Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen: Six Tudor Queens 1

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The King’s Painter by bestselling historian Alison Weir is an e-short and companion piece to the captivating fourth novel in the Six Tudor Queens series, Anna of Kleve: Queen of Secrets. This is a long book, 624p. I think that it does represent a very good representation of Katherine's viewpoint and also what it was like to be a queen 500 years ago. I was raised Roman Catholic and taught that Henry VIII's move to divorce Katherine was based on lust for Anne Boleyn. But the book makes clear Henry's fear that if he did not have a lawful son and heir, his country might descend into civil war when he died. He had an illegitimate son by a mistress, but his sons by Katherine died. He became convinced that he was cursed because he married his brother's widow. The battle of Bosworth, ending the civil war with Henry VII triumphant, took place in 1485, only 6 years before Henry VIII's birth. Henry VII impressed upon his sons the importance of carrying on on the royal lineage to avoid another civil war. This was a wonderful telling of the life Katherine of Aragon, the true Queen and wife of Henry the Eighth. Katherine is presented as a woman of high morals and standards who stood by both the love she had for Henry and the life that she ultimately was condemned to lead. Hers was a sad life, deprived of her husband's love and denied the ability to be and see her daughter. Her loss of so many children while being married to Henry, was so tragic and yet her Christian faith allowed her to continue on. The idea of writing a series of six novels about the wives of Henry VIII came suddenly to me as I was discussing another proposal with my agent. It was an obvious choice, for I have studied Henry’s queens over several decades, and published books on them, notably a collective biography in 1991, which I am now re-researching and rewriting.

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The book is divided in chapters labeled with the years. The narrative moves from scene to scene, generally brief, with any amount of time passing in between. Sometimes this style is annoying, but it was totally appropriate for this story. I ended up Googling a lot of historical figures and events relating to the book and learned a lot that way, thanks to the book. A lot of research went into this to make it as accurate as possible. We will see her little more than a little girl, arriving from Alcalá de Henares because she was engaged to Arthur, Prince of Wales, eldest son of Henry VII of England... Arthur, the first Tudor prince, is raised to believe that he will inherit a kingdom destined to be his through an ancient royal bloodline. He is the second Arthur, named for the legendary hero-king of Camelot.With the entrance of Anne Boleyn, everything becomes heartbreaking.... with Catherine who will always refuse to divorce and renounce the validity of their marriage, recognizing the dispensation received at the time by Julius II as valid. Catherine remained always firm in her faith, without giving up a step in considering herself the true Queen of England, she would never renounce it, she would renounce the good and the love she always had towards her husband, now married to the Boleyn. She managed to live the last years, now exiled from the court and forced to live in unhealthy and damp castles, with the friendship and fidelity of his ambassador Eustace Chapuys, Cardinal Fischer and shortly before the friendship and fidelity of Thomas More. Katherine of Aragon is the first book of the Six Tudor Queens series (in which each book is dedicated to recounting the life of one of King Henry VIII’s wives). Spanning from 1501 to 1536, Katherine’s life is examined from the time of her crossing the seas at age sixteen to the moment when the last breath leaves her body.

Jane Seymour - Six Tudor Queens Jane Seymour - Six Tudor Queens

Soon I will come face-to-face with Prince Arthur,’ Catalina said. She had been told countless times that her betrothed was a golden prince, beautiful and graceful with many excellent qualities, and that the English people hailed him as their great hope for the future. ‘I pray that I may please him.’ And that all will be well. This is a tale recounted by a beloved queen and by all accounts a principled and courageous person. But now, far from court and heavy with her husband’s child, Anne prays in the Hungerford chapel, and awaits the ghostly figure she knows will come. This is her story, one that entwines with the fate of another Lady Hungerford from not so many years before. They say there’s a curse on this family…

The book is divided into three parts; Katherine’s life as a widowed princess in a foreign land being treated as a pawn in the political machinations between England and Spain, then her life as a much-loved queen and finally, being moved around the country after her husband sets her aside. She has witnessed the danger and deceit that lie behind courtly play, and knows she must bear a son . . . or face ruin.