This is a good, concise bio that is a good intro to any study of Henry VIII's messy marital history. It tells the sad story of Katharine of Aragon, a Spanish princess who was initially married to Henry's older brother Arthur, a sickly boy who died only four months after the wedding. During the years between 1502-1509, Katharine lived in near abject poverty, since neither her father-in-law, Henry VII, nor her father, Ferdinand of Spain, would give her any money to pay her staff, buy new clothes (Katharine was constantly altering and patching her gowns; for years she wore the same old dresses she'd brought from Spain in 1501 to marry Arthur), or even good food. Both Ferdinand and Henry VII thought it the other's job to provide for her. Then in 1509 her life changed forever, if not for the better. Henry VIII was now King, and he wanted to marry Katharine. And he did. At the time, Katharine saw him as her knight in shining armour, rescuing her from the poverty she'd been forced to live in for so long. They loved each other, and had waited years to get married. The fact that Katharine was five years older than Henry wasn't an issue then; Henry loved her just the same. Katharine thought all her problems were over, that she woul;d never be sad or lonely again. Truth is, the problems were just beginning...
This book keeps the action centered around Katharine, which is good because bios of people who really aren't all that well-known tend to wander from the subject. This is one of the best books on Katharine of Aragon for anyone to read.