I first became interested in the Tudors when I was 10 years old. I read about Henry VIII in a magazine called Wally and immediately became fascinated with the story of Anne Boleyn and his other 6 wives. So fascinated, in fact, that I have started to research him and never stopped since. This is the reason that I am such a huge Philippa Gregory fan. I adore her Tudor series and eat the novels up like a hot bread. Up until The Constant Princess.

From what I had mentioned above, you’ve probably understood that I am a Henry VII fan and consider him to be the greatest monarch that England have ever seen. Philippa Gregory though is on entirely different opinion.

I have noticed that her descriptions of him in all the novels in the series show that she dislikes him, does not approve of his politics and thinks he became quite a monster in the late years of his life. It is quite obvious that she detests the Tudor kings and is fascinated by the Yorks.

Despite our different opinions, though, I’ve always liked her books and found most of the stuff in them historically accurate. This is what I believed until I’ve read The Constant Princess. 

In the book Catherine of Aragon is described as madly in love with Henry’s older brother, Arthur, who is presented as the total opposite of him – a gallant knight, with the potential to be a great ruler. They consummate there marriage and even come up with names for their future children. In the book Catherine only agrees to marry Henry because Arthur asks her to do so on his death bed. And even when she is pregnant with Henry’s children she refers to them as the ones she promised Arthur and Arthur’s and names them with the names they chose together. At this point my jaw dropped to the floor.

Ok, I know how some of you may believe that I am overreacting and there is no reason to be so upset. But there is not even a shred of historical evidence that supports the theory that Catherine did not love Henry. In fact, in the early years their marriage was considered successful and they appeared much in love with each other. The question if her marriage with Arthur was consummated has been debated for five centuries now, but even if it was, the part with “Arthur’s” children is just ludicrous.

To summarize, the thing that disappointed me the most is that due to her own dislike of Henry VIII, Gregory was willing to twist historical facts in a way that paints him as a spoiled and vain king, not deserving to be loved. Sadly for her, historians are not able to rewrite history as much as they want to.

Despite all that, the book, which I find a bit biased and one-sided, makes for an interesting read. I do hope, however, the rest of the the series is full with more facts and less wishful thinking.

Image: Internet