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In 1501 at the age of 15, Katherine of Aragon finds herself on a ship on her way to England where she will marry the king’s eldest son – Arthur, Prince of Wales. She is understandably nervous and excited at the same time as she and the daughters of Spanish nobles who have accompanied her wonder what life in their new country will be like. Years later, one of those Spanish maids, Estrella, is returning to court following the death of her husband to once again serve her queen. But time has found Katherine in very different circumstances as she battles for her marriage and her position and she is grateful for the company and comfort of her old friend.


The Spanish Bride focuses on two periods of Katherine’s life – her early years in England up to her marriage to Henry VIII and the years covering the kings “great matter” through the time of her death. Through alternating time frames we see Katherine’s life as pretty miserable most of the time. Following Arthur’s death, Katherine becomes a pawn to be used by her father and father-in-law, spending the next 6 or 7 years in virtual poverty. As her position at the English court deteriorates, her Spanish women look for their own way to cope and some are fortunate enough to marry. Estrella isn’t so lucky and her relationships with three potential suitors all come to nothing but give an indication of how desperate their position had become at times and the lengths they were willing to go to in order to escape it.

This is a quick and easy read but with the huge period of time that the book skips, it is probably best read by someone with at least a basic knowledge of Katherine and Henry’s relationship. I have always admired Katherine’s spirit, her dedication to what she believed was right and her refusal to back down even under the worst of circumstances. But there were consequences of her actions to others, most of whom were powerless to do anything about it. Their story seldom makes it into those about Katherine (other than a passing reference) and I thought that the attention to their plight via Estrella's story was an interesting angle. 

Catherine never wavers from her belief that Henry loves her and is simply misguided. Even at her lowest point, she refuses to allow a rebellion on her behalf since it would be treason against Henry and for fear of the bloodshed that it will bring to the people. She is sure that Henry will eventually see what is right – of course history was to prove otherwise.   This is not a bad book - but it's nothing overly special either. 


Rating: Average (2.5 stars)