800 years to recover their liberty and independence.)

But the biggest sin that this book commits against the historical record (as an earlier reviewer correctly noted) is its unambiguous depiction of the consummation of the marriage between Prince Arthur and Princess Catherine. This is not some minor detail; it is **the** linchpin of what would become the single biggest issue in separating the English realm from loyalty to the Bishop of Rome. While betrothal and even marriage between minors were common among royals in that era (even by children younger than Arthur and Catherine's 15 years), the consummation would not be performed until the husband and wife had both reached the age of consent. Only then would the marriage be recognized by the Church as sacramental (and thus indissoluble). The sole reason that siblings-in-law Henry and Catherine were able to obtain a papal dispensation from Canon Law to marry one another is because Catherine solemnly vowed that the marriage between her and Arthur had never been consummated. And at no time in his subsequent conflict with the Church did Henry VIII ever attempt to contradict or deny her claim.

So if I am to accept the premise of this book, then I am to assume (against prevailing moral and legal customs, all of recorded history, and evidence to the contrary) that Catherine made an illicit vow with her dying husband Prince Arthur in 1502 to effectively deny their marriage (by which early consummation they would have jeopardized the sacramental integrity of the marriage - thus defeating its secular aim of cementing a permanent alliance between Spain and England), then continuously lied to her confessors (that's a mortal sin in Catholicism, Ms. Gregory), including Bishop St. John Fisher, for three decades (and to the womanizing Henry VIII, who in any case would have certainly discovered the real truth on their wedding night, and been most displeased) - and then, come 1534, when merely admitting the truth would have guaranteed Catherine an annulment and spared England and Rome the chaos of the Reformation (not to mention smoothed relations between England and the powerful German Empire, led at the time by Catherine's nephew Kaiser Charles V), she still chose to cling to falsehood - apparently to an unrepentant deathbed in 1536, although the book doesn't go far enough for us to find out.

Please, Ms. Gregory, considering the well-documented disparity between the pious personal life and moral conduct of Catherine compared to that of the wife-beheading Henry VIII, this idea defies credibility. Once upon a time, it was fighting words to malign a woman's reputation in such manner. (The aforemoentioned St. John Fisher, by the way, was the lone English bishop that openly defied Henry's Act of Supremacy - and he paid for that defiance with his head. So the one man most familiar with Catherine's spiritual state proved to be quite willing to die for the Queen's honor.) I recognize that this is a work of fiction, but historical accuracy is still supposed to count for something. Even in her grave, the saintly Queen Catherine of Aragon deserves better than such shabby treatment.

One unfortunately comes away from this book with a sense that Ms. Gregory is forcing her own 21st Century beliefs and social mores onto 16th Century characters and settings that are constitutionally incapable of supporting them. She betrays a blissful lack of comprehension of the larger religious issues present in the time period and on which the entire prevailing culture of pre-Reformation Western European Christendom was based. (This would seem to pose something of a problem for an author that has written several such titles covering this time period.)

This is a well-written, stylized work of fiction. But please do not look to it for historical truth or accuracy, which are entirely absent within its pages.

As with Philippa Gregory's other Tudor-based novels, she takes many liberties with history, providing alternative views on lives, places, and events. The Constant Princess does just that with the life of Henry VIII's first queen Katharine of Aragon, focusing on her younger years, i.e. before Anne Boleyn.

Gregory provides an interesting read, and viewers are able to see a different side to Katharine, from her early years in her homeland of Spain to her constancy in waiting to become what she believed to be her destiny, Queen of England.

As most people know, Katharine was originally betrothed to Henry VIII's brother Arthur, the heir to the English throne. However, shortly after their marriage, Arthur died, leaving young Katharine, or Catalina as she is known in this book, in a most precarious situation.

Gregory devotes a lot of attention to a love story between Katharine and Arthur. While I don't totally disagree with Gregory's theory that the newlyweds consummated their marriage, I believe their relationship in this book is reminiscent of a Harlequin romance novel, and that most likely was not the case. Also, I don't agree with Gregory's depictions of Arthur's father Henry VII and the young Henry VIII. I agree with the reviewer who said that Henry VII is portrayed as a lusty, dirty old man and Henry VIII as a childish, gullible little boy. I mean, Gregory has Katharine practically running the country when she is made queen!

Despite this, it is nice to read a familiar story in a new light.

I thought this book was wonderful. I have been a fan of Philippa Gregory books for quite some time now and own all the books she has written. This particular book gave me a new perspective on Catherine of Aragon. It showed me more about Catherine besides what happened to her when Henry VII left her for Anne Boleyn. You get to know her as a child, a young woman, a great leader and wonderful queen. It is a great read for anyone interested in Tudor history.
I make jewelry based on pieces worn on the tv show "The Tudors". I usually make exact copies of pieces worn by Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon and have definitely gained some inspiration from these books. Tudor history is a big part of my life.
Anyone who is interested can find me at:
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I'm halfway through this book and I'm not thrilled with it, but it's entertaining enough to finish, despite the fact that the characters are wooden and one-dimensional, and the writing is boring. As others have said, Gregory often repeats certain points to death. Every other page, it seems, Catalina is reminding herself and everyone else that she is the Infanta of Spain/Princess of Wales/Queen to be/daughter of Isabella and that everything is God's will. I find myself skimming a lot of these passages because they're so repetetive and don't further the story at all. The author also has an annoying habit of using "D'you" in her dialog, which doesn't fit with the formal style of the rest of her writing, and using "especial" instead of special. She doesn't use any other "Spanish-isms", so her use of "especial" seems gratuitous.

I bought "The Other Boelyn Girl" at the same time, and I hope that it's better than this book.

I'm a big fan of Philippa Gregory's books, I have most of them in my library. But, this book seems a bit of a slapdash effort. The plot plods along and is repetitive...if I were married to someone who reminded ME every 12 seconds that she was a Princess of Spain I'd want a divorce, too!
Ms. Gregory gets a lot of grief from Historians (capital H) for her other books taking liberties with the lives of historical figures but I don't begrudge that...if I'm being honest with myself I think I read these kind of historical novels to feel more intellectual than if I read books with Fabio and his ilk on the cover. But, having said that, this book feels totally contrary to almost all accepted fact about Katherine of Aragon. That may be by Ms. Gregory's design, but I found it more glaring and harder to get past than her playing fast and loose with Ann Boylen's life in "The Other Boleyn Girl." I can hear the Team Boleyn faction saying, "See, we told you so."

I got this book from the library because I liked a previous book of Phillipa Gregory. And this book was great as well. Perhaps it takes a few pages to really get you into it, but from then on, I couldn't put it down!
It is told in third and sometimes first person, Katherine of Aragon being the main character. She is the daughter of Isabella of Spain, and has been raised to be an independent woman, a warrior, even. Gregory has made her come alive again with her words.
I havnt really read much about Henry VIII's first wife, and it amazes me to hear about him. From Katherine's point of view, Henry (previously Harry) cannot compare to her first husband, Arthur. It is a very sad tale of lost love. In order to secure a seat on the throne, Katherine promises her dying husband Arthur that she will tell all that the marriage was never consumated. It rips her up inside.
I think that, historically, that might have actually been the case. It is possible that Katherine really did tell a lie so that she could become queen. Although she never did have Athur's child.
It is definately a book that every historical reader, should read.

I've recently developed an interest in the Tudors and King Henry VIII. This was a dynasty that changed Europe forever. I've been watching the TV series and absolutely loved the novel "The Other Boleyn Girl" by this author. Naturally, I've also been doing my own research on the internet and trying to figure out the truth among all these fictionalized versions. That said, I'm still interested in reading the novels. I like a good story line and a well-paced tale. In the few versions of the story I've encountered, Katherine of Aragon was already a mature woman who King Henry VIII divorced and changed the history of Europe forever. I was drawn to this book because I wanted to learn something about Katherine's earlier history.

Katherine was the youngest daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. This was the couple who funded Columbus's expedition to the new world. They also were the couple who brought Christianity to Spain, expelled the Moors and created the inquisition. Spain was on the rise at that time and Katherine was betrothed to Henry's older brother when she was only three years old. As a teenager she was sent to England. It was a shock to her. The English climate was cold and damp and she missed the gardens and the warmth and the baths of Spain. Her wedding to Arthur was all pomp and ceremony and the couple was married for a few months before he died. The history books do not record the nature of their relationship, but in this novel, the couple had a hot romance.

After Arthur died however, Katherine was treated badly. For seven years or so, she lived in limbo. As her dowry wasn't fully paid, she wasn't given living expenses and she was not accepted at Court. However, when Arthur's younger brother Henry was about 18 and she was about 24 they were married, after the Church gave them a special dispensation. According to the novel, Katherine led a battle against the Scots while he was away in France. According to the internet, this battle occurred but it is credited to someone else. This part of the novel disturbed me because I am sure that if an English woman had ever led a battle, this is a part of history that would have been applauded by ever feminist group in the world. It's a good story, but true fiction. We do know though that Katherine bore six children. With the exception of her daughter Mary, all the others were stillborn or died shortly after birth. Later, Henry fell in love with Anne Boleyn, divorced Katherine and separated England from the Catholic Church. This novel doesn't get into all those details. It basically applauds Katherine's life in her early twenties and summarizes the rest in a couple of pages.

I found "The Constant Princess" hard to read because it seemed to add parts of history that never existed in real life. Surely, there were enough real experiences to base the novel on without going into conjecture. It also moved slower because much of it is about Katherine's feelings and there are pages and pages and pages of her thoughts about what was going on around her with very little action. So, unlike "The Other Boleyn Girl" which I read in one fell swoop and couldn't put down, "The Constant Princess" was a struggle to get though.

Catalina is the daughter of wealthy and powerful King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. From the age of 3, she has known that she is betrothed to marry Prince Arthur of England, son of King Henry VII, and therefore become Queen of England alongside her King. Their marriage gets off to a rocky start, but they soon fall in love. Unfortunately, Arthur dies of fever just a few months into their marriage. He makes Catalina promise to fulfill her destiny to be queen by telling a big lie: that she and Arthur never consumated their marriage. If everyone believes she is still a virgin, she can marry Arthur's brother, Harry (who eventually becomes King Henry VIII).

So she does. She lies to everyone and sticks to that lie all her life. She endures much tribulation by sticking to her lie, but her goal of becoming Queen Katherine is eventually fulfilled. This is a good spot to mention that it gets VERY tiresome hearing Cataline say OVER and OVER again that it is her destiny to become Queen of England. Yes, we know already. You don't have to say it five times in every chapter.

