A fascinating look at this remarkable woman, I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written, captivating read!

After reading the first season of the short story series "Whitehall" I was looking forward to reading more about the real queen at the centre of the series.

Overall, this biography was rather interesting but it did occasionally focus more on Charles' mistresses than on his wife which was rather disappointing because the author alluded to the Queen taking an interest in the politics of her time. Especially in the last chapter, I would have loved to have gotten a little more detail on her role as regent.

Still, this book is an interesting introduction to Catherine of Braganza and the Restoration Court.

A fascinating biography of one of Britain's most fascinating (and least talked about) queens consort. Catherine is so often overshadowed by her husband and his famous coterie of mistresses and illegitimate children, but her role in linking Portugal and Britain is so important. I liked the emphasis on her dowry -- Britain first gained access to territory in India through her marriage, which shaped the empire to come. Recommended.

Book received from NetGalley.

I've always felt sorry for the Restoration Queen. Britain didn't like her because she was Catholic, she was unable to give Charles II an heir, and she had to put up with all of her husband's mistresses and bastards. She had to leave the country of her birth and settle somewhere completely different from what she was used to. I can't imagine how hard it was for her to leave Portugal for Britain. I didn't know much about her prior to reading this book, I only knew the basics since I haven't read much on the Stuarts. I'd love to read more about her life.

I found this to be a very easy read about the little known princess. I found it to be very interesting. Very enjoyable.

Catherine of Braganza was the wife of Charles II. She is known for making tea popular in England. She was often very unpopular and was believed to be the neglected wife of Charles II. However, in this biography of Queen Catherine, she is portrayed as a loyal and loving wife to King Charles. While she was often in background at the merry monarch’s court, King Charles never really considered replacing her. He ended up being her most staunch supporter. This biography also shows that Catherine had the makings of being a great queen when she became regent for her nephew in Portugal.

Catherine of Braganza was a princess of Portugal. She was a devoted Catholic throughout her life. Charles II secured his marriage with Catherine in exchange for a large dowry, which he never received. Catherine arrived in England, but she didn’t speak any English. She was immediately unpopular because of her Catholic faith. Charles also did not meet her upon arrival because he was with his mistress. Yet, despite these setbacks, Charles still decided to marry her anyway, both in a secret Catholic ceremony and in a Protestant one.

The beginning of their marriage became tumultuous. Charles wanted to make his mistress serve his wife. Catherine refused. This biography showed that Catherine was temperamental, stubborn, and passionate. It also showed that Charles was also hot-headed and stubborn, and that both the king and queen were used to getting their own way. This became a strained marriage, and Catherine became neglected. It wasn’t until after she relented and treated Charles’s mistresses with respect that Charles began to pay more attention to her.

Throughout her marriage, Catherine had to tolerate Charles’s mistresses. She also had to deal with the failure that she never produced an heir and the king’s counselors advising the king to replace her. Despite these problems, Charles never divorced his wife. He supported her. When the Popish Plot of 1678 threatened her, Charles stood by her side and declared he wouldn’t impeach her. Their relationship became closer. Charles spent more time with her and gave her more attention.

After Charles’s death, she lived in seclusion in Somerset House and witnessed the reigns of James II and William and Mary. Eventually, she returned to Portugal and was appointed regent for her nephew. She was a successful regent, but her time was short. She died in December.

Overall, this biography portrays Catherine in a sympathetic light. Her life was a series of tribulations. I felt sorry for Catherine and her difficulties. Yet, she managed to overcome them with the help of her husband Charles II. This biography also shows a more complex portrait of Catherine. She is portrayed as temperamental, stubborn, loyal, and politically adept. Because we see how capable Catherine is as regent, we only wonder how good of a queen she would be if Charles relied on her more often. This biography was short and it is very readable to the general reader. Those who have never heard of Catherine will find her story compelling and will want to learn more about her. Thus, Catherine of Braganza: Charles II’s Restoration Queen shows Catherine to be a woman who had the potential to be a great queen, but was never given the chance during her marriage to Charles II.

Intriguing, well-written read. Definitely not a dry or stuffy history book! Catherine had a fascinating life and was influencing world events long before she was even aware she was doing so. A great read even for non-history buffs.

I am not new to this particular time period in history, but found that this book read so easily that even if you aren't familiar with any of it you'll still have an enjoyable read!

Catherine Braganza - not a queen with whom I am overly familiar with - the Restoration not my particular area of expertise. So it was with anticipation that I sat down with this concise biography and discovered just who this woman was. A survivor!

Catherine's time as Queen of England was tumultuous - the reign of her husband, the notorious prolifigate, Charles II, was dominated by his long time mistress, Lady Castlemaine; Catherine's failure to produce an heir saw many plots abound to remove her or execute her - but Charles stood firm beside her. This was also the period of England's war with the Netherlands and the Great Fire of London.

Yet Catherine survived - she outlasted both Charles II and the reign of his brother James II; she witnessed Monmouth's rebellion (Charles' illegitimate son who challenged his uncle James II for power); she saw in the reigns of William and Mary following James' overthrow and exile; and then the coronation of Anne.

