Patience, Princess Catherine

As a teenager, Catherine of Aragon entered into an arranged marriage with Arthur, the eldest son of King Henry VII of England. After Arthur's death, there is a second arranged marriage to Prince Henry who became England's Henry VIII. Although Henry was six years younger than Catherine, their early marriage was respectful; they both shared an intellectual curiosity for life. Catherine gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Mary, who later became Queen of England. But Catherine did not produce the desired male heir and Henry lost interest in her. As King, Henry bestowed several royal titles upon Henry Fitzroy the son of one of his several mistresses. He appeared to ignore Mary. Henry then became enamored with Ann Boleyn. He ended his marriage show more with Catherine who was intimidated, humiliated, and cast aside. Catherine always had the hearts of the English people;I admire her fortitude. show less

The story does centralize more on Catherine’s life before she became Queen. If you’re a Tudor fanatic the story isn’t anything new, but different style of writing and the way Catherine is portrayed is always something interesting to read. The way Catherine is written in this book is well done and shows her gracefully turning into the strong woman she would become later in her life. You do see glimpses of the young naive girl who was used to being loved, and coddled by her mother and father. (Which is nice to see, there are some novels I have read where Isabelle and Ferdinand don’t even play a role in her upbringing, or are being portrayed as cold blooded parents).

You immediately sympathize with Catherine and admire her strength show more to survive despite going into near total poverty and unable to provide for herself and her household - what I liked the most was although there were attempts of others trying to run her life, Catherine finally stands up for herself and says enough is enough and makes decisions on her own.

The other main Royal characters aren’t really that big of a central role in this story. You do see a little bit of Arthur and Catherine, however not as much as I would have liked. However, what I saw more of was Catherine and her relationships with her Duenna, and her ambassador, which I thought was an interesting read as in other books I have read, none of that was really the main feature. I might also add...the book doesn’t have the intrigue, and drama of court life that fans of historical fiction would expect. Then again this book is meant for teens and is really just a ‘starter’ book for those wanting to get into Tudor fiction. So if you like all the drama and action of the court, you won’t really find it here. It could actually be rather dry for Tudor fans.

Overall, it’s a great book for young adults who want to get started on their Tudor mania. Despite the way the order of the series is, I would actually suggest starting with Catherine as she was Queen first before the other Royals in the series. show less

This short novel was an interesting read, it explained the journey of Queen Catherine from Spain to England in order to marry King Henry VII's eldest son. The chapters had commentary from King Henry VIII when he was a child growing up and from Catherine's side as everything was happening. She had to go through many trials and tribulations to finally become queen. It kept me very interested in what was going to happen to Catherine next and is great for a class trying to get another perspective on the Tudors and English Monarchy in this time period, although it is fiction.

This book deals with the early years of Catherine of Aragon. For the most part, it is extremely accurate, especially for juvenile reading. Had Meyer continued with the work, it might be ranked as one of the best works of about Catherine of Aragon. Unfortunately, it ended right as the true story began [the marriage to King Henry VIII]. However, considering how Anne Boleyn was labeled, it is not surprising they would bot be used in juvenile reading.
A historical note was added at the end to brief the reader on the rest of the story.

Cute young adult book about Catherine of Aragon. Well done for what it is.

it is truely amazing how long she waited to marry and then have her husband cheat on her multiple times.

I would have my 7th graders read this book for a social studies lesson because they would be learning bou world history.