Nice Girl: There are several. Maggie Pole, Alice More, Anne Boleyn, Bessie Blount, Lina to name a few.

Daughter 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. NOTE: I'm no historian, so if you want to see how historically accurate this book is, you might want to seek another review. Katherine (Katalina) eventually marries Henry the VIII, and this story tells the tale of her rise (and fall). Katherine is a great character, powerful and strong and just as bullheaded as any male. I enjoyed the character of Arthur as well, and Margaret Pole, so there are definitely some enjoyable forces in this novel. Demoted to Extra: Elizabeth of York, protagonist of the previous series, only plays a supporting role this time, before dying in the third episode.

Media Reviews

The author does well in exploring the young Katalina's emotions and the power play in the English court. I think the first notable difference between TCP and TOBG or TQF is the switching of viewpoints. At first, I thought TCP would settle into the traditional third person past point of view (POV). But this time around, I think Gregory wanted to experiment and decided to intersperse the traditional 3rd person sections with ones where Catalina speaks in first person present--either as the Older Catalina or as the "in-book present" Catalina.

Splendid and sumptuous historical novel from this internationally bestselling author, telling of the early life of Katherine of Aragon. Her relationship with most of the Catholic historical figures at the time was often sour, but that does not mean she did not care about them. She had a mostly good relationship with Cardinal Campeggio, which was mutal. She loved Thomas Howard as a member of her family. She is such a compelling figure, bound to and believing in the destiny arranged for her by others. Remember, she is the daughter of two famous warriors: Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Make no mistake, Catalina, this Katherine of Aragon is no pawn; she will remain steadfast to her own hopes and beliefs for her entire life. I now fully understand why she was so loved by the English people and I admit I am in awe of her myself.Harry has slept with Catherine's sister and is implied to have slept with the whores his grandmother provided for him. She gives the reader such a keen sense of this woman; this Catalina, Infanta of Spain more commonly known to us as Catherine of Aragon, betrothed to Henry V111. It follows her story from aged five in 1491 on the battle fields of Spain to 1529 in England at the Papal Legate to hear King's Great Matter. Ambition via MY MAN. Catalina swears to Arthur she will marry Henry and become queen. And that is what motivates her throughout her life (oh, sure, there's this one line about "her own ambition", but I don't believe it at all). Why is every ambitious woman BAD (Anne Boleyn) unless she wants to do it for her husband (Catalina)? Why can't a woman have her own ambition and not be good? If King Henry VIII's wives have any consolation, it is that they are remembered and honored far more in death than they were in life--there were six wives, and now there are dozens of books about them. But The Constant Princess begins at the beginning--with the first wife, Katherine of Aragon, whose unfortunate life did not include the birth of a son and heir to King Henry VIII. It is that perceived fault of hers that inspired Henry to seek sport in the arms of other women, and provided us with some salicious history. This is Katherine's story, and a sad one it is. The most remarkable element of this book is the emotions it evoked within me--I know the end of Queen Katherine and her dignified but fruitless life, and that colored my reading of the story. Margaret quotes Leviticus to Harry to warn him about marrying his brother's wife. Harry immediately counters with a verse from Deuteronomy that supports marrying your brother's widow.

It was interesting to see how a Spanish princess adopts to the court in England. During her early childhood and teenage years, Katherine's belief that her mother's (Queen of Spain) will is God's will was naive and a laughable matter but at a later stage she realized all that was just brainwashing. Anti-Villain: Cardinal Wolsey is arguably this. He does bad things, but he is not completly unsympathetic. Anne Boleyn is a love rival for Katherine of Aragon, but she doesn't want to see her or any of the other Catholic characters maimed and/or killed. Her relationship with Katherine of Aragon is much more lighthearted and amiable when compared to most other fictionalized potrayals. We first see Queen Catherine in 1524 as she takes up wearing a hair shirt in a desperate bid to become pregnant. when I first saw him I thought he was as beautiful as a knight from the romances, like a troubadour, like a poet. I thought I could be like a lady in a tower and he could sing beneath my window and persuade me to love him. But although he has the looks of a poet he doesn't have the wit. I can never get more than two words out of him, and I begin to feel that I demean myself in trying to please him.”

Book Summary

The absolute worst is the repetition coupled with the classic violation of "show, don't tell". Catalina repeats herself more times than I could count. She goes on and on about how she is the true Queen of England, the Infanta of Spain, born to be Queen, and on and on. Everyone refers to her as being "constant", in a heavy-handed way of referencing the title. Conversations that shouldn't last more than a couple of sentences are drawn out to several minutes of listening time (such as: Arthur and Catalina discussing plants, Arthur and Catalina whining about how hard their lives are, Catalina moaning about meeting a woman whose brother was put to death by Catalina's family). The absolute worst was the description of Allahmbra, which had to have gone on for 10+ minutes. I know that Gregory was trying to give her audience of how opulent it was, but having Catalina talk to the audience about how opulent it is is BORING and repetitive. Instead, have your characters DO something that shows the opulence. Catherine was first introduced in the novel early on, and seen throughout the book through only the eyes of Mary Boleyn, who was initially her favourite and youngest lady-in-waiting. Externally Validated Prophecy: Elizabeth of York's dying prophecy that there will be no more Tudor sons if Catherine marries Prince Henry. Validated by Real Life. Oddly, Elizabeth's prophecy doesn't account for a son that was born after Henry and Catherine married: Henry VIII's son with Jane Seymour, Edward VI, who died at 15. The curse she and her mother cast, however, does account for Edward dying. Momma's Boy: Both Arthur and Harry are, most definitely, closer to their mother. Arthur allows her to fuss over him, which he doesn't allow others to do, and Harry is almost completely broken and barely able to function when his mother dies.