The Constant Princess - Philippa Gregory

I've always felt sorry for Katherine of Aragon. The unwanted first wife, unable to carry a son to term ... denied what she wanted most in life.

I may have changed my mind after reading this book again. To backtrack, this is the story of Katherine when she first arrived in England. She was to marry the Prince of Wales and did so. She was exotic, young, beautiful, kind, and caring. It shone through everything she did or touched. And then her husband, Arthur, died. Her world was tossed into chaos.

So she did what most women would have done. She came up with a way to save herself. Self-preservation is an instinct strong in anyone, be they royalty or commoners. The rest of her life was given over to protecting the lie that her first marriage was unconsummated. I'm not a historian; I have no research proving or disproving that. Just my own belief.

This is where I've changed my mind about Katherine. After she married Henry and was Queen of England, she was determined to prove that she could rule. She did rule in fact, if not in name. Having that feminist cast to my thoughts as well, I understand the sentiment. But, in doing so, she wrested all control over the court and the country from Henry in stealth. There was not an occurrence that happened that she didn't know about. She was like his parents in that she never taught him how to rule. She never thought that she would have had to. I think that was her mistake.

So I admire her for having the courage to live her life as she chose in a time where women had few choices. But I wonder what would have happened if ...

If.