The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

For seven years, she endures the treachery of spies, the humiliation of poverty, and intense loneliness and despair while she waits for the inevitable moment when she will step into the role she has prepared for all her life. Widowed and alone in the avaricious world of the Tudor court, Katherine has to sidestep her father-in-laws desire for her and convince him, and an incredulous Europe, that her marriage to Arthur was never consummated, that there is no obstacle to marriage with Henry. But tragically, aged only fifteen, Arthur falls ill and extracts from his sixteen-year-old bride a deathbed promise to marry his brother, Henry be Queen and fulfill their dreams and her destiny. The young lovers revel in each others company and plan the England they will make together.

When they meet and are married, the match bes as passionate as it is politically expedient. Daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, Katherine has been fated her whole life to marry Prince Arthur of England.

(Dec.About the Book From the New York Times bestselling author of The Virgins Lover, this enthralling new novel answers one of historys most intriguing questions: What lay behind Katherine of Aragons enormous, history-changing lie? Book Synopsis 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. Gregory's skill for creating suspense pulls the reader along despite the historical novel's foregone conclusion. By alternating tight third-person narration with Catalina's unguarded thoughts and gripping dialogue, the author presents a thorough, sympathetic portrait of her heroine and her transformation into Queen Katherine. ) compellingly dramatizes how Catalina uses her faith, her cunning and her utter belief in destiny to reclaim her rightful title. Before his death, he extracts a promise from his wife to marry his younger brother Henry in order to become queen anyway, have children and rule as they had planned, a situation that can only be if Catalina denies that Arthur was ever her lover. Arthur dies young, however, leaving Catalina a widow and ineligible for the throne. She leaves Spain at 15 to fulfill her destiny as queen of England, where she finds true love with Arthur (after some initial sourness) as they plot the future of their kingdom together.

As youngest daughter to the Spanish monarchs and crusaders King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Catalina, princess of Wales and of Spain, was promised to the English Prince Arthur when she was three.

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory