The Constant Princess

In this sumptuous historical novel, Philippa Gregory brings to life the childhood of Katherine of Aragon. We meet her as Catherine de Medici, with parents who are both rulers and warriors—a duplicitous family in a duplicitous age. Young Catherine is betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales, when she is four years old; raised to be queen and never in doubt that it is her destiny to rule that far-off land. When they meet after many years apart, Katherine seems little more than an unpleasant child; this changes quickly as she adapts to her new home and life grows ever more bearable—until the day Arthur dies unexpectedly. Left alone in a foreign country, how can she find a husband again? How will she manage in so strange a culture—even when she realizes that it may not be just herself who needs saving from this new world?