Finally, Catherine returns to Portugal and for the first time, exercising royal power as regent for her nephew (1705). But her happiness was short-lived - she died the same year.

Sarah-Beth successfully recreates the life of Catherine who lived in a most exciting time. Her story is highly readable, not bogged down with too much dry historical facts, and leaves the reader with just enough information to send them off on their own journey of discovery of this queen who for many, was just a mere footnote in history.

I went into this book knowing few things about Catherine of Braganza...I knew she was the wife of Charles II, that he had a LOT of mistresses, that she was famous for bringing tea to the English mainstream, and that she was greatly unpopular due to being Catholic. I walked away from this book feeling like I still don't really know much about the queen. I certainly know more about Charles' mistresses (and really want to know more about Hortense Mancini, that woman seems like someone out of what fiction thought Restoration-era England was like) and Charles II himself, as well as learning more about a period in English history that I admit I am pretty weak on.

I am not sure if there just isn't a ton recorded about her life or this book really was meant to be more of a primer for the period, but it certainly didn't seem all-encompassing about the Queen. I find myself greatly wanting to know more about her, but did enjoy reading the book and found its casual approach to history quite useful since this is a period I am less familiar with.

There has been little written about Catherine of Braganza, so I was happy to learn more about her.

Catherine of Braganza was the Portuguese wife of Charles II of England, the Restoration King. Catherine was born into the House of Braganza, the most senior noble house in Portugal.

Catherine was an unpopular consort for the Merry Monarch, mainly because of her devotion to Roman Catholicism, but also because she was unable to produce an heir to the throne. King Charles had no trouble producing illegitimate sires throughout England with a number of publicly known mistresses, the most notorious of them being Barbara Palmer. Not only did Catherine put up with Charles extra curricular lasciviousness, she included Barbara Palmer in her royal household as Mistress of the Bed Chamber.

I found this book interesting and well written, and it was a very quick read.

I was interested in reading this book as I do not know much about the royal Stuart wives. Although I read British medieval and modern history at university in Wales I had not covered this period in any depth. I enjoyed the book and much of the material was new to me. However I felt the portrait of Charles 11 was rather one dimensional and I would have liked more consideration of the impact of the beheading of his father on him and his mother and his exile during the commonwealth.

I’ve never read a biography about Catherine of Braganza, therefore I don’t know how much material is out there about her. But this biography seems as a light read, rather than a detailed historical account of her life. At some points, Charles’s mistresses take the center stage of this story. Catherine’s interests are not well-developed. It is more of a mention than an action.

The story starts in 1662 with Portuguese princess awaiting her passage to England to be weeded to Charles II, England’s restoration king.

While she awaits her passage, Charles is entertained by his mistress Barbara Palmer. Once the rocky passage is made to Portsmouth, Catherine is not being welcomed by Charles, instead she awaits him. His delayed meeting is due to his mistress.

It doesn’t take long for both of them to be raging in regards to the mistress. “For Catherine, the first flush of marriage was over. It was plain that Charles preferred his mistress to her and all she could do was act with dignity…”

“Life for Catherine did not always miserably revolve around the king and his mistresses. She began to take an active interest in the country’s affairs…” – this is just a mention.

She also takes mutual interest in the king’s scientific pastimes, looking at the stars painted by the physicist and philosopher Sir Isaac Newton. – This is just a mention.

In March 1665, Charles declares war on Netherlands. At the same time, the plague strikes London. “The disease was spread by the fleas of infected black rats…arriving…on ships from Amsterdam.”

Catherine is pregnant, but not for long. She miscarries; followed by many other miscarriages.

The following year, the great fire of London destroys over 10,000 houses and major structures.

In June 1670, Charles signs treaty with France and secretly converts to Catholicism.

In 1678 infamous Popish Plot – a supposed plot by Catholics to kill the king only increases anti-Catholic sentiment in England, which later turns out to be completely fictitious. Now the London fire is blamed on Catholics.

“Catherine had been married to the English king for nearly twenty-three years. She had suffered his mistresses, been unable to have his children, was implicated in plots and accused of trying to kill him but she had never wavered in her affection for him and he had always been protective of her.”

After the death of her husband, she begs her brother to let her come back to her beloved Portugal. After many pleas, she sails to her homeland in 1692.

She dies at the age of 67 at her Bemposta Palace.

What is a mention in this biography should be actually a center stage. I mention only the first mistress of Charles’s, but this story is intertwined with many of them, taking center stage at some points.

As a bit of a Restoration nut, I jumped at the chance to read this book courtesy of NetGalley. Sarah-Beth Watkins’ latest history explores the life of a woman she labels “a forgotten queen marked by history as the neglected wife of Charles II and not much more.” In this briskly paced book, Watkins expands our understanding of Catherine’s personality and the events of her life, from her cloistered upbringing in Portugal to her marriage to Charles, a notorious philanderer who nevertheless showed his wife continual political loyalty. While Watkins’ turns of phrase sometimes lack elegance (the wording and exclamations can come off as a bit casual), her prose is straight-forward. What’s more, Watkins inserts a good deal of primary source material into the narrative, much to the book’s benefit – the commentary of famous diarists Pepys and Evelyn, and snippets from letters written by the royals themselves, add authenticity and flavor. Further, Watkins’ bibliography reflects a wide gathering of sources both historical and modern.