It has been said that Gregory wasn't exactly historically accurate with this book, and I don't know my Tudor history well enough to agree or disagree with that. Nevertheless, it's a pretty interesting story. You don't usually hear much about Henry's first wife. One of the most interesting aspects of Catalina's development was the slow realization that her parents - who waged a lifelong battle to drive the heretic Moors (Spanish Muslims) out of Spain - were wrong in their actions. Whereas she once saw her parents as righteous and almighty rulers who could do no wrong, she eventually came to see that as a result of her parents actions, the learning and education of the Moors was lost, a fact which hits painfully close to home when English doctors cannot help her with her failed pregnancies and only a Moorish doctor will tell her the truth.

While not as good as some of Gregory's other books, this is worth reading if for no other reason than that Queen Katherine is so often overshadowed by the infamous Anne Boleyn.

A good novel, good characters... well written.
The historical facts lack some of the excitement in Henry's later marriages, but this fluffy piece of historical fiction is entertaining.

This is a less juicy tale, and sometimes that less scandalous historical fiction leaves you numb with the lack of action. You take a deep breath and as the novel wraps up make a mental note to read a more factual account of the events.

There is something to be said about how quickly her recent novels are coming together. Her earlier works were disturbing, probing and eerie... as she plants her characters in history there is a change of tone.

This is a great book by Philippa Gregory. It is a historical-fiction book which has to be kept in mind by the reader. She does do some research for her books so some of the information contained in the book is pretty historically accurate. This book is about Queen Katherine (who married Prince Arthur of England who died). She eventually married the famous King Henry VIII who cheated on her with almost any woman he could get his hands on (Ann Boleyn most famously). This is a book through Katherine's eyes from the time she married Arthur, to her death. This is a great book, with some historical accuracy, and it definitely grabs the reader in.

Every time I read this story, I caught up in the first half of it as it talks about Katherine's childhood and her marriage to Prince Arthur, heir to the Tudor throne. I appreciate how it takes the road that Katherine and Arthur did indeed consummate their marriage though Katherine hides the fact vehemently so that she isn't simply thrown away. However it never fails that by the middle of the book, I get bored. Really bored. And I was highly disappointed that this book ends when it does since I thought it would cover all of Katherine's marriage to Henry VIII. But it doesn't, and that's sad because I've been hard pressed to find a book that has Katherine's point of view of the whole divorce affair.
All well.
It is a good book to read, but if the author's formula for her books starts to wear on you, you'll probably end up bored by the middle as I do.

I enjoyed another great historical novel by Philippa Gregory. It was especially interesting to read it in conjunction with Antonia Fraser's (non-fiction) account of Henry VIII's wives, which begins with a fascinating chapter on Catherine of Aragon.

I realize Gregory's book is a novel, but as "historical fiction" it does at the least suggest that it is written around historical fact, so I was puzzled by the character of the Good Moorish Physician, who appeared at two different points in the story. This character was unbelievably kind and gentle, despite how rudely Catherine treated him, and Catherine muses at length about how this fits with what her parents had taught her. It was as if Gregory inserted a character to express a 20th-century mindset into the novel, and it felt to me like a heavy-handed attempt to proselytize about how we should all be more tolerant and should recognize the great "tolerant" civilization Ferdinand and Isabelle destroyed when they defeated the Moors.

I love Gregory's historical fiction, but I'm now wary of what kind of historical "revisionism" is being slipped in to what I'd earlier taken to be pretty much factually based. My mistake, I guess.

If you love English history especially the intriguing life and loves of Henry VIII, then this is the book for you. The Constant Princess is a rich novel written from Catherine of Aragon's point of view. Philippa Gregory transports you back in time to the challenging life of a noble woman. In this novel you experience all the difficult hardships Catherine faced in her adopted country as well as her husbands and parents wickedness. Filled with passion, love, betrayal, suspense, cruelty, lust, and lies, this tale of Henry's first wife will have you wanting more (which fortunately is available).

I only made it to Chapter 7 and gave up. This book is slow and empty, please don't waste your time. I'm disappointed because I've enjoyed all of Philippa Gregory's other books, and I will try a different one, but this book is really just bad.

I've been reading about the Tudors for many many years but this is the first book I read about Katherine. I was always interested in her and felt pity for her because of the whole Boleyn affair. But I found it hard to stay interested in this book. Not that Katherine isn't a fascinating person, it's just that there is nothing that really leaps off the pages of this book. It almost felt like Gregory got bored with the book herself and decided instead of researching and writing more about Katherine's reign, to leap ahead about 20 years to the trial at Blackfriars just to get it done. But perhaps the biggest annoyance to me was the switch to Katherine's thoughts by using italics. Reading pages and pages of italicized text is not so easy on the eyes and I found myself skipping those parts a lot.

The Constant Princess explored from childhood Katherine of Aragon's life. Most of us I think just know her as the queen Henry VIII first put aside trying to get a legitimate male heir to his throne. But I had no idea the history she went through from her parents to the extent of her efforts to gain a marriage to Henry in the first place. I realize this is historical fiction but it does give you a much better understanding of the times, the customs, culture, even mannerisms of this era. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction or british literature won't be able to put this down. I have since read the entire Tudor collection of books by Philipa Gregory and would also recommend Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir and The Autobiography of Henry VIII (a novel) by Margaret George. I have really enjoyed the vibrant picture that this book and the series has brought to life and will continue reading!

Philippa Gregory tells a beautiful story about a tantalizing period in history. At age 3,Catalina, Infanta of Spain and dauthter of Ferdinand of Aragon, is bethothed to Arthur, son of King Henry of England. She leaves Granada and the warmth of her families Moorish palace at age 15 and travels to cold, damp, dark England to wed. Arthur dies of a fever soon after the marriage and Catalina marries his brother Henry, Prince of Wales. Upon Henry's ascention to the throne he is crowned Henry VIII and Catalina becomes Catherine, Queen of England. It's then that her troubles really begin.

Little is actually known about Catherine of Aragon, but Ms. Gregory has demonstrated the fine art of taking the few facts available and embellishing them to weave an interesting historical novel featuring a central character you can't help but empathize with. (Rating 3 1/2 stars.)

The Constant Princess tells the story of Katherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII's first wife. Katherine was born "Catalina" to the King and Queen of Spain. Her marriage to Prince Arthur, the heir to the throne of England, was decided when she was an infant. She knew she would be Princess of Wales all of her life. When she turned 15, she was sent to England to marry Prince Arthur. At first she despised Arthur, but she grew to love him very much during the short months that they were married. As Arthur lay dying of a sudden illness, he made Catalina promise that she would marry his brother, Henry, and become Queen of England.

Chronologically, The Constant Princess comes before Gregory's other book, The Other Boleyn Girl. I really wanted to read The Other Boleyn Girl, but when I found out that this book takes place before it, I decided to read them in order. The book switches between telling the story in third person to Katherine's point of view in the first person, indicated by italics. I loved it, because it was like looking into her mind at certain points in her life. Her story is sad, but she is very strong throughout all of her hardships. I am ashamed to say that before reading this book, I had very little knowledge of King Henry VIII and the Tudors. Now I want to read anything I can about the subject. It's so interesting! I know a lot of people say that Gregory's books are not historically accurate, but I like them; she tells a good story.

I've been a big fan of Philippa Gregory's Tudor/Elizabethan era novels since I read The Other Boleyn Girl last year. Since then, I have read 4 more of her books in this genre, including The Constant Princess. I enjoyed the novel tremendously and came to admire the main character, Katharine of Aragon, based on Gregory's account of her upbringing and her life at the Tudor court.

Before I had read this book, I had always thought of Henry VIII's first wife as the older, less attractive queen who was supplanted by the more glamourous Anne Boleyn in Henry's heart. This book gave me a much richer perspective of her time and her character. I also gained a new respect for her resolve and the strength of her character throughout her life, especially given the humiliations she had to endure first under Henry VII and then in Henry VIII's efforts to divorce her.

Katherine spent her preadolescent years on the battlefield as her parents King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella defeated the Moors. Once the kingdom was secure the trio resided in Alhambra. When she turned fifteen Katherine traveled from the Peninsular to England to marry Arthur. She finds England barbaric lacking obvious amenities like in-door plumbing and tasty healthy food. She and the sickly Arthur fall in love as they plan to raise the standard of living for the people. However, a few months into their political marriage, Arthur dies.

Instead of a period of mourning, Katherine is quickly wedded to Arthur's healthier younger brother Henry, which she accepts with grace especially since her spouse forced a deathbed pledge to do so as he wants her to complete his dreams for England; beside she understands the ties between the two nations being much more important than personal feelings. Thus she weds preadolescent Henry and eventually becomes the Queen devoted to her second husband. Alas her loyalty ends tragically.

This epic look at Katherine brings to life the reign of Henry VIII as few tales do. Katherine, the idealistic Arthur, her parents, and of course Henry come off of the staid textbooks as full blooded individuals filled with passion even while their ardor varies making for a richer historical. Though Katherine's sudden insight into Holy Wars and her life long enemy the Moors seem too convenient and twenty-first century in outlook, readers will appreciate Philippa Gregory's grand sweep of late fifteenth century into early sixteenth century England

Harriet Klausner

Now that she's popular, Philippa Gregory is on a fast track to publishing her historically accurate novels. This one, although not as good as The Other Boleyn Girl, keeps the reader somewhat interested. The 400 pages could have easily been cut down but for the repetitiveness of Queen Catherine's destiny, her undying love for Arthur, her destiny and oh! by the way, her destiny. We get it! Also, the ending seemed to be too quickly wrapped up and over. It seemed like Gregory had a quota to fulfill of 400 pps. and done. Anyway, it is still a good read -- full of love, war, backstabbing and all the characteristics that made the English court so intriguing. If you like romanticism mixed with English history, you'll enjoy The Constant Princess.

"The Other Boleyn Girl" and "The Queen's Fool" are two of the best books I've ever read--and I've read a LOT of books, especially about this period, which especially fascinates me. They were gripping to the end, and my involvement with the characters was complete--true masterpieces. So whenever a new book by Philippa Gregory comes out, I buy it, hoping to have the same experience, and lately have been sorely disappointed. "The Virgin's Lover" fell flat, and now I am trying to read this book but not finding myself engaged, must give it up. One reviewer suggested the books were being written too quickly--that is always an easy guess, however it depends on the writer. Anthony Trollope, for instance, was able to turn out amazing book after amazing book with incredible speed. That may or may not be the case with Gregory. I know, as a writer myself, that there are times when the work flows out, feeling almost as if it's channeled from another source, and times when it's harder, more mechanical. The more challenging situations are those when I'm not entirely convinced or in love with my subject. So to me, neither of these books feels as if they spring from a natural impulse. They feel forced, constructed. I'm going back to Trollope.

