I have always been interested in the many Queens of England. I have read some books about the Merry Monarch's mistresses, but I haven't found any about his wife, so I was glad to find this book about Catherine of Braganza. It was a very informative read, starting from her birth up to her final years when she returned to Portugal to become regent. I have never read anything from Sarah-Beth Watkins before, and next time I won't be reluctant to pick up a book from her!

To be honest, I don't know all that much about Charles II or the era he ruled in. I found this a refreshing and interesting read about his queen, Catherine of Braganza. 

The author presents the facts, from letters and sources of the times, about the woman. I appreciated Catherine's loyalty to her husband and also Charles' loyalty (such as it was) to her. They were friends, of a sort, and had no children.

This wasn't difficult to read, and had a nice flow. Any reader who has an interest in history would no doubt enjoy reading this.

4 stars

Our story begins with the arrival of the English fleet at Lisbon. Catherine of Braganza is to be married to England’s King Charles II during the 17th Century. 

This book traces the period of time during which Catherine was married to Charles II.  She was sorely tested by Charles’ philandering and many at the court did not like her for her Catholic beliefs. They plotted against her in a vicious manner. 

She was married to Charles for more than twenty years and although pregnant a number of times, she was never able to have a live birth. 

Charles was a very stubborn man and refused to give up parading his mistresses in front of Catherine. Unable to get a ship back to Portugal, Catherine was trapped. At the same time, Catherine refused to take his main mistress into service with her and this caused much grief. 

This is a sad and trying novel. I felt bad for Catherine, but knowing the mores of the day, it was okay for men to have affairs, but not women. It states that Catherine was aware of her brothers acting the same way, but forcing the other woman into Catherine’s face seems a bit much. 

This is a very well written and researched book. I found it fascinating. I will look into more of Sarah-Beth Watkins’ books.

I want to thank Netgalley and John Hunt Publishing Ltd/Chronos Books for forwarding to me a copy of this most informative book to read.

This is a relatively easy read. Often reads like a story, and not a history book. So, it is easy to keep those who are not used to reading non fiction engaged. I felt understandably sympathetic towards the young Queen having to endure so much. From miscarriages, to a disloyal husband. 
However, the publisher does state that this material is hard to find, and I agree, but the biggest flaw of this novel overall is the lack of explanations to a lot of the more difficult topics. It states that Catherine is not very well versed in the English language, but also tells the reader that she seemingly had very little difficulty speaking with her husband. An explanation as to how she communicated so easily with the king would be nice. Also it states a few times that people speak with her in French. It is unclear if the queen actually is accustomed to the language. As I understand it, Portuguese, Spanish, and French share similarities but would be relatively difficult to understand if say, a Portuguese speaker like Catherine had to listen to someone speaking French. This could be that the languages were more similar during the 1600’s in which this story took place? It is also noted that quite  few people speak Spanish to the Portuguese native, and they communicate with relative ease, but I don’t really understand how that is possible since Portuguese speakers and Spanish Speakers have difficulty understanding one another today. If the Languages were more closely related back then, I think that the author should make note of the change.
The near constant mention of the kings mistresses, (while sometimes important to make note of) quickly becomes repetitive and often redundant. 
Despite it’s flaws and sometimes repetitiveness, it’s still a very enjoyable read and does it’s job of informing the reader about the Portuguese Princess turned Queen’s life. It has inspired me to read more nonfiction, and if the author writes more books like this in the future, I would read them. It’s not very often that I finish a book in one or two sittings, but this was an exception to that rule. Which surprised me immensely because my attention has the tendency to wander.

Firstly, many thanks to Net Galley for the free copy of this book.

I enjoyed Watkins account of the life of Catherine of Braganza. She is a somewhat forgotten figure of the restoration period. This is certainly not a book for the serious Restoration historian it is light and aimed at a more general audience. Although a little bit of background information on events such as the Dutch war and a glossary of the mistresses and children would have been helpful. I have a decent knowledge of the period but on occasion even I was confused by which child belonged to which mistress! 

I enjoyed the gossipy feel to the book with the interspersed extracts from letters and diary entries from Pepys and Evelyn. I was particularly pleased Watkins stuck to writing in chronological order it made following the sometimes complicated events of Catherine's life much easier. I realise source material may be scarce, but I did feel that Catherine's contribution to the War of Spanish Succession could have been discussed and analysed in far more detail as it seemed to be a moment where she really came into her own.

Overall, it was a quick and enjoyable read and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a light historical biography.

I greatly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others. Sometimes biographies are too dry and analytical for me, and I have difficulty staying engaged. The author's writing style is conversational and easy to follow, I liked the book so much I read it all in one sitting. I definitely plan to look into more of her books.

Quite frankly, I know very little about history and thus it is not my go to subject in my juniors, however, after reading Brazen by Katherine Longshore, I grew interest of learning more about the Tudors. This book focuses more on Catherine’s marriage life with Charles II. The author is very straightforward and descriptive. This is a very light novel that is perfect for those who sees History the way that I do.

I received a free e-Arc from Netgalley. 

Although a historian myself, anything after the Tudors does almost defeat me because it's not a period I've studied at great length - and this is probably just the right sort of book for me to read about a time period I know little about.

The author's tone is light, and dispenses with any sort of discussion about sources and their reliability, rather focusing on what can be pieced together about Charles II's Queen, which doesn't seem to be a great deal. It is told in a chronological order - which I always like - and while I would have quite liked a list of Charles II's mistresses and illegitimate children - Charles does not feature massively in the text. Not that he's not there - and there are a few times when I was struck by Charles' regard for his wife, unable to give him the legitimate sons he needed, and yet fiercely loyal to her for all that - apart from perhaps in his younger days when his treatment of her was quite scandalous.

Overall, a very enjoyable and quick read - I especially enjoyed the mentions of the French court as it brought back all my memories of studying Louis XIV. I think it would help to have some understanding of the time period when reading the book - but as I discovered while reading, I did actually know more about the time period than I thought I would.

History is more interesting when spiced with royal drama. 

“Catherine of Braganza: Charles II’s Restoration Queen” by Sarah-Beth Watkins is a short biography of Queen Catherine of England, who reigned from 1662-1685. Her marriage to King Charles II, a king on shaky ground as he had previously been usurped, was an alliance match. The book focuses much on her struggles as a foreign bride – she was a princess from Portugal – and the problems of being a Catholic noble in the hostile, Anglican-leaning English courts. I found myself finishing the book in a matter of hours, as Catherine's history was so engaging that I had to know how it turned out.

(You can find the rest of my review on dixiesunnesw.com)

This is a gossipy, light, popular biography of Catherine of Braganza, the wife of Charles II. It's short and to the point, is descriptive rather than analytical and includes no original research, just information from other books. Watkins is especially interested in Catherine's marriage in the face of Charles' well-know string of mistresses, and her inability to deliver an heir, despite a number of pregnancies.

The book barely sketches in the political and historical background: there's no discussion of libertinism or the culture of the Restoration court, and while the Anglo-Dutch wars happen, Watkins doesn't bother explaining what they're about. The second part of the book does become a bit of an engagement diary as the king and Catherine go visiting around the country.

So this is perfect for someone who prefers their history to be a reflection of historical novels: Watkins uses straightforward language (on Louise de Kerouaille, 'her popularity put Nell's nose out of joint') and isn't above some teen-girl exclamations (on archery, 'Catherine was so good that she hit the bullseye!'). A light, romp of a read.