Given the book’s brevity, Catherine of Braganza is a history painted by necessity with a broad brush. While we don’t get all the nuance and particulars of events like The Popish Plot, or even explanations of any medical circumstances which may have caused Catherine to repeatedly miscarry, Watkins does provide some interesting tidbits of information relating to her subject. It was enjoyable to learn about Catherine’s passion for the navy, her skill as an archer, her enthusiasm for tea, and her patronage of music (she was the organizer of the first Italian opera performed in England). These details added color to Catherine’s life.

What I found especially fascinating about the book was the kinship networks Catherine worked hard to establish within the royal family – whether her closeness with the Queen Dowager Henrietta Maria, or her role looking after not only the children of Charles’ mistresses, but also her nieces, the future Queens Mary and Anne. And on that note of Charles’ mistresses, I felt intrigued by Watkins’ description of the ways in which Catherine lived closely to and collaborated with her husband’s lovers, particularly in the arrangements of entertainments. Certainly, queens before her had endured proximity to their husband’s paramours. Yet against the backdrop of Charles’ many mistresses jockeying for favor and position at court, Catherine remained a steady presence, who if not exactly their close companion was at least companionable. Here Watkins successfully highlights the sexual double standard at court – whereas Catherine not only had to put up with but also collaborate with Charles’ mistresses (her early protestations against them fell on Charles’ deaf ears), Charles would not suffer to let Catherine have a master of horse of her choosing, fearing she favored the man over himself.

Watkins succeeds in demonstrating Catherine’s role as a political pawn, even in her infancy as a symbol to spur on the Portuguese rebellion against Spanish rule, and later in life as a scapegoat for Catholics in England. Her part in that conflict – with accusations of conspiracy volleyed consistently against her on account of her religion – was interesting, too.

Overall, Watkins’ breezy history does convey a solid sense of Catherine’s character – a woman who, though stubborn at times, displayed a good deal of grace, devotion, maternal care, and savviness to know when political winds were changing.

The history of the portuguese princess told almost like a historic romance. Easy reading, because the facts were written in an interesting and engaging way. Very enjoyable read.

Thanks Netgalley for the copy.

I studied Catherine’s (Catarina in Portuguese) life for some time and this author is brilliant. Loved this book deeply since it speaks of what I know.
Fun fact: Did you know that British drink Tea at 5pm because of Queen Catherine? She was the one that introduced this habit in the Royal Court since Portuguese were the ones with trade route to China.
Tea in China and in Portugal is called the same: Chá, and are the only countries in the world saying the word in the same pronunciation.

I was intrigued by the story of Catherine, Queen of England, and regent of Portugal. The author managed to capture the times and the personalities which surrounded her, her challenges, and her amazing ability to remain true to herself. Makes me want to do more digging about this remarkable woman.

British Royalty particularly the Tudors and Stuarts have been a seamless source for writers both of the fiction and non fiction variety. But some of the Royals of these periods have been somewhat overlooked and one of those that fits into this category is Catherine of Braganza, a Portuguese princess married to Charles II, who was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1662 to 1685. This well written book by Sarah Beth-Watkins seeks to redress this omission.

The biography follows the life of Catherine from the Royal Household in Portugal to her marriage to King Charles II and the trials and tribulations that her life entailed. This was a time of upheaval in British politics and society with the restoration of the monarchy taking place in 1660 just two years before Catherine became Queen. One not only gets an insight into the politics of the time with continued fear and mistrust of Roman Catholicism which placed this Catholic Queen in grave danger throughout her time here but also some of the great events that took place during her reign which included the Great Plague, the fire of London and the sea wars with the Netherlands. Use is made of contemporaneous diary entries.

Catherine had to put up with the King's numerous mistresses which she did stoically and befriended many of his illegitimate children. Unfortunately she was unable to have children herself leading to the problems of succession as Charles's brother James was of course a Catholic. Remarkably the story of Catherine does not end with the death of Charles as back in Portugal she acted as regent for her brother, Peter II.

I must admit I was so engrossed with this story I read it in one sitting and if you are interested in history I would certainly recommend this.

An excellent account of the life of one of our most overlooked queens. Informative & easy to read. The impact of religious differences & her husband's mistresses (especially Lady Castlemaine) is explained thoroughly & sympathetically. Read this in a matter of hours as it was so engaging. Highly recommended.

To be honest, I don't know all that much about Charles II or the era he ruled in. I found this a refreshing and interesting read about his queen, Catherine of Braganza.

The author presents the facts, from letters and sources of the times, about the woman. I appreciated Catherine's loyalty to her husband and also Charles' loyalty (such as it was) to her. They were friends, of a sort, and had no children.

This wasn't difficult to read, and had a nice flow. Any reader who has an interest in history would no doubt enjoy reading this.