The Merry Monarch's Wife: The Story of Catherine of Braganza

Review of Jean Plaidy's The Merry Monarch's Wife This is the story of Portugal's Princess Catherine, her marriage to King Charles of England, and all the courtly intrigue, treachery, plotting, womanizing that that entailed. We learn about Catherine while she is but a mere child in her father's country palace, as he tries to regain his throne in Portugal from the Spanish, while her mother hopes to marry Catherine to Charles, should he become the English king. But at the time, he was an exiled prince, his father beheaded, and Oliver Cromwell had taken over England. Still, Catherine's mother believed with all her heart, Catherine would some day become the Queen of England. For years, it seemed it would not be so. Becoming the Queen of England would save her country, Portugal, from the Spanish. But at what price to the innocent young woman who had been raised for years in a nunnery and was now thrust into the immoral English royal court? I was riveted to the tale, and wondered why this story was not made into a movie. Nothing Hollywood can make up rivals real life. I loved seeing the story through Catherine's eyes, a woman who romanticized a relationship with her husband years before she ever became his wife. I felt her pain through all the misfortunes she'd had to endure, and wanted to see her life end happily. The whole time I read the story, I was immersed in Catherine's world, and loved it. I couldn't wait to get to the end and learn how Catherine finally fared. I've read a lot about bonny Prince Charles and his escapades, but from his wife's point of view, it was all the more rewarding.

By 1662, Catherine of Braganza has waited for years to honor the marriage contract with Charles II of England. Understanding the critical importance of the match, Catherine's mother believes it will bring an end to Spain's threat to Portugal, as only the power of England can force the Spanish to back down from their aggressive stance. However, with the beheading of Charles' father, Oliver Cromwell seizes the throne, Charles left with no options. After Cromwell's death, the country appears ready to accept a new king, Charles returning to England, soon after to wed his Portuguese bride. Although she regrets leaving her homeland, Catherine will finally fulfill the destiny she has anticipated in Restoration England. The citizens still harbor animosity toward Catholicism, but Catherine is not threatened by that fact, although as the years pass her Catholicism will be the cause of much turmoil and potential danger. Having loved Charles, or the idea of the man, at twenty-four Catherine is more than ready to become his queen. Indeed, she is not disappointed, the king a charismatic, merry man with a fine sense of humor who welcomes her with great affection. Long-sheltered in Portugal, Catherine spends the early days of her marriage blissfully ignorant, only gradually realizing that Charles is incapable of fidelity. Catherine's first shock is in the person of Lady Castlemaine, Barbara Palmer, a voluptuous and clever woman who has already given the king a number of children. When Catherine refuses to accept Castlemaine as one of her ladies-in-waiting, a visible crack appears in the marriage, as well as a hint of her husband's capacity for anger when Catherine refuses to change her position. Although Castlemaine never becomes part of the queen's entourage, she is forced to accept not only Charles' current mistress, but the truth of his infidelities. A blight on her happiness, only pregnancy can afford the unhappy queen relief, but after two miscarriages, it is apparent that Catherine may remain barren, a condition that puts her marriage at grave risk from factions that would see her replaced a la Anne Boleyn. Regardless the conditions, Catherine loves her faithless husband, willing finally to accept any terms to remain by his side. And Barbara Palmer is only the first of many: Frances Stuart, Moll Davis, Nell Gwynne and Louise de Keroualle. Ironically, Charles does love his wife; over the years she understands both his flaws as a man and strengths as a king. Although the author's main focus is on the painful reality of Charles' affairs, the couple also faces serious challenges to the security of the realm, James Stuart's public embrace of Catholicism, a Popish plot to reinstate a Catholic monarch and various problems that come to light because of the people's fear of a return to Rome in a decidedly Protestant country. Throughout, Charles is a charming roué who holds great affection for his childless wife, confiding his predisposition toward her religion o

The Pleasures of Love is about Catherine of Braganza, wife to Charles II. I'd say it was one of the better Plaidys I've read. Catherine, of course, was obligated to tolerate Charles II's many mistresses and, worse yet, watch as they bore her husband child after child while she suffered miscarriages. Nonetheless, the couple were fond of each other and grew closer in adversity. As a Catholic in a Protestant country, Catherine was a perennial outsider and an easy target for the disaffected, especially when it became apparent that she was unlikely to produce an heir to the throne. It's a tribute to Plaidy's skill that both Charles and Catherine come off as sympathetic characters, as it would be all too easy to fall into the trap of making Charles a lecherous jerk or Catherine a colorless dishcloth. Instead, Charles's charm is readily apparent here, and though Catherine (the narrator) lacks his wit and magnetic personality, and is more an observer of events than a participant in them, she still is an attractive character, making the best of her circumstances and seldom yielding to self-pity. The relationship between the royal couple, complicated as it is by the other women in Charles's life, is a visibly affectionate one. It's interesting to compare this book with Doris Leslie's The Sceptre and the Rose, also about Catherine. Leslie's book covers most of the same events that Plaidy does but uses a third-person omniscient narrator; she's also quite sympathetic to both Catherine and Charles. She has a jauntier writing style than Plaidy and spends more time in sketching character (her Barbara Villiers is a memorably nasty specimen), but Plaidy's narrative is a little easier to follow, especially for someone (like me) not all that familiar with the history of the period. Both, though, are well worth reading. Neither book spends much time on the period after Charles II's death, although Plaidy does devote a few pages to Catherine's precarious position in the reign of William and Mary and to her return to Portugal, where she served as her brother's regent for a while. It's a pity that there's not more on the latter episode, for it seems to have been a time where Catherine was able to demonstrate the strength and intelligence that were overshadowed during her stay in England. An enjoyable book about a queen exhibiting grace under pressure.

