Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen

First wife of Henry VIII, Katherine of Aragon is often left in the shadows of Anne Boleyn’s fame. Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen is an historic fiction novel based on Katherine’s life before Henry VIII up until her last day on earth.

Henry VIII has fascinated me for many years now, and I found this novel to be a truly fascinating account of what life must’ve been like for Katherine, married to the infamous king.

Admittedly, I started this book unsure of how well I would actually like it, since all I knew about Katherine is that she was Spanish, previously, albeit briefly, married to Henry’s older brother Arthur, and very religious. The perspective illustrated by Weir made me realize just how difficult and tumultuous a situation the divorce was for Henry, Katherine, Anne, and all of Europe at the time.

The writing style was stilted at times, and some of the dialogue felt a bit awkward, but after reading the Author’s Note in the back of the book it felt more natural – Weir noted that she tried to mimic the tones of Katherine’s surviving correspondence and what was known about her personality throughout the book, so it’s possible this is a reflection of all we know about the Queen.

This is technically the first book in a series called The Six Tudor Queens, which follows the story of each of Henry VIII’s wives…I’m on the third novel of this series and have found that each of the books could be treated as a standalone, depending on how much prior knowledge a reader has of Henry VIII and his many wives. However, I’d recommend reading them in order, starting with Katherine.

I’d recommend this book series to anyone who enjoys historic fiction, Henry VIII/the Tudors, and wants a perspective outside of the immensely popular tellings by Anne Boleyn.