My Tudor Craze!

It all started with the random thought that I'd like to see the movie "The Other Boleyn Girl" with Scarlett Johansen and Natalie Portman. But it's not out to rent yet. So I tried to get the book from the library- it, of course, is checked out. (I'm #12 on the hold list.) While looking for it, I saw other books by the same author, Phillipa Gregory. I decided to give "The Constant Princess" a whirl, just for kicks. It's a fictional account of the life of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII. I actually really enjoyed it! So then I read "Mary, Bloody Mary", a fictional version of the life of "Bloody" Queen Mary, Catherine's daughter with Henry. So this is getting me all interested in the Tudors (and not because I've ever watched that trashy HBO show- I think it looks skeezy). Now I've moved on to biographies to try to gain some information that might be close to the truth. I've got my paws on Catherine's, and then will probably move on to Anne Boleyn, the second wife, who Henry had accused of infidelity and incest, and then beheaded. Incidentally, she's also the mother of Queen Elizabeth I, who I find fascinating. I think I'll make my way though the wives before moving onto their children-- namely Mary and Elizabeth, the only ones to grow into adulthood. If anyone knows of any books that are interesting and well written about these people, please pass them on.



This is an actual portrait painted of Catherine in 1503 when she was 19, by Michiel Sittow.




Call me a nerd if you want, but I find all these people intriguing. Catherine was born Catalina of Spain, daughter of the great monarchs Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. She was betrothed to Henry VII's older son Aurthur when she was only 2 years old! She married him at age 15, but he died within months. She lived in England for 7 years, a bargaining chip for both her father and Henry VII, before they finally arranged her marriage to Aurthur's younger brother and heir to the throne, Henry VIII. What a chain of events that set off! I'm all excited about it!