I know this is historical fiction but this book is totally askew and if the events really took place, would have changed the course of history and events around the "King's Great Matter." The first part about Catherine, her parents and sisters is historically accurate, but when Catherine loses her virginity to and falls madly in love with Prince Arthur, it falls apart. Catherine was a staunch Catholic who prayed, saw her confessor regularly, and even wore a hairshirt, she wouldn't renounce her marriage to Henry VIII: her argument, the dispensation from the Pope to marry Henry based on Catherine's statement that she went to Henry's bed a virgin. People were executed (including St. Thomas More) because they were unwilling to recognize Henry's divorce from Catherine. And wouldn't some witness have come forwarded to testify to Catherine's wedded bliss with Arthur (with marriage consummated) so Catherine wouldn't have had a leg to stand on during the trials involving Henry's "Great Matter" of divorcing Catherine? And despite the healthy sex life, Catherine (who did have many pregnancies with Henry, but only one child living to adulthood), never became pregnant with Arthur's baby.

According to all historical accounts, Catherine was married to a sickly teenager, Prince Arthur (Arthur didn't just become sick overnight, as in Gregory's book, but was rather weak and sickly prior to the marriage), but fell in love with her second husband Henry VIII. Early in their marriage Henry and Catherine were blissfully in love and Catherine did go to her second marriage bed a virgin. Catherine even remained devoted to Henry after he renounced her; her last letter to him before she died was in essence a love letter. It is something a woman who was more in love with her first husband would never write.

There were other inaccuracies: Gregory's book has Elizabeth, wife of Henry VII, dying in childbirth after having a son, her last child. In reality, Elizabeth died soon after giving birth to her last child, a daughter, who outlived her. Why the change in the sex of the baby in the fictional account? Henry VII and Elizabeth did love each other; in the fictional account Henry VII lusts after Catherine even while Elizabeth is still alive.

Henry VIII also wasn't the boyish, shallow young man. He was a Renaissance Prince, well educated and Henry and Catherine even brought in the best tutors for their daughter Princess Mary. Mary, the only daughter of Henry and Catherine is barely mentioned. Wouldn't the birth of a living, healthy child that survived infancy and lived to adulthood, be a high point in the life of Catherine. Catherine cherished her only child; it is unfortunate the author doesn't spend much time on Mary's story.

If Gregory is trying to get us to be sympathetic to Catherine via this revisionist historical fiction, she doesn't succeed. Catherine's argument against Henry divorcing her becomes totally meaningless and Catherine looks like a cold, calculating liar certainly not a religious woman. And people believed Catherine's story and died for it, being executed by Henry VIII. It is doubtful the real Catherine would have lied and watched those loyal to her be executed--certainly she would have confessed to prevent these executions. But with this lie Catherine looks very selfish and self centered. This is not the real Catherine of Aragon, not by a long shot.

If the names were changed it would be a beautiful tragic love story, but this account does not come close to the real story of Henry and Catherine.

The author has a unique ability to make historical figures come alive. Rather than studying their biography in the classroom; a reader gets to know the person. The Constant Princess is Katherine of Aragon. Princess Catalina, the youngest child of Spain's Isabella and Ferdinand, has been destined since birth to be the Queen of England. Catalina becomes known as Katherine when she arrives in England. A 15 year old Katherine promises her husband Arthur, Prince of Wales, on his deathbed that she will renounce their marriage and marry his younger brother Henry, who will become King Henry XIII. This novel does seem to be lacking the same pizzazz as the author's two most recent novels; as though it was hurriedly written. It moves awkwardly at times from Katherine's writing and thoughts to the third person narrative. Overall it is successful in describing what life was like for a young noble woman in early 16th century England.

It is 1491 and Catalina is Infanta of Spain and Princess of Wales, her parents Ferdinand and Isabella. In the Spanish court, religion reigns alongside the regents, Christianity engaged in a centuries-long battle with Islam for dominance of the region. Katherine is promised to Arthur of England, son of Henry VII, her destiny proscribed by necessity. As a child, Catalina cannot fathom the drama that will overtake her life in that far away place or the controversy that will surround her in the Tudor court. At sixteen, Katherine's marriage to Arthur is short-lived, a brief, passionate pairing unusual in such a marriage. But Katherine is confronted with a more serious problem after Arthur's untimely death: she must make England and the Church believe that she and Arthur never consummated their marriage, avoid a dalliance with Arthur's father, wed Henry VIII and retain the throne of England. Katherine manages the great deception, facing down her critics and the Church, a tribute to her strength, although she is later attacked on the same grounds by the usurper, Anne Boleyn.

Gregory's particular talent lies in exposing the hopes and flaws of these larger-than-life historical figures, personalizing their dramas, recreating a world circumscribed by court intrigue, the excesses of power and the constant jockeying for favor with the royal family. Katherine gives Henry VIII one child, a girl, Mary Tudor, but she is to know the humiliation of Henry's greed and insatiable appetites, her marriage turned bitter by the subtle preoccupations of Anne Boleyn in a bid to unseat the Queen and capture the throne for herself. A formidable woman, Katherine accomplishes a great historical coup early in her reign, although she pays dearly for her fidelity and devotion to purpose. During a time of tremendous historical import, Christianity challenging the power of the Arabs, and the world stage poised for a battle of civilizations, Gregory inserts Katherine into this era, breathing life into a tumultuous century, humanizing the men and women who fascinate us even today.

For all the draconian politics of the Tudor court, Katherine is the child of Christianity, religious fervor grounded in her childhood and nurtured throughout her life. Katherine's early exposure to Arab culture is part of the charm of this novel, the exotic dress and love of knowledge carried to England by a young woman who has her mother's warrior blood and steady resolve, an iron will that allows her to resist Henry VII's advances, her eye fixed on the throne. Though she will be cast aside, piety weighing down her every move, Katherine is a presence to be reckoned with, assuming her place among the royal women who give birth to the great legends of history. Luan Gaines/ 2005.

I'm a huge fan of Philippa Gregory and paticuarly like her previous books about Tudor England and the court of Henry VIII. However, The Constant Princess left me feeling jipped and dissapointed.

First off, Phillipa is constantly changing POVs. While the majority of the book is in the third person, every so often there is an italized part which is supposed to be Katherine. I found this to be distracting to the story. It also made the book not flow at all.

Also, the book felt like the writing had been rushed. None of the characters were fully developed and every so often the book seemed to start repeating itself. It seemed like Phillipa and her publishing company had cranked this book out because they knew it would sell. If this wasn't enough, I found more than a dozen obvious typos. The book seemed like it hadn't even been proof read!

Thirdly, the book abruptly finishes. You're left feeling like the story is incomplete. The plot is, at the most, skeletal. It's like a fictional biography that never reaches its climax.

However, to point out only the books flaws would be unfair. Phillipa has done some amazing research on Katherine of Aragon. She does fabricate a lot (an example would be the passionate love story between Arthur and Katherine) but that is only to be expected from a work of fiction. I learned many things about the Spanish princess that I never knew. So, all in all, reading the book wasn't an entire waste of my time.

If you are a Phillipa Gregory fan that I suggest reading the book just to see how it measures up to the rest of her novels. Just don't be dissapointed when you realize that what you are reading is probably a skeletal rough-draft that is seriously lacking in both plot and character development.

This book was a wonderful surprise. I was never much interested in Katherine of Aragon, but leave it to Phillippa Gregory, I was enthralled with this book. I could not put it down, and it gave me a different insight into the queen's life. There was some speculation in it, but from bios I have read, it may not have been far off base. Whether it was actual fact or not, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and even more so because I did not expect to love it so much.

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory was a good book. I liked how Philippa wrote everyone's point of view and then what Catalina was thinking. I think she brings the Tudor court alive with her writing. I also read her book The Other Boleyn Girl which one of my favorites. Once you start reading The Constant Princess it is hard to put done.

The Constant Princess is about Infanta Of Spain Catalina she is raised in the most beautiful Moorish Palace in the world. Then when she is 15 she travels to England to marry Prince Arthur. After they marry they go to Ludlow. There they fall passionately in love. Soon after Arthur falls sick. On his deathbed he makes Catalina promise to marry Harry his brother so she can become Queen and make the kingdom that her and Arthur dreamed of. When she gets back to London she tells the king that the marriage was consummated with Arthur so she could marry Harry. But King wants to marry Catalina, so he proposes. She refuses because once the king dies she will just a Dowager Queen, she wants her son to be king. So after waiting seven long years of spies, poverty, and family trouble. She finally marries Harry a couple months later they become King Henry the 8th and Queen Catharine. But many problems lie ahead. War with the Scots, getting a heir, and losing Henry interest and money...

This book has lots of suspenseful, sad, and romantic parts in it. I think it was to much like a romantic novel and it was not has historically accurate as some of her other novels. It is very descriptive you can almost see the castle and small the food and touch the silk .The ending of the book was bad it left me wanting more. It was not her best novel but it was good. I recommend this book to people who are mature, like romance and adventure. I hope to read more of Philippa Gregory in the future.

This book was alright-- it is not my favorite book by Gregory but it was worth the time I spent reading it. One would hope that Katherine was as strong and in love at some point in her difficult life as this book would depict her to have been.

I have always thought of Katherine of Aragon as a sad, meek, spiritually obsessed person, but it was refreshing to read of another's view of her.

Anything that I have ever read during this period in time has painted Henry VIII as a despicable, selfish, hateful man. Again, this book too establishes like sentiment toward him. No new surprises there.

I was surprised at Katherine's character in this book. It was nice to read something that lifted up Katherine of Aragon for a change.

Most of the historical fiction I've read hasn't focused on the young Katherine, it seems that we get introduced to an old, worn-out woman and with that portrayal, it makes perfect sense why Henry would stray. But this book's focus is on Katherine's early life and ends just as Henry and Katherine's marriage crumbles.

While this book won't be my favorite Philippa Gregory book, I did enjoy reading it. The scenes with Katherine and Arthur are so touching and Katherine's mourning of the loss of her son, her first child, is heartbreaking.

But while Katherine's life was one tragedy after another, Gregory makes her out to be a strong and determined woman who was able to suffered through her hard life thanks to her devotion to her mother and God.

