Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen
& Six Tudor Queens: Anne Boleyn, A Kings Obsession
& Six Tudor Queens: Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen
Alison Weir
There is not much Alison Weir can’t tell you about the Tudors. So, when I found out she was writing a series focusing on the six wives of Henry VIII I was intrigued. The first book in the series is about the life of Katherine of Aragon, Henry’s Spanish Queen. Weir weaves her magic and brings to life the Tudor court and life of the devout Queen. Life is going well for Katherine, she has been happily married to the King for many years and is beloved by her subjects, but there is on gaping hole in her life, she hasn’t provided Henry with his much longed-for son and heir. Despite giving birth numerous times, to both boys and girls, there is only Princess Mary that has survived infancy. For Henry, this is a deal breaker and he needs a way out from his marriage. This sets in motion the events that changed the face of this country forever. Weir is excellent in not only telling us of the unfolding situation with Henry’s break with Rome but also how Katherine felt about her newly found status. Weir’s Queen is resilient and steadfast and despite being usurped by a younger woman she remains pleasant and kind to her love rival. For this I liked her and even though I knew the outcome for Katherine I felt for her as she finds herself being removed further and further from the court.
The second in the series naturally focuses on Anne Boleyn, an often much maligned figure but for me I felt that Weir corrects this. Anne is often seen as a harlot, a promiscuous and incestuous woman whose sexuality knew no bounds. But how much of that, if any of it, is true? I had my doubts, although if I am being honest I have always known that Anne was more innocent that guilty. Whilst the culprits are alluded to, Norris, Smeaton etc. I at no point felt that Anne was guilty as charged and neither were they. In Weir’s writing, you can feel Anne’s desperation to provide the elusive male heir and her angst with each failure. You can also feel the impending doom that grows as the story goes further along. Her execution is written with such clarity that you can almost feel yourself with Anne as she walks to the scaffold. It is also heart wrenching, when her execution is delayed you feel her despair and almost weep with her. Whilst I do feel Anne is given a bad rep, her attitude towards Queen Katherine and Princess Mary leaves a lot be desired. She yearns for both their deaths and tries to persuade Henry to put his own daughter to death, thankfully, he resists. Weirs writing is so good in this book that I almost forgot the inevitable outcome, I was so absorbed that I felt the ending was going to be more favourable to Anne!
The third instalment sees young country gentle woman Jane Seymour arrive at court to serve her beloved Queen Katherine and later the despised
Queen Anne. At no point did she envisage she would become Henry’s next Queen in his relentless quest for a son. Luckily for Jane she is the one that finally brings Henry his greatest desire, a prince to succeed him as king. Sadly, this comes at a cost for Henry as Jane passes away following the birth of the baby prince. For me Jane is not as likeable as I thought she would be, she feels guilty over her role in Anne’s downfall and this is almost too much, she has her hearts desire but is forever questioning and bemoaning the means of how she won the crown. I found her irritating and whiny and someone who was never really satisfied with her lot. Her family on the other hand rose greatly and their appreciation was genuine and appreciated.
My only criticism with this novel and the following instalment about Jane Seymour is that there is a lot of retelling of Queen Katherine’s divorce and Anne’s fall from grace. Albeit from different perspectives but you don’t really learn to much until the previous stories have been told. That said, I would still heartily recommend these books for anyone who loves historical novels and especially the Tudors. Alison Weir will never let you down.
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