The Constant Princess

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Catherine is depicted as being an intelligent, strong-willed and determined woman. She is politically astute and very observant, and skilled at playing the game of court-life. She is a very religious woman and believes in piety and modesty. She uses her Catholic faith as a source of strength during difficult times. She is usually able to remain calm and dignified even during the most trying of times. She is unwavering in her opinions, stubborn to a fault and never surrenders. Catherine is also shown to be very compassionate, as she cares for the common people and works tirelessly to help the poor. She does, however, have a sense of entitlement and being 'above' other people due to her royal status and upbringing, though this was considered quite normal for the upper classes of the 16th century. Splendid and sumptuous historical novel from this internationally bestselling author, telling of the early life of Katherine of Aragon.

Catherine se simte singură, îi este dor de casă, în special de mama ei, regina Isabella I a Castiliei. Oficial este soția Prințului de Wales și este foarte sigură că într-o bună zi va fi regina Angliei. Lucrurile se desfășoară armonios, lin și într-o măsură deosebită pentru a capta atenția cititorului. Pe a mea a captat-o încă de la bun început. Situația se înrăutățește în momentul în care Arthur, soțul Catherinei, moare pe 2 aprilie 1502, lăsând-o pe aceasta văduvă. Statutul său devine foarte nesigur din cauza pierderii soțului său. În tot acest timp menit doliului pe care trebuie să-l poarte, Catherine se închide în sine, nu mai mănâncă, nu mai scoate nici măcar un singur sunet și unde o puneau să stea acolo stătea stană de piatră. Stă și se gândește la soțul ei pe care l-am iubit cu adevărat. M-au impresionat dialogurile lor, comportamentul lor, dar și faptul că din străini au ajuns să fie într-adevăr soț și soție. Moartea lui Arthur a lăsat-o într-o mare de neliniște, nesiguranță și singurătate. Mary Tudor's portrayal here is definitely one of the more sympathetic ones, similar to her portrayal on The Tudors. Philippa Gregory's novels are known to portray the Catholic characters in a rather sympathetic light. That and most historians today reject the one-sided Protestant/Puritan propaganda portrayal of her as one-dimensionally and/or irredeemably pure evil. The titular Spanish Princess, Catherine ( Charlotte Hope), arrives in England to marry Prince Arthur ( Angus Imrie) to connect the fledgling Tudor dynasty to her parents' Spain. But when Arthur dies, Catherine's already tenuous position at court is cast into doubt, and forces conspire to keep her from marrying his younger brother Henry ( Ruairi O'Connor). Anne Boleyn is portrayed as ambitious, but not callous and mean-spirited. Her loyalty and love for Catherine of Aragon is genuine. Her father is portrayed as a good father who loves his family and while they support the Protestant Reformation (in secret) they are not portrayed as plotting to destroy the Catholic Church and/or kill the Catholic characters like in the Tudors. using the natural resources of the barren countryside. Her king , Ferdinand of Aragon acquiesces and begins work on stone structureDaughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, Katherine has been fated her whole life to marry Prince Arthur of England. When they meet and are married, the match becomes as passionate as it is politically expedient. The young lovers revel in each other's company and plan the England they will make together. But tragically, aged only fifteen, Arthur falls ill and extracts from his sixteen-year-old bride a deathbed promise to marry his brother, Henry; become Queen; and fulfill their dreams and her destiny. In reviewing the book, Publishers Weekly summarized the book as: "Gregory's skill for creating suspense pulls the reader along despite the historical novel's foregone conclusion." [1] The Historical Novel Society review wrote: "The facts are well known, but the way that Gregory tells the story is a wonder." [2]

Many 16th and 17th century era humanists supported retributive justice. Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes did. Retributive justice was the dominant form of justice during the 16th-19th centuries. Slowly she adapts to the first Tudor court, and life as Arthur’s wife grows ever more bearable. But when the studious young man dies, she is left to make her own future: how can she now be queen, and found a dynasty? Only by marrying Arthur’s young brother, the sunny but spoilt Henry. Compared to other dramatized portrayals, Anne Boleyn is not mean-spirited towards Catherine of Aragon in the Spanish Princess. Catherine of Aragon also refuses to kill King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn when she finds out they are a couple. We first see Queen Catherine in 1524 as she takes up wearing a hair shirt in a desperate bid to become pregnant. 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."

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Her faith is tested when her prospective father-in-law greets her arrival in her new country with a great insult; Arthur seems little better than a boy; the food is strange and the customs coarse. Slowly she adapts to the first Tudor court, and life as Arthur’s wife grows ever more bearable. Margaret Pole and Lina are portrayed as being more tolerant Catholics than Thomas More and Catherine of Aragon. They disagree on how to defend Catholicism from the Protestants. Margaret Pole and Lina believe that Protestants should be properly instructed, educated and listened to, while Thomas More and Catherine of Aragon take a Church Police path. Despite their flaws, I rather enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool. But while I liked Catalina more as a protagonist than either Mary Boleyn or Hannah Green, I found myself more irritated and bored with "The Constant Princess" than I was for either TOBG or TQF. One big thing that differentiates the protagonist from the previous book's protagonist (The White Princess) who is her mother-in-law Queen Elizabeth, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth Woodville is that Katherine has a very strong personality. She has taken that from her mother. She is tough enough to look after herself very well in a strange land and even claims it as her own. Those readers who enjoy reading about a strong female protagonist will enjoy reading this book, perhaps more than the previous one. From #1 New York Times bestselling author and “queen of royal fiction” ( USA TODAY) Philippa Gregory comes the remarkable story of Katherine of Aragon, Princess of Spain, daughter of two great monarchs, and eventual Queen of England when she marries the infamous King Henry VIII.