I am a huge fan of Phillippa Gregory, and this was probably one of the most disappointing of her books. The beginning of the book does a good job of providing insight into the life of Katharine of Aragon while she was still the daughter of Philip and Isabella, but it fails to portray her as the strong woman that she was. She was the most defiant of Henry's wives, and was truly set aside on a whim. Overall, it wasn't dull, but certainly not as engaging as Gregory's other books.

But they don't allow it! Having to chose between 3 or 4, I sadly have to opt for a 3 star rating. The novel was enjoyable to read, but definitely not one of the author's best. I previously read "The Other Bolyne Girl" (which was wonderful by the way) and found it strange how totally different Katherine is portrayed in each book. She seemed too simple in this novel. I have to agree with other reviewers' opinions that this book seemed rushed. One last annoyance: I also at time felt lectured to about Islam.

This book is by far the best of the lot I read this year. It tells a captivating, compelling and moving story of a woman that fought all her life, fought for everything she held. She is proud, she is wise, she is patient, she is strong. Left all alone in a foreign country with no means of support, she fought her way to become Queen and to protect the country in her charge.

The book made me laugh and made me cry (albeit more often the latter). I thought it was a great choice by the author to intercept third-party narration of the book with first-person confession-like segments, for it allows the reader to see the real person behind the political figure of the Katherine, Queen of England, her feelings, her pain, her anguish and her proudest moments. She is a very strong character and as such, one cannot remain impassive towards her. She truly shaped her own destiny because she believed in it so.

The book really moved and inspired me. It was a very enjoyable read and I highly recommend it.

I always enjoy this author, and I wasn't disappointed in this story. I think the story flowed more smoothly than some of the others. Katherine of Aragon came to life, but the story ended before the horrific final years of the queen.

This is the best historical fiction book I have ever read!!! This book started my obsession with historical fiction and this time period in history, it well written and this book made me fall in love with Catherine of Aragon. IT swaps between third person and first person, both following Catherine, though it doesn't follow her through her final days it does follow her up to her fall as queen. I highly recommend this book <3

I give it 2 stars for effort, but it was quite frustrating to read this book. I really had high hopes for it. I've read "Earthly Joys" and "The Other Boleyn Girl", both of which I found enjoyable, despite the comma splice errors et. al. This story, however, was told with such cumbersome and repetitive diction that I put it down after the first 1/5 and gnashed my teeth in exasperation.

Apart from the annoying stylistic faux pas, the character and plot development proved woefully improbable and wholly unsatisfactory. Catalina is very rarely amiable, and for the most part she comes across as arrogant, religiously fanatical, stubborn and somewhat asinine. Every time she mentions her mother I just want to slap her.

I painfully finished the book after a 2-week hiatus, hoping that a fresh perspective might help, but unfortunately the story just grew more and more tiresome. I hardly even know how I managed to endure it.

Phillipa Gregory is well-known for pushing the envelope of historical fiction -- in "The Virgin's Lover" she had Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I consummate their relationship and painted a very unflattering word portrait of the young queen. In this book, Ms Gregory has Katherine of Aragon and Prince Arthur consummate their marriage as well, although there is very little historical evidence to support this view -- any more than there is any strong evidence that Elizabeth was not indeed the Virgin Queen.

This is one of the few novels I have read that presents Katherine in anything other than a flattering light, which is why I gave the book 4 stars. Usually Katherine is presented as the next thing to a saint -- patient and pious, long-suffering and sexless. Ms Gregory's Katherine is sultry and sexy, the spoiled youngest child of two of the greatest rulers of Spain. She is generally seen as a passive pawn of her parents and her father-in-law, Henry VII, which is a contrast to her stubborness in middle age, where she defied her husband Henry VIII when he informed her he wanted a divorce. From where did that steel and spine come? Ms Gregory states that Katherine always had a sense of destiny (born to be Princess of Wales and Queen of England), and was determined to fullfill what she saw as the will of God at all costs, including lying about the nature of the sexual relationship with her first husband.

Unfortunately, Katherine frequently comes across as being arrogant and insensitive, especially in her dealings with the Spanish ambassador and Henry VII. Her dismissive attitude toward a king who lead a hand-to-mouth existance for many years before winning the crown in battle, is so scornful that I found myself in the position of letting out a silent cheer when Henry bested her after the death of the Prince of Wales. But, to give the author her due, I have now no trouble seeing the stubborn Katherine of the later years.

All historical novels take liberties. As someone else pointed out, there is no evidence that Henry VII did not love his wife, Queen Elizabeth. Almost every account of the life of Henry VII indicates that he deeply mourned her death. The queen's feelings toward him may not be as well documented, but there seems to have been a mutual fondness. The fact that he considered re-marriage after her death is no indication that he did not love her. I have seen little evidence that Henry lusted after Katherine, although her early beauty may have pleased him.

Some reviewers here felt that Katherine was not a fully realized character, something with which I disagree. I think that the interior monologues are very revealing of her thinking -- the fact that she sometimes comes across as monsterous in her ambition for the crown of England is somewhat understandable, given her background and her religious convictions. Unfortunately, the narrative portions of the book are not as compelling as the monologues. Arthur never seems like a real person, and some of the other characters as well seem like cardboard cutouts.

If you cannot suspend your disbelief over the premise that Katherine was sexually experienced when she wed Henry VIII, then this may not be the book for you. It is a shame that the author did not include a more detailed ending essay to the book explaining how she arrived at her conclusion that Arthur and Katherine were fully man and wife. If you can deal with the author's premise, whether you believe it or not, I think you will enjoy this offbeat portrait of a woman who has captured the public imagination for almost 500 years: did they or didn't they, that is the question!

I'm a huge fan of history, and of books! Being a major in English myself, and being raised by a mother who was a HUGE history buff, I must say that this book was amazing. You must understand that Gregory had no choice but to make up a lot of the story line, and I strongly believe she followed history as closely as possible. Part of the fun of writing about history is being able to create your own story line while following actual events. I found the book full of love, compassion, hatred and hardened hearts. I found myself falling in love with Aurthur as Katherine did; and I found myself fighting for her place as Queen. I was heartbroken when Aurthur left the book; and when the first two pregnancies went wrong. I knew how the book ended of course, but the journey there was fascinating, poetic, and lovely. It is seriously a book you should consider reading.

This book was great, one of Gregory's best...simply facinating. Katherine was such an interesting woman, and her story had so much passion, depth and intrigue. I never knew much about this queen, and was enthralled from beginning to end. What an amazing character. I loved this book, and would highly recommend it.

Loved the history but was distracted by the going back and forth between first and third person. Her writing style seems to drag on in some bits but then gives no desire fiction in others. Will give some of her other

Yes, we know it's historical fiction but historical fiction is supposed to have some basis in actual historical fact besides just the names and a basic outline of the situation. This is true for this novel as well as her new one, The Other Boleyn Girl. In most historical fiction novels, even regular fiction novels, when the authors play fast and loose with some of the facts they tell you at the beginning or the end that they have modified facts for the stories sake and then tell you which ones. Then we can still enjoy the fiction but the facts are preserved. The problem when an author doesn't feel that they are bound by this professional coutesy is that readers who are not well versed in the history, read this book and think that what they are reading is true. HISTORICAL fiction does imply that a lot of what you are reading is fact and people cannot be blamed for assuming that some of what they are reading is true.

This book started off pretty well. The story is carried on alternating between third person narrative and first person voice-over by Katherine. Unfortunately, Phillipa Gregory only wrote half of a book. She seems to have completely lost interest in the story about 2/3 of the way through. She takes Katherine up to the point that she is pregnant with Mary, and has defeated the Scots, then skips over more than a decade, and ends the story. She spends a lot of time developing Katherine as a determined fighter, and then leaves out arguably, the most interesting fight Katherine ever had-that with Anne Boleyn. Maybe she should have written one novel about Katherine's younger years, and then a sequel. This princess/queen deserves better. Too bad. I have enjoyed other books by this author.

Even though I have found Philippa Gregory's Tudor series ("The Other Boleyn Girl;" "The Queen's Fool;" "The Virgin's Lover" & "The Constant Princess," to be excellent reads -- Gregory writes well and in an engaging manner -- I will have to admit that "The Queen's Fool" & "The Virgin's Lover" did not quite measure up (for me) to "The Other Boleyn Girl." I found those two books to be less emotionally engaging and a little less complex. Of course, this could well be because I'm not so partial to Elizabeth I. Whatever the reason, it was with relief that I found myself becoming totally involved and engaged with the plight of Catalina of Aragon as she circumvated her way through the treacherous English court politics of Henry VII.

Catalina of Spain, youngest daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, had been raised to believe fervently in her parents' causes (to unite all of Spain and make it a completely Christian country, and to create alliances with other Christian European countries that would enable them to beat back the Muslims) and to know her place in her parents schemes -- to marry the English Prince of Wales and become Queen of England, and to ensure England's help in her parents' crusade against the Muslims. But even though Catalina had anticipated that her life would not be a completely easy one (being so very far away from home and family, and feeling so completely alien in a foreign land), even she had not imagined how much pain, sorrow and heartache her life in England would be. Or just how tenacious she would have to be in order to ensure that she retained her rightful place.

Soon after her arrival in England, Catalina finds herself married off to the young Prince of Wales, Arthur, who behaves both in a rather immature and rather resentful way towards her initially-- something that the princess of the blood finds difficult to endure. But just as things begin to look up for our princess, disaster strikes; and Catalina finds herself a widow with no secure place in the English court. As Catalina battles for her rightful place, she comes face to face, for the first time, with the petty cruelties of Henry VII, as well as the almost casual indifference of her own parents. And faces the bitter truth that she can only depend on herself to survive (a lesson that will help her in future times) . With her faith and her pride as her only props, Catalina stubbornly clings to her belief that she was born to be Queen of England -- something that keeps her going through her long hard years living on the fringes of Henry's court, until he finally dies and Arthur's younger, charming but lazy brother becomes king. Will Catalina's faith and tenacity finally pay off?

