Catherine of Braganza

Quite frankly, I know very little about history and thus it is not my go to subject in my juniors, however, after reading Brazen by Katherine Longshore, I grew interest of learning more about the Tudors. This book focuses more on Catherine’s marriage life with Charles II. The author is very straightforward and descriptive. This is a very light novel that is perfect for those who sees History the way that I do.

4 stars

Our story begins with the arrival of the English fleet at Lisbon. Catherine of Braganza is to be married to England’s King Charles II during the 17th Century.

This book traces the period of time during which Catherine was married to Charles II. She was sorely tested by Charles’ philandering and many at the court did not like her for her Catholic beliefs. They plotted against her in a vicious manner.

She was married to Charles for more than twenty years and although pregnant a number of times, she was never able to have a live birth.

Charles was a very stubborn man and refused to give up parading his mistresses in front of Catherine. Unable to get a ship back to Portugal, Catherine was trapped. At the same time, Catherine refused to take his main mistress into service with her and this caused much grief.

This is a sad and trying novel. I felt bad for Catherine, but knowing the mores of the day, it was okay for men to have affairs, but not women. It states that Catherine was aware of her brothers acting the same way, but forcing the other woman into Catherine’s face seems a bit much.

This is a very well written and researched book. I found it fascinating. I will look into more of Sarah-Beth Watkins’ books.

I want to thank Netgalley and John Hunt Publishing Ltd/Chronos Books for forwarding to me a copy of this most informative book to read.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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’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.

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.

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.