Book Reviews of The Constant Princess

Philippa Gregory does a fantastic job with historical novels. I gained a newfound respect for a Queen who is typically portrayed as a simpering, jealous older woman. Gregory shows us the strength in Catherine...I thoroughly enjoyed this new insight into this historic character.

I have always had sympathy for Katherine of Aragon, and now I have even more. What a lovely story of courage, fortitude, and love. Once again, Philippa Gregory has written a well-researched fictional account of historical events. While no one knows exactly why Katherine did things as she did them, Gregory's book provides a plausible and compelling reason. I hope you will enjoy this book as thoroughly as I did.

This novel about Katherine of Aragon begins further back in time then most tales about her - in Moorish Spain where we learn more about Catalina, Princess of Spain

Katherine of Aragon is mostly ignored in books about this time in history, other than that she was pushed off the English throne by Anne Boleyn and was the mother of Queen Mary. This is a fascinating account of Katherine as a person in her own right and relates how she helped shape the early years of Henry VIII's reign -- another Gregory triumph.

Great insight into Henry VIII's first wife. She may not have been quite as famous as Anne Boleyn, but after reading this novel I'm certain she was more interesting and compelling.

Another great book by Philippa Gregory. This one is about Katherine of Aragon. I would also recommend The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen's Fool, and The Virgin's Lover by this author.

This is a wonderful story of Katherine of Aragon and her life. It is a fantastic retelling of many events from her time with her parents on the battlefield and continuing through her marriage to Arthur and Henry the Eighth.

This book is well written and a good read, but it wasn't a book I couldn't easily put down. It inspired some research into the Tudor family thereby growing my store of knowledge. Overall, I am glad I read this book.

Much better than I thought it would be. I knew nothing about Katherine beforehand, so the historial innacuracies didn't bother me at all. I was swept up in the Tudor life!

Very good. Fascinating woman!

Very enjoyable Historical Fiction about the first wife of Henry VIII. P. Gregory did a great job weaving this tale. She gave life to many of the historical characters one learns very little about in our traditional education system.

Genre: Historical Fiction

The woman that we have all come to know as Queen Katherine of Aragon began as the Infanta Catalina of Spain. As is expected of any princess, a marriage is arranged for her; she is to marry Prince Arthur – England’s King Henry VII’s eldest son. Upon reaching England, Catalina finds that this marriage is not what she expects it to be, and neither is the boy she married. As fate would have it, Arthur’s life is extinguished during The Sweat that swept England soon after their marriage. King Henry, not wanting to lose the valuable asset he just brought to England, soon marries her to his other son, who would later become Henry VIII…

This was my first Philippa Gregory book that I read and I was NOT disappointed. There is an amazing love story that really pulled on my heart strings. I instantly connected with Catalina (I continued to think of her as that throughout the whole book) and very strongly felt what she felt. Gregory’s writing style instantly pulls you in and never lets go until the end. I enjoyed getting to know Catalina from her early days, something that is not really focused on in other novels.

Gregory DOES change many events in the book from what is known to have really happened. The good thing about this though, is that this is Historical Fiction and that is what I expect. If you are looking for true facts, check out a non-fiction book, but for a good story, try this on for size.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

I really liked the background story here of Katherine of Aragon, but I have to say, I liked it not loved it like I loved The Other Boleyn Girl and Boleyn Inheritance.... this one seemed a little repetitive in places, and it annoyed me how the Moors were described as "the good guys" and the catholics "the bad guys".. again a repetitive theme throughout the book. It is also jarring towards the end where it skips forward 13 (or was it 16?) years... you must ready The Other Boleyn Girl before this one to make that quirk make sense, I think... even though chronologically this one is before TOBG. All in all, though, a fine read and another view into the crazy world of those wacky Tudors!!

I found The Constant Princess to be a very, very enjoyable read. It took me a little while to get used to format- Gregory uses italics and present tense for Catalina's own point of view- but once I understood where the character was coming from, the format made perfect sense. The love story runs very deeply, and it made for a very nice tale.

I've read 8 PG books and this was not my favorite. If I had to rank them in order it would be (favored to least) - The Boleyn Inheritance, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen's Fool, Meridon, Wideacre, The Favored Child, The Virgin's Lover, and Constant Princess.

I had been a lover of this genre for years and then (somehow) gotten off track and gone through a 'dark' paranormal romance phase. I was intrigued to this arc of novels by the movie, "The Other Boleyn Girl". I decided to begin at the beginning so to speak. Historically speaking this is the 'first' story, and it really is compelling and intimate. I was so intrigued by her devotion to her mother and her mother's ~version~ of God's Will. It is an exciting tale, and Gregory's use of the third person and then first person narrative weaves a story with more depth and nuance than I was expecting. I am now happily reading the next book in this arc, The Other Boleyn Girl, and it does not disappoint either! ~Susanne

Prior to reading this book, all I really knew of Katherine of Aragon was that she was Henry VIII’s first wife, previously married to his brother Arthur. And that I always want to call her “Katherine of Aragorn” because of LOTR.

I decided I wanted to read a bit about Katherine…ultimately I want to read a bunch about each of Henry’s wives. But because I didn’t know much about her, I started this book not necessarily liking it much. I had a difficult time getting used to the format, switching between an outside narative and Katherine’s personal view of different situations.

