‘Katharine of Aragon, Spanish Princess: ‘I am not as Simple as I May Seem’ Blog Tour – Interview with Heather R Darsie



I am delighted to host a stop on the blog tour to celebrate the publication of ‘‘Katharine of Aragon, Spanish Princess: ‘I am not as Simple as I May Seem’’ by Heather R Darsie.

Thank you to Heather and Amberley Publishing for asking me to take part.


(c) Amberley Publishing


Thank you to Heather for this interview.



What made you write about Katherine of Aragon?

I am intrigued by Henry VIII’s internationally-connected wives, especially Anna of Cleves and Katharine of Aragon. A few years ago, I realized that I had read very little if anything about Katharine’s family history. I sought to remedy that with this book. Hopefully I have.


What does your book add to previous works covering Katherine?

It does a deep-dive into the founding of her family’s dynasty with all of its violence and intrigue. I think I avoid over-glorifying Katharine’s parents. I also explain the reasons why she remained in England from 1502 to 1509; there was a lot more going on than Henry VII of England being a miser and Ferdinand II of Aragon being a callous father.


How do you think Katherine’s Spanish upbringing shaped her English Queenship?

I think having as much access to multiculturalism as Katharine did through architecture and even just the people around her at court helped her support the move toward the Renaissance and humanist thinking at the English court. In addition, Katharine learned the power of propaganda from her parents, which she surely supported when Henry VIII of England started using it during their reign.


What surprised you most researching this book?

How awful Katharine of Aragon’s paternal grandfather John II of Aragon was. He gives the word “ruthless” an entirely new, terrible perspective.


Is there something particular that people should know about Katharine?

Katharine was either so burdened or so sick by the end of her life that her ability to communicate in Spanish was slipping, which is reflected in her letters. She was having serious grammatical issues. It could also be indicative of the isolation she experienced during the last couple-few years of her life. To me, that is one of the saddest pieces of evidence of a tragic end to a once-proud life.



Buy ‘Katherine of Aragon, Spanish Princess:

Amazon.co.uk

Amberley Publishing


Follow Heather on Social Media:

Heather’s website: Maidens and Manuscripts
Twitter: @HRDarsieHistory


Other stops on the tour




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Books 2025 – on sale today – Katharine of Aragon, Spanish Princess: ‘I am not as Simple as I May Seem’ by Heather R Darsie


(c) Amberley Publishing


‘On 4 November 1501, a fifteen-year-old girl arrived in England to marry the fifteen-year-old prince of that kingdom. Their parents, especially the boy’s, hoped that the marriage would secure the future of their family on the throne. Much excitement surrounded the safe arrival of Katharine of Aragon from Spain to England. She and her husband-to-be, Arthur Tudor, were engaged years before and spent their time exchanging letters in Latin, the only common language they shared. Katharine of Aragon has of course always been a fascinating historical figure as the first wife of the infamous Henry VIII. This book provides a new perspective on Katharine because it includes far more background on her Spanish upbringing and her Spanish culture, and how that continued to define her in England. Heather Darsie uses rich primary sources, such as the anonymous Receyt of Ladie Kateryne, which have been infrequently referenced in other biographies. In this, Heather’s multilingual abilities – especially her fluent Spanish – are put to good use. No one, for example, has considered the rippling impact of terminating Katharine’s marriage on the Trastamara and Habsburg dynasties in Europe. Katherine was as important abroad as she was in England. Her mother Isabella was a usurper and so was Henry VII; their attempts to ‘legitimise’ each other are examined here for the first time. How relevant to the history of England is Katherine’s Spanish background? Her daughter is Mary I.’

From Amazon.co.uk

Further details – Amberley Publishing

Further details – Amazon.co.uk



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‘Katherine of Aragon, Spanish Princess’ Blog Tour



On Sunday 18th May, this website will be hosting Heather Darsie on her book blog tour for ‘Katherine of Aragon, Spanish Princess.’


(c) Amberley Publishing


The book will be published by Amberley Publishing on 15th May.


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Further research to be carried out on the Teerlinc Miniature


Art historian Dr Emma Luisa Cahill Marrón has announced that she will be part of a team working on the miniatures owned by the Yale Center for British Art.



The project will include a portrait that has previously been suggested as Lady Jane Grey by David Starkey. In March 2007, it was on display as part of ‘Lost Faces’ exhibition at the Philip Mould Gallery.

In ‘Susanna Horenbout, Levina Teerlinc and the Mask of Royalty’ by Susan E James and James S Franco published in 2000, it is suggested that the miniature was painted by Susanna Horenbout and is of Queen Katherine Howard. Eric Ives in ‘Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery’ published in 2009, suggests that the sitter is Amy Robsart (wife of Robert Dudley), as does Chris Skidmore in ‘Death and the Virgin: Elizabeth, Dudley and the Mysterious Fate of Amy Robsart’ in 2010.

In Portrait of an Unknown Lady: Technical Analysis of an Early Tudor Miniature published in 2020, Polly Saltmarsh put forward the argument that the sitter is a young Mary I.


(c) Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection


You can follow Dr Cahill on Twitter/X – @EmmaLCahill.



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‘The Tragic Life of Lady Jane Grey’ by Beverley Adams added to the web site…



(c) Pen and Sword


‘The Tragic Life of Lady Jane Grey’ by Beverley Adams added to the Lady Jane Grey Biographies section of the bibliography.

Entries added to the following:

Primary Accounts – Birth, Ascham, Chapel, Dress, Feckenham.

Writings of Lady Jane Grey – Letters – Letter to Sir Thomas Seymour, Farewell Letters – Letter to Katherine Grey, Letters to Father, Speech from Scaffold and Signatures

Art – Paintings – Delaroche and Lady Jayne/Streatham.



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