The White Princess by Philippa Gregory
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Start Date: October 14, 2017
End Date: November 4, 2017
I have to start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to go to the library to read another one of Philippa Gregory's books. I really enjoy the fact that Gregory wrote this book as a fiction novel, but at the heart of it it is based on historical research. The way she has written helps the story come alive and is much easier to read and follow than traditional historical books. On the flip side of that, it leaves me to wonder if some of the information in the book is inaccurate. At the end of the day I really enjoyed reading this novel and found myself not wanting to put the book down.
The mood I got from this book was that Queen Elizabeth of York lived a very sad life. From her love for Richard III, to having to marry Henry Tudor whom she hated, to being split between her York family and her Tudor family, to then living the lonely and betraying life of being Queen of England. From this account it seems that Elizabeth was never meant to be happy.
The story begins with Elizabeth, as a princess, in deep depression about losing her love King Richard III to the new King of England, Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth. You get the sense of her loathing and bitterness for Henry as the story goes on. I mean, from Gregory's accounts Henry continuously raped Elizabeth numerous times before they were married in order to know if she was fertile enough for her give birth to his future heir. As queen that was her dominate role; to provide an heir for the Tudor line. A marriage that begins in the fashion is understandably a rocky one.
There was a glimmer of hope as the story went on for Henry and Elizabeth, but as it turns out that Elizabeth of York would succumb to the same fate as the queen before her, Anne Neville, would. As a lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne, Elizabeth caught the eye of King Richard III and Elizabeth became his lover. Elizabeth had to endure the same as Henry became infatuated with his enemy's wife, Lady Katherine Huntly. This was a very interesting part of the story as Elizabeth showed compassion for the position that Lady Katherine was thrust into and she realized the pain she caused the previous queen. She also realized that she had genuine feelings for her husband which made her feel that much more hurt when he was falling for another.
I got the feeling that Elizabeth felt absolutely powerless. There was nothing that she could do to save the people she loved. There was nothing that she could do to make her husband and mother-in-law, Margaret Beaufort, believe that she was not betraying them. There was nothing that she could do to make her husband love her the way she longed to be loved by Richard.
There were some interesting tidbits that I thought were interesting and wonder if they were accurate historical accounts or if they were embellishments from Gregory.
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Queen Victoria's wedding dress
www.racked.com/2015/6/26/8840401/why-wedding-dresses-are-white |
- At one point in the book Elizabeth talks about what her wedding would have been like with Richard. How she would have been wearing her white dress. I could be wrong but I thought I read or heard in a documentary that it wasn't until Queen Victoria's wedding that royal brides wore white on their wedding day. They tended to wear cloth of gold or other regal colors. Queen Victoria was the one that set the trend of a bride in white. So my question would be, "What were the traditional colors worn by royals during the Tudor time period for a wedding?"
- On page 295 Elizabeth's fourth child is a girl that she names Elizabeth after her mother, Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England. On this page Elizabeth tells Margaret, "I am absolutely sure that a Tudor Elizabeth is going to be one of the greatest monarchs that England has ever seen." Quite the prediction if Elizabeth really said this or had these thoughts. I am thinking this is merely Gregory giving us some foreshadowing for what is to come later in the Tudor reign. Unfortunately the Elizabeth that the Queen gives birth in this book does not survive.
- On page 364 Gregory writes that Margaret, Henry's mother, wanted her grandson, the future Henry VIII, to be a Tudor Pope. Now it is no secret that Margaret Beaufort was an extremely pious woman who spent most of her time on her knees in prayer, but I really wonder if this was her true ambition. If it was then how ironic would it be that she would want Henry to be Pope and later in his life he would actually be the one to break with Rome in order to create the Church of England? Interesting.... It wouldn't be surprising considering Henry was not the Prince of Wales at this time. His brother Arthur was to be the next King of England when his father Henry VII died leaving Henry to be the spare heir and not having much of a role besides the King's brother. Margaret was a very ambitious woman and when she wasn't praying she was working to make sure her son and his heirs were secured in powerful roles. What stronger role after king is there except Pope?
- On page 503 Elizabeth warns her husband, Henry VII, that by putting "the boy" to death he could be fulfilling a curse that she and her mother set when her brothers went missing in The Tower. She says, "...we might lose our son in his youth. We might lose a grandson in his youth. Our line might end with a girl and then with nothing. Everything that you have done, everything that we have endured might end with a Virgin Queen, a barren girl, and then...nothing." More foreshadowing? I think so! Here I think this is a play on words. Arthur, Henry and Elizabeth's first son does die in his youth after he marries Catherine of Aragon. Then Henry VIII's son, Edward, also dies when he is in youth. Then after Mary I dies her half sister Elizabeth I takes the throne and we all know what she is famous for, right?!! So if there was a curse it obviously worked....😮.
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Queen Elizabeth I
www.historyanswers.co.uk |
I would love to hear what everyone else thought of this book. Like I said, I really did enjoy reading this book and can't wait to grab another one from the library. I'm thinking that I will go through the Philippa Gregory books and just go from there!! 😁
Please let me know what your thoughts were, if you have anything to add to my little tidbits, or if you have any questions!
Thanks for stopping by and I will let you know when I start the next book!
~Courtney
