The Constant Princess - Philippa Gregory

...things added to fill in the gaps in history that people can't be sure of. One of my favourite authors of this genre is Phillippa Gregory - I've read all of her books, and reviewed a fair few already. The Constant Princess is one I only read recently, having used Dooyoo miles to buy it as a present for myself. Plot Outline ~~~~~~~~ Catalina of Aragon has always known what fate destiny had in store for her- betrothed during infancy to Arthur, the ...
...one day she would be the Queen of England. Growing up in the battlefields around Granada, as her parents, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand waged war against the moors, and then later, in the glorious garden palace of the Alhambra, she led a privileged life - a life in which the will of god was an absolute certainty. At sixteen, the time came for the betrothal to end and the marriage to begin. Leaving her beloved home Catalina travels to England ...

Thehonesttruth 17.01.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Constant Princess - Philippa Gregory

This is the second book I've read by Philippa Gregory, the other one being "The Other Boleyn Girl" about a year or so ago. I have to say that, in line with my current chosen line of reading (fiction/fact stories on the Tudor era), this one also rates very highly. I tend to read for entertainment and learn a bit of stuff that I probably didn't already know no the subject matter. I don't tend to read to pick holes in the books or authors that wrote ...
...The Constant Princess follows the life of Catalina, Infanta of Spain. Betrothed to Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII of England and brought up to believe that she is born to be Princess of Wales and Queen of England, the book opens when Catalina is five years old and in camp with her parents Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand and their war between the Moors and the Christians. As the tale unfolds, we are told about her trip to England to marry Prince ...

JeeanA 03.10.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Constant Princess - Philippa Gregory

Following on from the success of her other novels set in the Tudor court (The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen's Fool, The Virgin's Lover), Philippa Gregory goes back in time to bring us a novel following the early life of Katherine of Aragon. In her author's note, Gregory acknowledges that a lot of the information she found was a revelation for her - especially Katherine's upbringing at the battle camps of her royal Christian crusader parents, who are ...
...fun and dance at court. The Constant Princess blows this image out of the water. Katherine is raised as Catalina, Infanta of Spain, who has been betrothed to Prince Arthur, the Rose of England, since she was a toddler. She has been brought up being told that she is Princess of Wales and her destiny is to be Queen of England, the main reason for this match being the political advantages of Spain and England having each other to be allies against the ...

DoubleFantasy11 24.07.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Constant Princess - Philippa Gregory

...it again. Following hot on the heels of her massively popular Tudor series of books, Gregory introduces what is a fitting prelude to the Tudor trilogy, by exploring the story of the young Katherine of Aragon in "The Constant Princess". Everyone knows the story of King Henry VIII - the rhyme "Divorced, beheaded died. Divorced, beheaded, survived" was a staple part of any English child's primary education. But where - and why - did it all start? ...
...lays its focus not on the huge, larger-than-life character of King Henry, but instead on his first wife Katherine. Katherine tends to be largely ignored by Tudor historians, becoming of interest only when the saga concerning her divorce from Henry begins. What Gregory does is to try and portray Katherine as a young woman with feelings, rather than just the old, worn-out wife she is traditionally portrayed as. In this she succeeds without doubt. "The ...

brighter23days 19.01.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Constant Princess - Philippa Gregory

...I did think though that the author somewhat ran out of steam after dealing with the death of Katherine's son, and I would have liked to have read more about Katherine after her fall from grace. In fact, having been gripped by the book, I lost interest and had to drag myself through the last few chapters which was a shame. It is, as others say, difficult to determine how much of the novel is historical fact and how much fiction. What I did look up ...

reviewer201 24.08.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of The Constant Princess - Philippa Gregory