Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen (Six Tudor Queens, #1)

by Alison Weir

*A Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller*

Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen by bestselling historian Alison Weir is the first in a captivating series, depicting the lives of Henry VIII's queens. Ideal for fans of Philippa Gregory and Elizabeth Chadwick.

'Alison Weir has managed to intertwine profound historical knowledge with huge emotional intelligence, to compose a work that throws light on an endlessly fascinating historical figure. Yet her real gift in all of this is making it feel so fresh and alive' Earl Spencer

'Shatters the many myths about Henry VIII's long-suffering first wife' Tracy Borman

'Weir is excellent on the little details that bring a world to life' Guardian

A Spanish princess. Raised to be modest, obedient and devout. Destined to be an English Queen.

Six weeks from home across treacherous seas, everything is different: the language, the food, the weather. And for her there is no comfort in any of it. At sixteen-years-old, Catalina is alone among strangers.

She misses her mother. She mourns her lost brother.
She cannot trust even those assigned to her protection.

KATHERINE OF ARAGON. The first of Henry's Queens. Her story.

History tells us how she died. This captivating novel shows us how she lived.

SIX TUDOR QUEENS. SIX NOVELS. SIX YEARS.

Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession is Alison Weir's next breathtaking novel, looking at Henry VIII's infamous second wife.

Praise for Alison Weir and Katherine of Aragon:

'A tender understanding of and genuine sympathy for this proud, much-loved and honourable Queen. . . I was gripped [from] start to finish' Mavis Cheek

'Well researched and engrossing' Good Housekeeping

'Alison Weir clearly admires her heroine . . . meticulously researched' The Times

'This exquisite book charts the rise and fall of Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine. . . A fascinating insight into this period of our history. Weir's undeniable strength is her immaculate description, enabling the reader to be transported back to Tudor England' Sun

'Weir manages to untangle the complex web of 16th-century politics, shown through Katherine's duties as ambassador, and her astute reading of the games being played. This adds greatly to the heft of the character, demonstrating what a competent woman she was becoming' Herald Scotland

'Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen is a true tour de force. Finely crafted, this novel is wonderful historical fiction and an outstanding introduction to the Six Tudor Queens series' Queen Anne Boleyn Blog

'Known for bestselling historical biographies, Alison Weir is in command of her detail . . . her handling of Katherine's misery and dignified response to her predicament is very touching' Elizabeth Buchan, Daily Mail

• ISBN10: 1472227476
• ISBN13: 9781472227478
• Publish Date: 5 May 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 29 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
• Imprint: Headline Review
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 624
• Language: English

Reviews

[Beth C.]

Katherine of Aragon, the first wife – and many would say the only *true* wife – of Henry VIII. A devout woman who watched her King become a monster. In this book, the first in a series called The Six Tudor Queens, Allison Weir gives Katherine the voice that she often didn’t have during life, and that has been brushed aside by the notoriety of her husband after death. Always being interested in this portion of history, I was excited to read about her. In most ways, the book fulfilled my hopes and expectations, though there were a few things that bothered me.

For most, Katherine of Aragon is mostly a footnote in history, a queen who was put aside as her king became more and more debauched. In this book, Weir shows the human side of Katherine. The woman who truly came to love her king, though she had been married to (and widowed by) his older brother, who had been extremely ill when they married. The marriage was never consummated, and Katherine, ever a pawn between countries, was left in a state of limbo. For several years, her status at court diminished, until she was forced to pawn her own jewelry to keep food on her table and clothes on her back. Eventually, she was married to Henry, and from there the book really takes off. The reader gets an inside look into Katherine’s life, from her marriage to two kings, to her death far away from court, broke and mostly alone.

I found myself riding a bit of a roller coaster while reading this book. First of all, it is historical fiction, so by and large it is one person’s attempt at recreating history. My biggest peeve with this particular attempt was that Weir often made Katherine out to be an absolutely blind fool. Over and over again, it seems that Katherine was used, and never did she see it. This goes equally for Henry – I struggle to believe that this queen would have insisted for so long that Henry would recognize the error of his ways and all would be right again with the world. Katherine was in every sense a strong Spanish woman, who (I believe) would have recognized at some point that Henry was well on his way to destroying himself and his country. Court back then was a vicious game, and for her to have survived as long as she did suggests to me that she was no simpering princess.

However, having said that – the book is fascinating. As Weir explains in the back, it is absolutely necessary to try and understand Katherine from the time in which she lived, and this book definitely brings that period to life. Women then, whether queens or not, were mostly just pawns in a vast political game where no one knew all the score at any given time. Overnight, they could be reduced to poverty when they had been raised in riches. Intrigue sprang up in every corner, people vying to be favored in court. It was a dangerous time, when disagreeing with the king could quite literally get you killed. Weir brings all of this to life, and I found myself in tears as the book ended.

I look forward to the next book in the series, for a couple of reasons. One, I’m curious to see if/how Weir overlaps Queens (as Henry certainly did). It could potentially be tedious to read so much of the same information over again, even from another perspective. However, Weir’s writing is such that she has a way of truly wrapping the reader into the story and bringing the characters alive, which makes reading about history that much more interesting. Overall, I highly recommend this and will be waiting for book number two!