I enjoyed Philippa Gregory's portrayal of the Princess of Aragon, warts and all. We see Catalina at her very best and at her worst -- her pride and her arrogance, her stubborn faith in her parents' manifestoes, refusing to see that her parents' claims were often at odds with their actions; but we also see Catalina at her most vulnerable and get to admire her for her courage and tenacity -- one may not always like the manner in which this Catherine acts, but one cannot help but admire the bravery and strength of mind she exhibits in order to obtain the results she so desires. I also liked the manner in which the author portrayed Henry VIII, laying the foundations for what would happen in the years to come, by showing the man to be a very vain, lazy and easily manipulated character. And what a wonderfully chilling portrait of autocratic and proud Margaret of Beaufort (Henry VII's mother) Ms Gregory provides us with! She definitely hit the nail on the head for me with that characterisation. And if I didn't totally buy Philippa Gregory's contention that Catherine and Arthur's marriage was consummated (too many people would have known and Henry VIII's henchmen would have left no stone unturned in their bid to discredit Catherine), I found myself devoutly wishing that it had been so, as this would definitely transform Catherine from the pious and devout wife who allowed Henry to ride roughshod over her, to a Queen who had loved and lost, but who survived her loss and achieved her ultimate goal to be Queen of England. All in all, a captivating and riveting read.

I always enjoy this author, and I wasn't disappointed in this story. I think the story flowed more smoothly than some of the others. Katherine of Aragon came to life, but the story ended before the horrific final years of the queen.

This is the best historical fiction book I have ever read!!! This book started my obsession with historical fiction and this time period in history, it well written and this book made me fall in love with Catherine of Aragon. IT swaps between third person and first person, both following Catherine, though it doesn't follow her through her final days it does follow her up to her fall as queen. I highly recommend this book <3

I give it 2 stars for effort, but it was quite frustrating to read this book. I really had high hopes for it. I've read "Earthly Joys" and "The Other Boleyn Girl", both of which I found enjoyable, despite the comma splice errors et. al. This story, however, was told with such cumbersome and repetitive diction that I put it down after the first 1/5 and gnashed my teeth in exasperation.

Apart from the annoying stylistic faux pas, the character and plot development proved woefully improbable and wholly unsatisfactory. Catalina is very rarely amiable, and for the most part she comes across as arrogant, religiously fanatical, stubborn and somewhat asinine. Every time she mentions her mother I just want to slap her.

I painfully finished the book after a 2-week hiatus, hoping that a fresh perspective might help, but unfortunately the story just grew more and more tiresome. I hardly even know how I managed to endure it.

Phillipa Gregory is well-known for pushing the envelope of historical fiction -- in "The Virgin's Lover" she had Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I consummate their relationship and painted a very unflattering word portrait of the young queen. In this book, Ms Gregory has Katherine of Aragon and Prince Arthur consummate their marriage as well, although there is very little historical evidence to support this view -- any more than there is any strong evidence that Elizabeth was not indeed the Virgin Queen.

This is one of the few novels I have read that presents Katherine in anything other than a flattering light, which is why I gave the book 4 stars. Usually Katherine is presented as the next thing to a saint -- patient and pious, long-suffering and sexless. Ms Gregory's Katherine is sultry and sexy, the spoiled youngest child of two of the greatest rulers of Spain. She is generally seen as a passive pawn of her parents and her father-in-law, Henry VII, which is a contrast to her stubborness in middle age, where she defied her husband Henry VIII when he informed her he wanted a divorce. From where did that steel and spine come? Ms Gregory states that Katherine always had a sense of destiny (born to be Princess of Wales and Queen of England), and was determined to fullfill what she saw as the will of God at all costs, including lying about the nature of the sexual relationship with her first husband.

Unfortunately, Katherine frequently comes across as being arrogant and insensitive, especially in her dealings with the Spanish ambassador and Henry VII. Her dismissive attitude toward a king who lead a hand-to-mouth existance for many years before winning the crown in battle, is so scornful that I found myself in the position of letting out a silent cheer when Henry bested her after the death of the Prince of Wales. But, to give the author her due, I have now no trouble seeing the stubborn Katherine of the later years.

All historical novels take liberties. As someone else pointed out, there is no evidence that Henry VII did not love his wife, Queen Elizabeth. Almost every account of the life of Henry VII indicates that he deeply mourned her death. The queen's feelings toward him may not be as well documented, but there seems to have been a mutual fondness. The fact that he considered re-marriage after her death is no indication that he did not love her. I have seen little evidence that Henry lusted after Katherine, although her early beauty may have pleased him.

Some reviewers here felt that Katherine was not a fully realized character, something with which I disagree. I think that the interior monologues are very revealing of her thinking -- the fact that she sometimes comes across as monsterous in her ambition for the crown of England is somewhat understandable, given her background and her religious convictions. Unfortunately, the narrative portions of the book are not as compelling as the monologues. Arthur never seems like a real person, and some of the other characters as well seem like cardboard cutouts.

If you cannot suspend your disbelief over the premise that Katherine was sexually experienced when she wed Henry VIII, then this may not be the book for you. It is a shame that the author did not include a more detailed ending essay to the book explaining how she arrived at her conclusion that Arthur and Katherine were fully man and wife. If you can deal with the author's premise, whether you believe it or not, I think you will enjoy this offbeat portrait of a woman who has captured the public imagination for almost 500 years: did they or didn't they, that is the question!

I'm a huge fan of history, and of books! Being a major in English myself, and being raised by a mother who was a HUGE history buff, I must say that this book was amazing. You must understand that Gregory had no choice but to make up a lot of the story line, and I strongly believe she followed history as closely as possible. Part of the fun of writing about history is being able to create your own story line while following actual events. I found the book full of love, compassion, hatred and hardened hearts. I found myself falling in love with Aurthur as Katherine did; and I found myself fighting for her place as Queen. I was heartbroken when Aurthur left the book; and when the first two pregnancies went wrong. I knew how the book ended of course, but the journey there was fascinating, poetic, and lovely. It is seriously a book you should consider reading.

This book was great, one of Gregory's best...simply facinating. Katherine was such an interesting woman, and her story had so much passion, depth and intrigue. I never knew much about this queen, and was enthralled from beginning to end. What an amazing character. I loved this book, and would highly recommend it.

Loved the history but was distracted by the going back and forth between first and third person. Her writing style seems to drag on in some bits but then gives no desire fiction in others. Will give some of her other

Yes, we know it's historical fiction but historical fiction is supposed to have some basis in actual historical fact besides just the names and a basic outline of the situation. This is true for this novel as well as her new one, The Other Boleyn Girl. In most historical fiction novels, even regular fiction novels, when the authors play fast and loose with some of the facts they tell you at the beginning or the end that they have modified facts for the stories sake and then tell you which ones. Then we can still enjoy the fiction but the facts are preserved. The problem when an author doesn't feel that they are bound by this professional coutesy is that readers who are not well versed in the history, read this book and think that what they are reading is true. HISTORICAL fiction does imply that a lot of what you are reading is fact and people cannot be blamed for assuming that some of what they are reading is true.

This book started off pretty well. The story is carried on alternating between third person narrative and first person voice-over by Katherine. Unfortunately, Phillipa Gregory only wrote half of a book. She seems to have completely lost interest in the story about 2/3 of the way through. She takes Katherine up to the point that she is pregnant with Mary, and has defeated the Scots, then skips over more than a decade, and ends the story. She spends a lot of time developing Katherine as a determined fighter, and then leaves out arguably, the most interesting fight Katherine ever had-that with Anne Boleyn. Maybe she should have written one novel about Katherine's younger years, and then a sequel. This princess/queen deserves better. Too bad. I have enjoyed other books by this author.

Even though I have found Philippa Gregory's Tudor series ("The Other Boleyn Girl;" "The Queen's Fool;" "The Virgin's Lover" & "The Constant Princess," to be excellent reads -- Gregory writes well and in an engaging manner -- I will have to admit that "The Queen's Fool" & "The Virgin's Lover" did not quite measure up (for me) to "The Other Boleyn Girl." I found those two books to be less emotionally engaging and a little less complex. Of course, this could well be because I'm not so partial to Elizabeth I. Whatever the reason, it was with relief that I found myself becoming totally involved and engaged with the plight of Catalina of Aragon as she circumvated her way through the treacherous English court politics of Henry VII.

Catalina of Spain, youngest daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, had been raised to believe fervently in her parents' causes (to unite all of Spain and make it a completely Christian country, and to create alliances with other Christian European countries that would enable them to beat back the Muslims) and to know her place in her parents schemes -- to marry the English Prince of Wales and become Queen of England, and to ensure England's help in her parents' crusade against the Muslims. But even though Catalina had anticipated that her life would not be a completely easy one (being so very far away from home and family, and feeling so completely alien in a foreign land), even she had not imagined how much pain, sorrow and heartache her life in England would be. Or just how tenacious she would have to be in order to ensure that she retained her rightful place.

Soon after her arrival in England, Catalina finds herself married off to the young Prince of Wales, Arthur, who behaves both in a rather immature and rather resentful way towards her initially-- something that the princess of the blood finds difficult to endure. But just as things begin to look up for our princess, disaster strikes; and Catalina finds herself a widow with no secure place in the English court. As Catalina battles for her rightful place, she comes face to face, for the first time, with the petty cruelties of Henry VII, as well as the almost casual indifference of her own parents. And faces the bitter truth that she can only depend on herself to survive (a lesson that will help her in future times) . With her faith and her pride as her only props, Catalina stubbornly clings to her belief that she was born to be Queen of England -- something that keeps her going through her long hard years living on the fringes of Henry's court, until he finally dies and Arthur's younger, charming but lazy brother becomes king. Will Catalina's faith and tenacity finally pay off?

I enjoyed Philippa Gregory's portrayal of the Princess of Aragon, warts and all. We see Catalina at her very best and at her worst -- her pride and her arrogance, her stubborn faith in her parents' manifestoes, refusing to see that her parents' claims were often at odds with their actions; but we also see Catalina at her most vulnerable and get to admire her for her courage and tenacity -- one may not always like the manner in which this Catherine acts, but one cannot help but admire the bravery and strength of mind she exhibits in order to obtain the results she so desires. I also liked the manner in which the author portrayed Henry VIII, laying the foundations for what would happen in the years to come, by showing the man to be a very vain, lazy and easily manipulated character. And what a wonderfully chilling portrait of autocratic and proud Margaret of Beaufort (Henry VII's mother) Ms Gregory provides us with! She definitely hit the nail on the head for me with that characterisation. And if I didn't totally buy Philippa Gregory's contention that Catherine and Arthur's marriage was consummated (too many people would have known and Henry VIII's henchmen would have left no stone unturned in their bid to discredit Catherine), I found myself devoutly wishing that it had been so, as this would definitely transform Catherine from the pious and devout wife who allowed Henry to ride roughshod over her, to a Queen who had loved and lost, but who survived her loss and achieved her ultimate goal to be Queen of England. All in all, a captivating and riveting read.

