Katharine of Aragon, the daughter of Queen Isabella, is brought to England to marry Prince Arthur, The Prince of Wales and heir to the throne. On arrival in England half of her dowry is set aside to be paid to King Henry VII.
Katharine and Arthur marry but due to their ages and Arthur's poor health the King decides that the marriage should not yet be consummated. Within a few months Arthur dies and Katharine is left widowed. She hopes that she will be allowed to return to her family in Spain but this does not happen. She is left to live in London with no help from the King. She slowly sells off and pawns items from her dowry to be able to live.
When the Queen dies King Henry starts looking for a new wife for himself. He considers Katharine and also one of her sisters as possible choices. He is looking for a young bride who will produce more sons. He also needs to consider his second son Henry who has now become his heir. Young Henry and Katharine have a betrothal ceremony but King Henry keeps looking elsewhere for other possible brides for his son. Katharine is again left to live in poverty. The remainder of her dowry has not been paid and she feels trapped in London, but as her mother has now died and her father has re-married in Spain there doesn't seem to be anything for her to return to there either.
This book is one of 'The Tudor' series. I really enjoyed the story. It is obviously set on historical facts and is very easy to read.
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