Jean Plaidy, also known to her legion of fans as Victoria Holt, was a prolific writer of historical fiction. In this, her ninth volume in her "Queens of England" series of books, she relates the first person narrative of a little known Queen, Catherine of Braganza, who married Charles II of England. Together, they led England during the restoration of the monarchy, after the death of Oliver Cromwell saw the end of Puritan rule in England. The marriage of Catherine of Braganza, who was from Portugal, to the newly restored King of England, Charles II, was a purely political alliance. Catherine was the daughter of King Juan IV of Portugal, who had previously been known as the Duke of Braganza, a vassal of Spain, as Spain had invaded Portugal in his father's time. When Catherine was five, after sixty years under Spanish rule, her father drove out the Spaniards and assumed his rightful role. His rule was a tenuous one, however, as the only foreign countries who recognized Juan IV as King of Portugal were France and England, who were enemies of Spain, at the time. The Pope, however, under the thumb of the Spaniards, did not, and other countries followed suit.When Catherine, the Infanta of Portugal, was about eighteen years of age, her father died, leaving her mother, Donna Luiza, Queen Regent, of Portugal, as her brother, Alfonso, was only thirteen years old. Shortly thereafter, in the year 1658, Cromwell died, and within two years, Charles II of England was restored to his throne. Donna Luiza sought the marriage of her daughter, Catherine, to Charles II, as a way of being able to shore up her defenses against the ever pervasive threat of Spanish subjugation. By the time Catherine was twenty two, she was married to the thirty year old King of England.Catherine was a Catholic Queen in a Protestant England that had never forgotten the cruelties of their last Catholic ruler, Mary Tudor, also known as "Blody Mary", for her excesses againt those of the Protestant faith. Consequently, the English were cool in their reception of Catherine. Moreover, she was married to a King who was a natural philanderer and whose amorous escapades with the beautiful, though notorious, Lady Castlemaine, as well as with the cockney actress, Nell Gwynne, among others, would cause her much heartache. When Catherine failed to produce an heir, and it became clear that she was barren, there was much political intrigue in hopes that Charles II would divorce her and marry someone with whom he could beget an heir. That the King was capable of doing so was evident from the number of children he begat with his mistresses. Still, this merry monarch, much beloved by his people who viewed his amorous escapes with amusement, refused to discard his faithful and loyal wife, despite the fact that the public reviled her. The author weaves a compelling, first person narrative of a Queen whose personal travails are little known. Against a backdrop of historical events, political intrigues, an

Jean Plaidy, also known to her legion of fans as Victoria Holt, was a prolific writer of historical fiction. In this, her ninth volume in her "Queens of England" series of books, she relates the first person narrative of a little known Queen, Catherine of Braganza, who married Charles II of England. Together, they led England during the restoration of the monarchy, after the death of Oliver Cromwell saw the end of Puritan rule in England. The marriage of Catherine of Braganza, who was from Portugal, to the newly restored King of England, Charles II, was a purely political alliance. Catherine was the daughter of King Juan IV of Portugal, who had previously been known as the Duke of Braganza, a vassal of Spain, as Spain had invaded Portugal in his father's time. When Catherine was five, after sixty years under Spanish rule, her father drove out the Spaniards and assumed his rightful role. His rule was a tenuous one, however, as the only foreign countries who recognized Juan IV as King of Portugal were France and England, who were enemies of Spain, at the time. The Pope, however, under the thumb of the Spaniards, did not, and other countries followed suit.When Catherine, the Infanta of Portugal, was about eighteen years of age, her father died, leaving her mother, Donna Luiza, Queen Regent, of Portugal, as her brother, Alfonso, was only thirteen years old. Shortly thereafter, in the year 1658, Cromwell died, and within two years, Charles II of England was restored to his throne. Donna Luiza sought the marriage of her daughter, Catherine, to Charles II, as a way of being able to shore up her defenses against the ever pervasive threat of Spanish subjugation. By the time Catherine was twenty two, she was married to the thirty year old King of England.Catherine was a Catholic Queen in a Protestant England that had never forgotten the cruelties of their last Catholic ruler, Mary Tudor, also known as "Blody Mary", for her excesses againt those of the Protestant faith. Consequently, the English were cool in their reception of Catherine. Moreover, she was married to a King who was a natural philanderer and whose amorous escapades with the beautiful, though notorious, Lady Castlemaine, as well as with the cockney actress, Nell Gwynne, among others, would cause her much heartache. When Catherine failed to produce an heir, and it became clear that she was barren, there was much political intrigue in hopes that Charles II would divorce her and marry someone with whom he could beget an heir. That the King was capable of doing so was evident from the number of children he begat with his mistresses. Still, this merry monarch, much beloved by his people who viewed his amorous escapades with amusement, refused to discard his faithful and loyal wife, despite the fact that the public reviled her. The author weaves a compelling, first person narrative of a Queen whose personal travails are little known. Against a backdrop of historical events, political intrigues,