Many of Phillipa's other books are great but this book was irritating to me. I loved the story line which was very interesting but the book portrays the thoughs of the Princess/Queen which were redundant and annoying. The book could have been half its size if she didn't have the main character repeat herself over and over. The "Virgin Queen" and "The Other Boleyn Girl" are much better.

This is my least favorite book of Gregory's because I didn't like Catalina's character and I didn't like the parts of history that the author omitted from the story. I thought that Gregory should have included more of Katherine's marriage with Henry, not just the beginning and end of her marriage with him and I didn't really like the whole premise of why she lied to Henry about her virginity. The whole story seemed strained and the characters seemed to be one disappointment after another like Katherine's life.

Historically inaccurate, a painfully rushed third act, and not up to the high standards set by Philippa Gregory's other Tudor novels. It reads like something written by a well-intentioned romance author. What amazed me was the author's decision to write a Katharine of Aragon that bore absolutely no resemblance to the historical figure. I've found all her previous Tudor character studies to be incredibly believeable(notwithstanding Elizabeth I's excessive randiness in The Virgin's Lover). Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII himself, all seem to come alive. Why then is Katharine of Aragon groping her husband on her wedding night, dressing in the Tudor equivalent of a naughty negligee, and seducing her father-in-law for the sake of politics?

This "racy" view is completely at odds with every historical source which portrays Catalina de Aragon as a intensely religious, reserved woman who would never repeatedly perjure herself. For a rigorously devoted Roman Catholic to live such a lie her entire life (to say nothing of the sexual politics she is depicted as playing) would be live a life of sin. There is nothing in the historical record to ever suggest Katharine would choose that path.

If Philippa Gregory wants to write a purely fictitious re-imagining of Katharine of Aragon, that's fine (I've always wanted more exploration of what her life might have been like if Prince Arthur hadn't died). But to claim this character is based on fact is both laughable and insulting to all authors who strive for historical accuracy.

From the moment of her birth, Katherine (Catalina) of Aragon, daughter of the well-known Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella, has known that her destiny is to be the Queen of England. Upon coming of age and marrying Arthur, the Prince of Wales, she is pleased to find love in a marriage born of her parents' political tactics, and that she and her husband share the same dreams and ambitions for the land they will eventually rule together. However, her happiness is short-lived when she tragically loses Arthur to illness. A deathbed promise and a colossal lie result in her marriage to Arthur's younger brother Harry (eventually the infamous Henry VIII), but unless she can produce an heir to his throne, her position is still insecure.

The book seemed to end rather abruptly, and the later but nevertheless important events in Katherine's life are merely glossed over. However, it is still a rich, enjoyable read.

If you ignore the fact that Philippa Gregory's writing style is dull and that she overuses italicized thought paragraphs to show what the main character is thinking, which is so very annoying... and this can all be overlooked if the tale is exciting... and this tale is not..... you're still left with half a story. The book ends before Henry even begins his infamous casanova-ist adventures. I can't say all of the references to Isabella of Spain were necessary. If I wanted to read about Isabella, I would have bought a book about her.

I hardly ever really dislike books, but this lazy half-effort was honestly a chore to read. I had read and enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl, so I bought this book expecting more enjoyable historical fluff. What I got instead was a painfully written main character whose abysmally boring story I literally had to force myself to finish. Katherine of Aragon is absolutely butchered in this story: she is vastly unlikeable, continuously spoiled, selfish, and vain. Additionally, her story (at least the way Gregory wrote it) really isn't all that interesting. She has two dull-as-dust marriages, carps on in eye-straining Italic font for half the book about being God's chosen one, and plots to suit her own unconvincingly explained ambition, all the while lamenting the tantalizing court intrigue which we are scarcely shown. The character is sketched weakly and with no uniformity: she is depicted as unrelentingly whiny and selfish throughout the entire novel, then all of a sudden, Gregory attempts to convince us that Katherine was a heroic warrior queen who risked her life to save her people. What should have been the more interesting plot points in any story about Katherine of Aragon were either ignored or lightly brushed over. Gregory did Katherine the disservice of stripping her of any realistic human traits and instead rendering her as the worst kind of opportunistic bosom-heaver. Whether you are interested in Henry VIII-era history or not, do not bother reading this book: if you are interested in that type of history, you'll only be exasperated, and if you're just looking for a good narrative story, you'd be better served by a dime-store romance novel. Or the back of a cereal box.

I'm a big fan of Gregory's writing and this is definatly my favorite book by her. The characters in this book are very real and the history is great, also unlike some of her other books i didn't feel that she left out too much of the history which made the book much more enjoyable for me to read. The love story in this book was wonderful and because the characters seemed so real to me i felt like the romance didn't feel as forced or irrelivent as in sometimes does in her other books. If I had to give a critizem i would say that the time where Catherine in basically forced to stay in England after Aurther dies draged on too long and was a little boring but other than that, i would say that this is an amazing book and i think that whether you like gregory's writing because of the history of the character's romance this story will fasanate you.

What a bizarre book! I have read many fictional biographies of the Tudor era and this is one of the very worst. Not only are the characters very shallow and one-dimensional, the entire premise is historically inaccurate.

Katharine of Aragon was a very pious, deeply devout Roman Catholic and to suggest that she embraced Moslem customs and beliefs is just too bizarre to believe. She was also deeply devoted to Henry VIII and to suggest otherwise goes against documented historical record.

As if the sappy storyline (suitable for a romance novel)wasn't insult enough, Ms. Gregory's disregard for truth is the one constant thread in the whole entire novel.

To cap it off, the disjointed narrative method adds its own cachet of awfullness. I personally don't need to read every few pages that Katharine believed herself born and designated by God to be Queen of England.

Nora Lofts has written a far better book about her-the Kings Pleasure. Do yourself a favor and read it

I have read a couple of Gregory's other books and although she does not capture periods well, those were less gratingly off-key than this one.

I am not a scholar, though I do enjoy history very much, and I recognize that historical fiction is just that, fiction. However, responsible h-f authors ground their stories in the period and the characters, rather than distorting both to make the story they want.

Katherine of Aragon is one of the better documented women of her time, but the historical Katherine is unrecognizable in this book. (For a lovely portrait, try Mattingly's superb bio - no harlequin romance escapades there, but a beautifully told story.)

Starts off slows and ends with a whimper, but the meat of the story, Catherine of Aragon's widowhood after the death of Arthur, Prince of Wales, and her eventual marriage to his brother, Henry VIII, is rich and thoughtful. Gregory does Tudor fiction like no one else.

Like most people, when I think of Katherine of Aragon, I think of Henry VIII's aging wife, whom he threw over for Anne Boleyn. In this book, Gregory delivers a fascinating tale from the point of view of the young Catalina, Infanta of Spain, conceived and born in a war camp by Ferdinand and Isabella, then raised in the splendor of the Alhambra. How strange the English customs would have seemed to her, how squalid their castles, how wrong her treatment by Henry when she had done her duty to God and country.

Impossible to put down, even if you know the outcome of the tale.

This book is very good in the fact that it brings you closer to Queen Katherine of Aragon; who, in my opinion, is not really given a chance to speak in most instances. This story really lets you see the other side (from a historical (fiction) perspective) and sympathize even more with this wife who will be carelessly thrown aside

I have long been a fan of Philippa Gregory, starting with "The Other Boleyn Girl." When I saw she had a new novel out, I just had to read it.

I think that, while she did take some liberty with the history, Gregory did an overall good job with the book. As a historian and lover of Tudor history, I applaud her for breaking with the conventional view of Katherine and Arthur's marriage never being consummated. I believe that it is entirely possible, and I also believe that it is likely that Katherine would have lied about it.

I also like how Gregory portrayed the marriage of Arthur and Katherine as one of love. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I think it made the story more likeable. As for Henry VIII, I think his personality was caught dead-on. He was a selfish, spoiled boy. And while I do think he loved Katherine for a time, he never really loved her deeply. Indeed, his affections were notoriously whimsical.

I say this is a great read for anyone looking for a sort-of biography mixed with fiction a tinged with romance. Not deadly historically accurate, but good overall.

I enjoyed this novelistic treatment of Catherine of Aragon precisely because it is so different from the usual treatment of her.
It is an easy read that left me wondering 'what if' some of the conjecture is true? This Catherine does not appeal to me as such as some of the more traditional portrayals, but the possibilities introduced by Ms Gregory do.

I liked it, and recommend it as a light read.

I have never read a book that painted Katherine of Aragon in such a pleasing light. Most novels begin from the time of Henry's infatuation with Anne Boleyn, at which point Katherine's character will soon be put out of the story, thus she is not well developed. I loved the plot Philippa Gregory developed from the very beginning, and soon fell in love with Katherine and really felt for her. The love triangle that is Arthur-Katherine-Henry is so intriguing when painted in this light that it is hard not to believe. A great read!

I have enjoyed almost all her other works but this one was a waste of money and time. I couldn't force myself to get to the end. Continually I turned the page in hopes it would get better but it didn't. The way she moves the point of view from Katharine back to the story is not enjoyable. I would hate not to enjoy Philippa Gregory again but this one will make me think twice before paying full price again.

Like most of the reviews I've read, I bought this book because I am a Phillipa Gregory fan. I am not well informed on English history, so I enjoy reading her novels to gain some historical background, as well as for enjoyment. As I read the book, I became curious about several of the incidents, so I would stop reading and research them as I went along. (That is a good thing, because I learned a lot along the way.) I, of course, found no indication that King Henry VII ever lusted after, or proposed marriage to Catherine. But, the most glaring stretch for me was not that she fell head over heels in love with Arthur, but that she led England's army into the Battle of Flodden, and then finds herself pregnant along the way. That was so far from reality that I found it bordered on the absurd.

I also felt that the book ended very abruptly. It went from the year 1513 to 1529 in one page. The shift in continuity was so startling that I felt that Ms. Gregory must have been late handing in her manuscript.

My greatest disappointment in this book is that although it's fiction, I would like it to have been based more on historical fact. It was too much like a fairy tale.

As a huge Anne Boleyn fan, I have never had much compassion for Katherine of Aragon. This book changed all that. While I am well-aware that this is a work of fiction, Phillipa Gregory's attempt to get inside the mind of the put-aside queen puts a unique perspective on Henry VIII. This book spurred me to do more non-fiction on Katherine and moved her from a place of quiet dismissal to one of great admiration. A must-read for fans of Tudor history.

