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4.5
Julia Fox's "Sister Queens" is the joint biography of Katherine of Aragon - Henry VIII's first wife ("divorced) - and her sister, Juana of Castile. They were the daughters of those "Catholic Monarchs", Spain's Ferdinand and Isabella.Katherine of Aragon has usually been viewed primarily as the wife of Henry of England, but she was famous in her own right as the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. One of four daughters, Katherine was offered up - as her sisters were - as marriage-prizes to other European royalty, to gain the alliances which lead toland and power. She was first wed to Henry's older brother, Arthur, as the heir of Henry VII, but Arthur died within months of the marriage. The questions began - was Katherine and Arthur's marriage ever consummated? Both were young and the evidence was meager. Katherine vowed the marriage bed did not see any coupling and therefore, she was a virgin when she was affianced to Henry. The two wed and Katherine delivered no healthy child other than her daughter, Mary. Henry, wanting a legitimate son-and-heir, began looking elsewhere and the ultimate result was the breaking of the English church from the Roman one. Julia Fox does an excellent job detailing Katherine's intelligence and beliefs, her strengths and weaknesses, which played the major part of Katherine's life.But also interesting is Fox's examination of the life of Katherine's younger sister, Juana. Usually referred to as "Juana the Mad", she has always been viewed more as the daughter of kings and queens and the mother of emperors, than a force in her own right. She had married the handsome Philip of Burgundy and her brother, Juan, had married Philip's sister, Margaret, in a royal double-wedding and cementing of alliances between the Hapsburgs and the Catholic King and Queen of Spain. Unbridled passion of the sort seldom seen outside bodice rippers smoldered between Juana and Philip from the beginning of their marriage. Six children resulted from the marriage - Emperors Charles V and Ferdinand of Austria among them - but Philip grew tired of Juana and began looking elsewhere. He died at a young age and Juana mourned him the rest of her long, long life. That's the story that history tells, but the truth as Julia Fox expands on it goes a little further.Juana of Castile was her mother, Isabella's, heiress. Upon Isabella's death, Juana was to take over the crown of Castille, rather than it going to Isabella's husband, Ferdinand. They were to jointly rule Spain - Juana and Ferdinand - as Isabella and Ferdinand had done. But Ferdinand didn't want to share power with his daughter. Making a deal with his son-in-law Philip, Ferdinand was going to ease Juana out of the role. Unfortunately, Philip died and Juana, who wanted to protect the crown for her older son, Charles, was put in a convent, ostensibly to mourn her husband. Ferdinand then ruled in Juana's name, having convinced her supporters that he was acting in her best interests.Julia Fox writes an admirable double biography of both sister-queens, one quite well-known and the other obscured in the mists of history. She brings them both to the forefront of their times and importance to history.
