The Constant Princess

Posted by Lorri Brown Aug 11, 2007

The Constant Princess, by Philippa Gregory offers a glimpse into the early life of one of history’s most famous queens, Katherine of Aragon. Author of the Boleyn Inheritance, Gregory once again weaves an intriguing tale of royal life in Renaissance Europe and Tudor England. The story opens in Spain, as Catalina (Katherine) tells of her childhood growing up with two fearsome parents, Ferdinand and Isabella. Gregory paints a vivid portrait of Spain during the conquest of the Moorish kingdom of Al-Andalus. In the thick of battle, young Catalina comes of age, admiring her mother, whose will is as strong as steel. Catalina clings to the belief that God has chosen her to protect England from the Moors and keep it part of Christendom.

Upon arrival in England, Catalina finds herself wed to Arthur, the Prince of Wales. It is here that Gregory challenges the conventional belief that Catalina and Arthur never consummated their marriage. In fact, Gregory portrays the two as deeply in love with one another, and cruelly separated by Arthur’s untimely death. The death of her first husband marks the beginning of the Great Lie that Catalina vows to tell, in order to keep her throne. Gregory details the long seven years between Arthur’s death and Catalina’s marriage to his little brother, Henry VIII. With a new husband and a new name- Katherine, Queen of England, the Spanish Infanta believes her troubles are finally behind her. Little does she know they are just beginning.

Philippa Gregory will make you look anew at the relationship between Katherine of Aragon and Henry VIII, and question a story that you thought you knew.