Overall, I've loved Ms. Gregory's work, but I was sorely disappointed in this. This could have been a perfect book - except. The liberties taken with history were too much to overlook, and if you read much historical fiction, eventually they become so overwhelming as to pull you out of the fiction magic. Henry the 7th saying, perhaps we can all live contentedly without war as "People of the Book," Muslims, Jews, and Christians? A lovely 21st century thought, but certainly not 15th century. I wanted to like this book. I really did. I will go pull some Margaret George or Sharon Kay Penman off of the shelf instead.

I have read and enjoyed many Philippa Gregory's novels. The Tudor series has definitely been my favorite but this book did not stand up to the others. The story never grabbed me and was really difficult to get through. The characters weren't as fleshed out as in her other novels.

Ms Gregory's books continue to enthrall me. I feel so enriched after reading each of her novels about various Tudor figures. The Constant Princess grabbed my attention from the start. I was fascinated by the strength of Queen Isabella, and how she passed that down to Catalina.

Every time I read another book by Ms Gregory, I notice a few things:

* My household chores tend to be a bit..ahem, unattended.

* Although I know this is a novel, all of Ms Gregory's books make me so much more fascinated by the various people depicted. I want to learn more about the facts, the relationships and the history. So, novel or not- ANY book that can make a person become so much more interested in learning, THAT is a gift from the author.

* As each new book is released, I love viewing aspects of Tudor life from different vantage points, through the eyes of the characters.

I recommend any and all of Ms Gregory's Tudor novels, and once you read one- you'll want to read the others. They intertwine with each other.

It is a different view/approach of the queen's perspective, the one as a young princess. I think it difficult to believe that she loved Arthur better than Henry, although it is possible. It was an excuse created by the author to plead virginity, that everybody agree she didn't had anymore. It was all about keeping power and alliances. But I didn't know about the period of time waiting for a new marriage. Probably it was her parents decision, as always, for she had lost her value as a bargain, as a marriageable princess.

This historical element of this novel is interesting, but its main downfall is that is is simply too far into the more seedy romance novel category. The love scenes are too graphic for my taste. And I think it takes away from the main story. I would like to see Katherine of Aragon's story written again with more emphasis on the political element rather than the wedding and bedding element.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was just a juicy story, full of drama, backstabbing, heartache & romance. I liked Catalinas character, she was a strong woman, very naive at first, but determined. I like the love story between her and Arthur. I will be reading more of Philippa Gregory novels.

Let me preface by saying that I am a huge fan of Philippa Gregory's novels. When she writes, she has the amazing ability to put you there, in the center of her stories. "The Other Boleyn Girl" inspired me to go on and read more about these fascinating times and fascinating people. However, this book, not only took me 40 some odd pages to actually take hold of, in the end I was left feeling completely drained and empty. No substance to Catalina, Katherine, and no substance to any of the characters. For further thought, I think we all understand that these are but works of fiction based on actual fact, but so were all of her other novels. I, too, think that she may be writing to quickly for her own good. Not a good read. Very disappointing, indeed.

I found this somewhat slimmer Gregory book a great read. It's hard to keep a reader's attention when you know you're on the protagonist's road to tragedy, but Gregory manages to do that in style.
--James Conroyd Martin, Author of PUSH NOT THE RIVER Push Not the Riverand AGAINST A CRIMSON SKYAgainst a Crimson Sky: A Novel

P. Gregory has done an inspiring job with her research into these famous medieval women; in this case Catherine of Aragon. I did find "the lie" plausible. The back story of Catherine was fascinating and gave me a better understanding of her ability to survive the Court of Henry VIII as long as she did!

I will admit up front that I am not a Philippa Gregory fan. True fans may wish to skip this review altogether. I do read a lot of history and historical novels about this period, and I was intrigued as I flipped through the pages and read about the confrontation between Katharine and Margaret Beaufort, Henry VIII's very powerful grandmother, who tends to be left out of accounts of this period. I was also glad to see a novel that dealt extensively with Katharine's earlier years.

I disliked The Other Boleyn Girl, but at least I didn't become as bored as I did by this novel. There are a few effective and historical incidents: Henry VII's gift of jewelry to assuage Katharine's homesickness, her refusal to state an opinion on going to Ludlow, her false pregnancy, etc. Gregory shows Katharine as the pretty young girl and shrewd woman she probably was. The beginning, at Granada and Gregory's revisionist view of Katharine and Arthur's marriage are both interesting and intriguing. For the most part, however, the book is entirely too interior, too focussed on the private and Katharine's very repetitive thoughts. Clearly, Gregory is partly trying to explain Katharine's adamant refusal to allow her marriage to be dissolved, but I don't need to be retold the same thing every tenth page. Too much is told and not shown: we are told of Queen Elizabeth's kindness to Katharine, but we don't see it. We are told that the Duke of Buckingham gave Katharine gifts of food when she was in dire straits, but we never see him showing up at her home. Moreover, since the book leaps from 1513 to 1529, the trial at Blackfriars, I hope the reader is familiar with The King's Great Matter, because there is almost no explanation here. I don't mind that the book ends here, there have been so many other books, but there may be some readers who have no idea what is going on. Maybe one could read the first two parts of the book, switch to The Other Boleyn Girl, and then switch back when it gets up to the trial, and then resume reading it after this.

One problem with the book is that except for the longing for a child, there is only ever one thing happening in Katharine's life at a time: from Fall of 1511 until 1513, for example, the only subject of the plot is the looming war with France and Scotland. This is the period when Katharine's dear friend Margaret de la Pole was created Countess of Salisbury, a title held by her Yorkist forebears (perhaps with Katharine's encouragement?). The book establishes Katharine's sad plight after Arthur's death, and then skips forward to Henry VII's death, leaving out such interesting events as the meeting of Henry with Katharine's sister Juana and her brother-in-law Philip. Katharine would later be involved in Henry VII's attempt to marry the widowed Juana (over the vehement objections of Ferdinand). It omits, except by allusion, the marriage of Princess Margaret to James IV of Scotland and the proxy marriage of Henry VIII's sister Mary to Juana's son Charles, as Philip and Henry plot to combine against Ferdinand. So much going on that could have been described, and we have endless repetitions of Katharine's belief that she is fated to be Queen of England! By skipping from 1513 to 1529, we miss Henry's bout with smallpox (very worrisome to the still childless Katharine, wouldn't you think?), the switch to an alliance with France, sealed by the marriage of Henry VIII's sister to Louis XII of France, accompanied by rumors that Henry meant to set aside Katharine and marry a French princess. Mary Tudor was a loyal friend to Katharine, and her dramatic secret marriage to Charles Brandon after being widowed (with Katharine perhaps pleading that they be forgiven?) is completely absent. Katharine nearly caused an international incident by persuading Henry to break his vow not to shave until he met Francis I of France. We miss the birth and rearing of Katharine and Henry's daughter Mary, the birth and ennoblement of his illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy, the rumors that he will replace Mary as Henry's heir. How can the life of Katharine of Aragon become so dull?

I am not bothered by the assertion that Katharine and Arthur's marriage was consummated - when her marriage to the future Henry VIII was proposed, the English stated in their petition to the Pope that it was, and the Spanish claimed that it wasn't. (The Pope was not amused.) I'm willing to accept the premise as the basis for the story. It really only mattered because Henry later made the ad hoc claim that the Pope couldn't grant a dispensation in that case. There was some controversy at the time of her marriage to Henry, and apparently there were flaws in the dispensation, but only Henry's desire to leave the marriage made these significant. Manoel of Portugal married Katharine's sister Isabel; when she died leaving him a young son, he married her sister Maria, and that marriage stood.

Yes, I know that Katharine was very pious, but so were Richard III and Margaret Beaufort - politics encourages convenient morals. And Katharine is supposed to have done this partly in order to continue the good works that she and Arthur planned, but we never see her generous support of education, her attempts to introduce new craft industries, etc. We never really understand why the English public supported her, no matter what Henry said about their marriage. In service to the vision of Arthur as Katharine's One True Love, Katharine's famous devotion to Henry VIII is discounted. I found Henry VII's coarse leering at Katharine tiresome and crudely written; I don't think there is any historical basis for it.

Gregory tells us in her notes that she also wants to give a voice to the Moslems of el Andalus. She lays it on with a trowel. Katharine misses the privacy of the harem where woman can really trust one another and don't have to worry about their husbands cavorting with someone else(!?) Andalusia was a veritable paradise of refinement, learning and tolerance, her people pillars of virtue. Well, I've read that, but I've also read that the much vaunted tolerance was something of a myth, invented centuries later in order to shame Christian Europe into imitating it. I think she has seriously overdone it, and that sort of thing often backfires. I can only remember Jane Austen's assertion that pictures of perfection made her sick and wicked. In any case, if Gregory wants to give the Moors of Spain a voice, I suggest that she write a novel about them in all their human complexity, not simply tack them on as a romantic myth. Gregory says that el-Andalus has a lot to say to us as we struggle with tolerance and mutuality, but she never shows us how the Moors are supposed to have managed it.

Katharine's attitude towards the Moors is not so much ambivalent as cognitively dissonent. She alternates between calmly explaining their glorious culture and history to Arthur and becoming nearly hysterical at the thought of Moors. This erratic vacillation undermines one of Gregory's themes, i.e., Katharine learning to think independently of her parents. Katharine tells Arthur that the Spanish royalty are very much Arabs in private, have adopted, rather than adapted, Arab customs. This while they are destroying all the centers of learning and driving out all the uniquely competent doctors as minions of Satan. Even if they did indeed take a great deal from Moorish culture, I doubt that they would consciously see themselves as becoming Arab. One can understand that Katharine is enthusiastic about Englishmen joining a Spanish crusade against North Africa, but Katharine spends a fair amount of time worrying about the threats posed to England by the Moors. I think it would be pretty obvious that England's most pressing foreign concern was not likely to be an armada of the Barbary pirates appearing off the white cliffs of Dover. Ferdinand and Isabella's determination to drive out the Moors didn't cause them to neglect European politics.

I suppose that anyone who is a big fan of Philippa Gregory will want to at least try this. Those who like richly detailed recreations of the past and vivid imaginative constructions of historal people may be disappointed. Gregory's version of Arthur and Katherine's marriage is really the only interesting variation in this very familiar tale.

