''The Constant Princess'' is a historical fiction novel by

Philippa Gregory Philippa Gregory (born 9 January 1954) is an English historical novelist who has been publishing since 1987. The best known of her works is ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2001), which in 2002 won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Roman ...

, published in 2005. The novel depicts a highly fictionalized version of the life of

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

and her rise to power in England. The novel covers the period from Catherine's arranged marriage to

Arthur, Prince of Wales Arthur, Prince of Wales (19/20 September 1486 – 2 April 1502), was the eldest son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and an older brother to the future King Henry VIII. He was Duke of Cornwall from birth, and he was crea ...

to Catherine's rivalry with

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

over the position of

Queen consort of England The English royal consorts listed here were the spouses of the reigning monarchs of the Kingdom of England, excluding joint rulers William III of England, William III and Mary II who reigned together in the 17th century. Most of the consorts we ...

. Other historical figures depicted in the novel include

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509), also known as Henry Tudor, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henr ...

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

Elizabeth of York Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII of England, Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. She was the daughter of King E ...

Lady Margaret Beaufort Lady Margaret Beaufort ( ; 31 May 1443 – 29 June 1509) was a major figure in the Wars of the Roses of the late 15th century, and mother of King Henry VII of England, the first House of Tudor, Tudor monarch. She was also a second cousin o ...

Isabella I of Castille Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

Joanna of Castile Joanna of Castile (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad (), was the nominal queen of Castile from 1504 and queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was the daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile ...

Henry, Duke of Cornwall Henry, Duke of Cornwall (1 January 1511 – 22 February 1511) was the first living child of King Henry VIII of England and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and though his birth was celebrated as that of the heir apparent, he died within wee ...

, and

Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous ...

Plot summary

's arranged marriage to the English crown prince

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

secretly develops into a loving relationship where they share plans to rule England side-by-side. However, Arthur succumbs to the

sweating sickness Sweating sickness, also known as the sweats, English sweating sickness, English sweat or ''sudor anglicus'' in Latin, was a mysterious and contagious disease that struck England and later continental Europe in a series of epidemics beginning i ...

three months into their marriage. In his deathbed, he convinces Catalina to deny consummating their marriage so she can still be considered a virgin and eligible to marry his younger brother Harry to carry out their plans. Arthur's father, King Henry VII, desires Catalina and refuses to betroth her to Harry. After the death of Queen Elizabeth, Henry offers his own hand in marriage. Catalina accepts, but later insists on marrying Harry as she realizes the duties of a queen will go to Henry's mother

and her only role will be to bear Henry's children (who will be behind Harry in the line of succession). She pressures Henry to betroth her to Harry, which he eventually allows. Years after her betrothal, Catalina and her retinue live in poverty as Henry refuses to sponsor her until her parents, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, pay the second half of her dowry while her parents believe the English crown should pay for Arthur's widow. After Isabella's death, Catalina hears rumors that Henry set aside her betrothal years ago and is arranging a marriage between his children and the children of Catalina's sister

. Catalina's father commands the Spanish ambassador to return the dowry he had sent, but makes no mention of saving Catalina. Fortunately, Catalina's prospects improve when Henry dies of sickness and Harry marries her despite his father's warnings. Catalina is restored to a position of wealth and respect and manipulates Harry to remove Margaret's power in court so she can act as queen. They are crowned King Henry and Queen Katherine. Catalina's first pregnancy isolates her for months until she comes to accept that the fetus was miscarried. Upon her return to court, she eventually realizes that the news of a scandal between two courtiers was actually a cover-up for Harry taking a new mistress during Catalina's lying-in. Harry's mistress, a verified virgin, leads Harry to question Catalina's virginity as she acted differently on their marriage bed, but Catalina lies and they reconcile. Their second child,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, is made

Duke of Cornwall Duke of Cornwall () is a title in the Peerage of England, traditionally held by the eldest son of the reigning Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch, previously the English monarch. The Duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created i ...

, but his death two months later strains their marriage. Catalina begins to see Harry as childish and demanding, and manipulates him to make her Spanish Ambassador and unites him with her father to invade France together. During his absence, the Scots declare war on England and Catalina successfully leads the English army to victory when the Scots attempt to invade England. She sends Harry a cryptic message hinting at another pregnancy. Years pass, and Catalina admits to herself that her actions are for her own interests as much as Arthur's. Out of all of Catalina's children, only Princess Mary survived, leaving the fate of England unstable. Harry had more mistresses, all of whom she tolerated quietly as Harry eventually grew bored of them all and were never a threat to her. But his latest mistress,

, is the most ambitious and is trying to take her spot as queen. Catalina vows to keep her promise to Arthur and proudly decides to fight for her right as queen. The novel ends, with Katherine entering a court hearing about her marriage to Harry.

Reception

In reviewing the book, ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' summarized the book as: "Gregory's skill for creating suspense pulls the reader along despite the historical novel's foregone conclusion." The

Historical Novel Society The Historical Novel Society (HNS) is a nonprofit international literary society devoted to promotion of and advocacy for the genre of historical fiction. Definition of historical fiction There are varying definitions as to what types of literat ...

review wrote: "The facts are well known, but the way that Gregory tells the story is a wonder."The Constant Princess. Historical Novel Society review
/ref> In a 2005 book review in ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' noted the history and "how Gregory fills in the gaps is pure romantic fiction." The review summarized; "Gregory makes the broad sweep of history vibrant and intimate—and hinges it all on a bit of romance."

Adaptations

* ''

The Spanish Princess ''The Spanish Princess'' is a historical drama television limited series developed by Emma Frost (screenwriter), Emma Frost and Matthew Graham for Starz. Based on the novels ''The Constant Princess'' (2005) and ''The King's Curse'' (2014) by Phil ...

'' (2019-2020), series directed by Birgitte Stærmose, Daina Reid, Lisa Clarke,

Stephen Woolfenden Stephen Woolfenden is a British television director. He previously worked as a second unit director for the Harry Potter (film series), ''Harry Potter'' films. He has directed other TV shows and recently the ''Doctor Who'' episode "Nightmare in ...

, Chanya Button and Rebecca Gatward, based on novels ''The Constant Princess'' and '' The King's Curse''

References

External links