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Although this book was quite enjoyable, it got very repetitive at times. Really, if I had to read "I am ready to make my destiny, to take my place in history," etc. or something with similar wording, one more time, I would have throw the book across the room. However, I did enjoy the subject matter. Katherine of Aragon is often regulated to the margins of history...she's Henry VIII's first wife, cast aside for Anne Boleyn. It was nice to see her as a more 3-dimensional person. I liked how Philippa Gregory built on what Katherine's relationship with her first husband, Arthur, may have been like (since do we really know what happens behind closed doors), and that Katherine may have had her own motives for wanting to marry Henry. Gregory also did a nice job showing how Katherine's childhood with militant monarch parents may have shaped her outlook on life (and I got a totally different perspective of Ferdinand and Isabella as rulers...very different than the king and queen who sent Christopher Columbus on his voyage that you learned about in school). It was also refreshing to see the Moors of Spain in a positive light as a well-educated civilization and to see the English and Spanish as being the ones that were less civilized, since usually this is portrayed the other way around.

I really enjoyed this book. It really shows the struggle that Katherine of Aragon had to go through to get to be the Queen. I had so much sympathy for her and the way she had to live when she was younger, but admired her determination.

I absolutely love this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Other Boelyn Girl" and "The Queen's Fool" so I was very excited to recieve The Constant Princess. Unfortunately, this book was not on par with Gregory's other books. It started off great, I loved the descriptions of the Alhambra and Spain. But towards the end, I actually found myself counting pages to see how much longer I had until I was finished. I am very glad I got through it b/c it was incredibly interesting to read about the Henry VIII/Anne Boelyn affair from Katherine's supposed perspective, but it took some dedication on my part.

A good read for lovers of history and romance. It is about Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII, daughter of Isabella ( the Queen who commissioned Christopher Columbus) and Ferdinand, rulers of Spain. It is set in England in the 1400-1500 era. In order to become Queen of England Katherine must tell one huge whopper of a lie. She does and it works for some time. Full of intrigue and believable characters. I liked it a lot.

Interesting book.

Another good Gregory book

an interesting portrait of a woman that you typically don't hear much about (even tho she played such a big role in henry viii's life!).

anything by Phillipa Gregory is very good.....highly recommend

Great story. Very interesting and hard to put down.

A good story but not as good as "The Other Boleyn Girl".

Not as good as The Other Bolyn Girl. Took me over 100 pages to really get into it.

Another of Gregory's wonderful historical tales, this one focusing on Katherine of Aragon, nee Caterina, the Infanta of Spain, who was the first wife of Henry VIII.

Another terrific telling of the story of Henry VIII's first wife, the Princess Catalina, daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, later known as Katherine of Aragon. Gregory is tops in the field.

If you like Philippa Gregory's books, you will like this one.

I enjoyed this book. Katherine is someone that we don't hear much about until she is being dethroned by Anne Boleyn. It was very interesting to be reminded that she had history before this happened. It was also good to remember that Henry came from somewhere too. The book was a good read and if you enjoy historical novels, this is a good one of balancing history and character.

This book was good for what it is. The historical fiction genre can be a little too Danielle Steele for my taste and Gregory can certainly be so also. However, she does it with enough nuance in this novel that I found that I didn't mind it. It was a little hard to get into at first, as military history was my downfall in college but I found myself drawn into the story. I was extremely emotionally affected by many episodes in the book and by Gregory's interpretation of Catherine of Aragon and her life. I, in fact, had to put the book down for a week because I couldn't think about anything else and it was really getting to me. The ending is abrupt but necessary for your sanity after the heartbreak that you will feel throughout the book's duration. I recommend this novel for amateur and professional historians everywhere but beware: you must have not let your historical prowess get the best of you. Just enjoy the story for what it is.

Good standard Gregory.

Excellent writing. great attention to detail. Liked the way the author wove the thinking of Katherine of Aragon with the actual events that were happening around her. You get a feeling for the time as well as the characters perspectives. It was an amazing time.

Insightful and entertaining look into the life and head of a fascinating woman in history. The plot is not as well-developed and engrossing as some of Gregory's others, but still an interesting read.

I have been reading much about English history and this gives more insight to Katherine and her life, hard to put down, made her actions so much more understandable and her early life in Spain provided understanding of the woman she became, even in the worst times. This book also gives us understanding of what shaped Henry the VIII into the selfish despot he became

Interesting history of Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife & how she attained her esteemed position to become Queen. I got lost with the overwhelming details of the battles, the political jockeying going on in the last quarter of the book. It was confusing & bored me. Over all a good book but not a favorite. Liked The other Boleyn girl MUCH better.

I thought this was much better than The Queen's Fool but not as good as The Other Boleyn Girl. I've gotten used to Gregory's repetitious writing style. The minor historical changes she made didn't bother me. It is fiction after all. A minor nitpick: I wish her thoughts about Bessie Blount and Henry Fitzroy had been included.

Oh... this was good! It's a nice change to read from the "woman's" perspective. How awesome it would be to read the real diaries of history's famous women. I can hardly wait to get onto the next couple of books within this series!

Very interesting love story. Katherine fights for her for her mother, her love and her crown. She over comes many obstacles to become what she was always meant to be. It does drag a bit for my tastes but the story itself is very moving. I absolutely love Philippa Gregory. Can't wait to start on another of her titles. This book will stay on my bookshelf to be read again.

I really enjoy the personal perspective on history. Philippa Gregory is a great writer, and superbly lets the reader in on 16th century royal life.

I really enjoyed this book. The author does a great job describe the time so we understand why the characters do the things they do. This story historically takes place before her previous published books but that doesn't take away any enjoyment into the story. This book centers on Catherine of Aragon.

this is an awesome book and so hard to put down. ALl of her books are that way.

This book has a 3 inch tear on the cover.

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