Customer Reviews
The Best One? - By: C. Wood, 09 Sep 2008 
I have now read all five of Gregory's novels setin the Tudor court. This was the last one I read and, I think, my favourite. It is the story of Katherine of Aragon, formerly Catalina, the Spanish princess, told mostly from her perspective.
Gregory opens the book with some scenes setin Spain, when Catalina was very young, giving the girl some background & showing how her family & upbringing affected & shaped her as a person & character. Then we move forward to when she comes to England to marry Arthur, Henry VIII older brother & the heir to the throne. Gregory's original take on their doomed marriage is incredibly moving & makes for a very good novel, which wouldn't have been very compelling otherwise. In her version, the pair fall very muchin love, after an awkward & slightly hostile introduction, which is understandable due to the pressure, Arthur's nervousness & Catalina's discomfortin this new country.
The young newlyweds spend just a few blissful monthsin Wales, getting to know eachother & making plans for when they will rule the country together. Of course, they never do. Arthur contracts an illness & dies quickly. Catalina's shock & grief is heartbreaking & very well done. However she cannot mournin peace, due to the fact that she promised Arthur on his deathbed that she would marry his young brother Henry & become Katherine, Queen of England as she was meant to be, so that she can have to children they planned & protect the country as he wanted.
There are several problems. Henry was barely eleven years old at this time. Catalina is expected to return to Spain as a widow, but there are disagreements about her dowry between her father & her father-in-law, Henry VII. There's also the slight inconvenience that Henry VII desires her & wants to marry her himself. A lot for a sixteen year old girl to handle. But allows for tense, compelling reading.
Although the eventsin this book happen before thosein all the other Tudor court novels, I am glad I read it last. This is because while Gregory describes Catalina's noble determination to become Queen & produce a safe heir for England, I knew her unfortunate & miserable future. I knew that trying to concieve a child would be a nightmarish struggle for her, & her only heir would not be a successful or happy queen. I knew Henry would not make a good king as it is suggested Arthur would have been, & I knew she would die alone, rejected by her husband. So I found Catalina's plight all the more tragic, was able to sympathise even more with her character. A likeable character - strong, brave, with good intentions, & an attitude that develops over the course of the book to become wiser & more understanding.
I would thoroughly recommend this affecting & well-written book, especially if you've read Gregory's other novels.
Not bad but not great - By: OK, 01 Sep 2008 
This is my second of Gregory's books I have read, the first book I read was 'The other Boleyn girl' which is much better, it's much more structured & had more depth. 'The constant princess' is interesting enough to finish but it isn't a book I would recommend to people.
Very nice filling just the bread was slightly stale!!! - By: A. Lalor, 31 Jul 2008 At the moment I am going through a Philippa Gregory phase. I simply can't get enough of her Tutor novels. 'The Constant Princess' is my fourth Gregory novel to read but while I enjoyed it I certainly don't think it was as good as her other novels.
The main problem with 'The Constant Princess' is that it lacked the consistency to be foundin Gregory's other books. It was a painfully slow-starter. Even leaving aside the tedious first chapter, which describes a battlein Spain (Gregory's first chapter is always a tad contentious but at least we get a look into the way young Katharine was brought up) you easily have to read at least the first 150 pages before this story starts to take off. The first 150 pages are long & dull with far too much description than required & basically no where near enough story & aboveall dialogue. Instead we are forced to endure long accounts of Katharine of Argaon's first marriage to Arthur & how despite a rocky start they came to supposedly passionately love each other. What surprised me is thatin her other books Gregory has a fantastic ability to write romance. I don't know what happened to this abilityin this book. Instead of breath-taking love scenes & witty one-liners we are instead left with 'Tell me a story' where Catherine tells Arthur tales of her homelandin Spain. Interesting if you have an interestin Spanish culture at that time. Dull if you're after a bodice-ripping read that she usually delivers.
The good news is that this book does pick up it's pace after the first 150 pages (strangely after Arthur's death & the introduction of Henry into the picture) & we can then enjoy the more familiar setting of the Tutor Court but just as Gregory has almost redeemed herself she abruptly finishes the novel almost as if she got tired of writing. What annoyed me was that the birth of Mary was completely ignoredin this novel: almost as if Gregory simply assumes we know she has a kid. Furthermore the Queen's later years & the problems she endured by Henry's desire for a divorce are not dealt with at all. Perhaps Gregory felt that her account of the Queen's sufferingin 'The Other Boleyan Girl is sufficient to cover that part of Katharine's life.
I should also mention that I liked the way she dealt with Katharine's life most importantly the lie she told. Too many productions take the view point that it wasn't a lie but I found Gregory's representation very credible. Yes it is clear that Gregory is very pro-Katharine. Another author could have used the lie against her & blamed her as being overly-ambitious but Gregory's skill as a writer really makes us love & admire Katharine both as a person & indeed Queen of England. Given that so many productions present Katharine as an old, sour hag of a woman incapable of giving the King a son it is refreshing to read a novel which focuses on the moral dilemma this devoted woman faced & the contribution she made to the history of England: something easily overlookedin movies which prefer to focus on Katharine's failure to provide & heir & being just wife number one.
Other than that I enjoyed reading this novel despite the slow start & hasty finish. Other reviewers have complained about her writing style ie: that of narration & then personal reflection. To be honest I didn't find her style a faultin this book. If anything it helped give a very personal feel to the book although I do agree that at times especially the beginning it was a bit repetitive with all the "It is my duty...it is God's will" etc but I don't find this a reason to fault the book.
To conclude 'The Constant Princess' is an enjoyable read if you can get past the slow start & are prepared for a hasty end. Undoubtedly not as good as her previous works or indeed as romantic I wouldn't recommend reading this book first. Instead I'd recommend starting with 'The Other Boleyan Girl'.
Katherine of Aragon - Queen of endurance and courage! - By: Humbird, 28 Jul 2008 
I never thought that the neglected Queen of The Other Bolyen Girl is such a woman with histry & story - the most loving & moving stories. The love depicted between her & Arthur is so deep & tearful, that no one could blame her for holding on to her great lie. Katherine is such a legend! I love this book more than The Other Boleyn Girl.
repetitious.................. - By: kermit 333, 01 Jul 2008 
like other reviewers i have read most of Philippa Gregory's previous novels & was hoping that this one would be as absorbing as "The Queen's fool" & "The Boleyn inheritance". But I have to agree with the majority verdict that it is boring & repetitious - her constancy & her Spanish ancestry was harped upon throughout the novel.
But I did find Katherine believable so it was really annoying that she finished the book where she did ( I'm not saying where as I don't want to spoil it for others) & then tacked a small piece on the end. The book would have been much better had there been less of Catalina/Katherine's childhood & then she could have covered all of her life. Not one of her best