I recommend two much better novels by Norah Lofts: Crown of Aloes (Isabella of Castile) and The King's Pleasure (Katharine of Aragon). The young adult novel Patience, Princess Catherine: A Young Royals Book (Young Royals) by Carolyn Meyer is a much more vivid picture of her life from just before her departure from Spain to just after her marriage to Henry. The story is bookended by Katharine's defiance of Henry after his marriage to Anne Boleyn many years later, but the historical notes are better.

Added September 7, 2013. Actually I have thought of how Katharine might arguably have been better off in a Muslim (or some other polygamous) culture, but it's the opposite of what Gregory suggests. There would have been no problem with sons and probably no divorce because Henry's other wives and concubines would have provided him with sons! Even if Henry had Kells as Kyra Cornelius Kramer in her book Blood Will Tell: A Medical Explanation for the Tyranny of Henry VIII, suggests, multiple sexual partners would have mitigated the problem. And no matter how hard Henry fell in love with another woman, there would have been no need to discard a wife with valuable political connections.

I was coming off the page-turning "The Other Boleyn Girl" and the satisfying "Boleyn Inheritance" when I picked up "The Constant Princess." I told myself after the first 20 pages that I should give it a little bit more time to pick up because all of her other books had. However, I found myself...bored with the characters, the story. It was not engaging.

Having read The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance I was extremely excited to tackle this novel about Henry VIII's first with Katherine of Aragon.

Overall, the book was a pleasant read. It was interesting to finally be in the mind of this first wife. I enjoyed the details about making war, treaties, and alliances. The descriptions of Alhambra and her childhood were wonderfully written and engaging. I left this book with even more respect for the formidable woman who despite all odds was a great Queen of England.

The novel possesses two serious faults making me enjoy it far less then the two other Henry VIII books. First and foremost, the novel drags when describing "the love" between Arthur and Katherine. It is too long, too repetitive, and too boring! These pages were a waste and I found myself skipping over most of this marriage. Speaking of skipping, this brings me to my second fault with the book, it is completely appalling that Ms. Gregory chose to end this novel where she did. She skips over the majority of Katherine's reign, the birth of Princess Mary, and the entire Anne Boleyn scandal. Upon ending the novel I was extremely disappointed to be cut out of so much of Katherine's life.

I would recommend the book overall because it is a pleasant enough read but it is also a large disappointment.

I loved The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool, but this novel is not up the standards Philippa Gregory set in those two books. It started out strong, but became repetitive and boring, with little for the title character to do but pace around various castles and prisons reciting internal monologs about why she "must be queen!" For readers who enjoy historical fiction written about this era, I strongly recommend Margaret George's Autobiography of Henry VIII or Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles, both truly brilliant historical novels.

I'm not sure if I didn't like the writing or just that I didn't like Katherine. I usually like Phillipa Gregory novels. I do like The Other Queen and found Mary Stuart very compelling. I also like the Boleyn Inheritance as well as The Other Boleyn Girl.

I am a fan of historical fiction and I usually like Ms. Gregory's work. However, this book just would not end. It was, in my opinion, long and drawn out. Nonetheless, the storyline was good and it kept my interest. I just wish it had a bit less 'fillers'.

I personally really enjoyed this book! It's meant to be entertaining and not 100% historically accurate. I read "The Other Boleyn Girl" first and this second. I would recommend reading this one first I think. I had a whole new appreciation for Katherine of Aragon, and there was a depth to her that would have carried over to TOBG. Also, you get to know Henry VIII from his childhood. Absolutely worth reading.

Read this book a few years back. Thought it was great. Very descriptive and intriguing. I loved the romance within the book. Catalina goes through a great deal and you see her grow as the book goes on. Very well written. Need to read the entire series!

This book was recommended thsi book to me as being a good historical fiction. The problem is how SLOW the book is! I can't let me children read it because of the sex, but even as an adult, I can't call this book a necessary read. The first quarter of the book are notes the heroine writes to herself and stories she tells her prince. It came across as very forced... nothing natural about their interaction.

I can't say I'll check out any of her other books...

All historical evidence indicates that Katherine of Aragon was one of the most ill-treated queens in England's history. She was loyal, steadfast, pious, and devoted to her husband Henry and her daughter Mary. She was rewarded for her devotion by rejection and betrayal. Yet she always maintained her dignity and her faith. Now along comes this book, which portrays her as manipulative, scheming and dishonest. As has been pointed out, this is a work of fiction. But I believe that the author has a responsiblity to both her readers, and to Katherine herself, to note that she has deviated from accepted historical research, and to stress that it is almost entirely certain that the marriage between Katherine and Arthur was never consummated. It is not credible that Katharine would have lied (and asked others to perjure themselves as well) if this had not been the case. Katherine's true story is tragic and poignoint enough. It was not necessary to completely alter and cheapen her character just to make a "better" story.

This book was good. It was at it's best in the beginning then after Arthur died it went downhill. Philippa did a wonderfuol job of writing it. I think that the people who aren't as happy with it as with her other books are more upset with what happens to Catalina/Katherine. Her life was hard after she married Henry VIII. I think the way it was written was great but the actual truth and reality of her life was sad. I also liked that Philippa wrote that Arthur and Catalina's marriage was consumated and it made the story better when they fell in love. Most books i've read about Katherine all state that she never slept with Arthur. So this book is a breathe of fresh air. Very well written. i can't wait until Philippa's new book "The Boleyn Inheritence" comes out. good work!

While "The Other Boleyn Girl" was richly imagined in great detail, most of this book was repetitive and generalized. It did give me the barest background on Kathryn, for which I was grateful, but I expected mastery and got averageness.

The book was OK. It isn't my favorite of Gregory's Tudor books. I really would have liked learning about what happenened to Katherine AFTER the rise Anne Boleyn and her fall from grace. The book could have been much longer or lots of stuff could have been condensed to make room for that part of the story. How did she live? What regrets did she have? How did she make peace with the sitation or did she? She thought she was destined to be Queen of England so how did she live out the rest of her life? That said, I still think Gregory is a good writer and I'm glad I have read all her books. . .

I have had a love of history since my ealy years. Philippa Gregory Makes history interesting. I know her writing is fiction but, she does use historical fact as the background for her stories. It is the facts that she uses that I love. If students were able to learn the stories behind the facts given in textbooks there may be more interest in History and Government class. That said. The book is wonderful. It sheds light on a very important and pivotal time in history. If you are like me,you wont be able to put the book down,

I was looking forward to reading this book for months. It was the only thing I really wanted as a Christmas present. I read it straight through and was so very disappointed. I understand that historical fiction is just that fiction, but many people who read these stories are history fans and are looking for a creative turn on historical events. This book I am sorry to say was not at all what I thought it would be. The author takes more than a dozen artisitc liberties and makes one wonder if any historical study was done in writing the book. Everything anyone knows about Catherine of Aragon was discounted and turned on its head. The question of her sleeping with Arthur was blown to bits and made into a fantasty sequence that most assurdly never did or ever could have happened. She was made to be a liar, made out to not have even had had true feelings for her husband and even presumes to explain why her child was named what she was. The book also made Catherine seem a lot meanier and more calculating than any histories I have read. It is fine to take liberties but this was far too much. The author basically just used the names and the historical time period and made a story up all of her own. I am worried that people will now read this book and believe all the facets of this book to be true. I think that if one writes about a historical person or time period regardless of it being a fiction tale or not, that that person should try and be true and stick to the known facts. I love the Other Boylen Girl and will re-read it unitl the end of time. This book is going to re-sale and I hope to never see it again. Most disappointing.

A novel way of looking at the Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII relationship, and whether Catherine's marriage to Arthur, Henry's older brother was consummated. As always, Philippa Gregory spins a tale that cannot be put down.

Phillippa Gregory is one of my favorite authors, but I was a little disappointed in this book. I loved the early chapters on the relationship between Arthur and Catalina, though there is no way of knowing how much of it was true. I also enjoyed the alternate theory of whether or not the marriage was consummated... again, we'll never know if it was true or not. It put a whole new twist on the historical books I've read, such as "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" by Alison Weir, and "The Private life of Henry VIII" by Margaret George. Was Catalina really that calculating as far as becoming queen, or was she really a victim like most histories paint her.... We'll never know! I was mostly disapointed in the abrupt ending... why go on and on about war against France, then cut it off all the way to Blackfriars, when Henry VIII wanted the annulment? What happened to the years in between that?

This book was very enjoyable to read. I liked the fictional aspect of the relationship between Catherine of Aragon and Arthur, Prince of Wales. No one will ever know if their marriage was ever consummated (except for the two of them) and it is always interesting to speculate that it was.

Phillippa Gregory did a wonderful job on this book so much focus has been on Anne Boylen in most books about the tudor period. That i found it refreshing to get the chance to learn about Katherine.Great work Philippa

and keep those books coming!

Disappointing. Not on a par with "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Gregory. I couldn't get past the historical innacuracies, such as portraying Henry VII as lusting after Katherine, and giving Katherine and Arthur a sexual relationship which is something most historians agree did not happen. For a much better historical fiction, read Jean Plaidy's "Katharine of Aragon". Or for historical accuracy, read Allison Weir's "The Six Wives of Henry VIII".

As a huge fan of her other books (especially the Boleyn series), at first I thought this book was a bit slow, but it really picked up about a 1/3 of the way through, and then i felt the beginning was really useful. Gregory spins her usual magic at blending historical fact with romantic thrilling adventure, and making us love the protaganist, here Catalina/Katherine. Toward the end it tapered, and I feel the real meat is in the middle, at seeing her ascendance as princess -twice. It is really good and anyone who enjoys historical fiction or her other books will like this.

This was a very enjoyable book; the best I have read in a long time. However I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because it was longer than necessary. If you love historical fiction, this is the book for you. I didn't know anything about this queen before I read this book, but the story is absolutely fascinating. A must read.

While we are typically treated to a view of Katherine of Aragon (Catalina) as a stern, solemn religious woman who is being obstinate about the demise of her marriage, The Constant Princess gives a plausible account, not only of her early childhood, but of her rationale for marrying Henry VIII, and the mission, based on a deathbed promise to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Once again, Philippa Gregory enthralled me with a tale of the times which, having now read many of her books, as well as many of the references in her bibliography, seems like she was a reporter on the scene. Well done, Ms. Gregory!!!

I had not read anything by this author, so really didnt know what to expect - however, I am now ADDICTED. I thought the story was well written and enjoyable. When reading this type of book, you have to remember that it IS historical FICTION. The author did do some really great research, but people, this is a novel... that being said - I thought it was very good & would recommend it. I am currently on my 3rd book by this author ...