by Anne O'Brien
In writing The Forbidden Queen I have made use of the outline of Katherine’s history as far as we know it. I have placed her firmly in the centre of English politics, as she undoubtedly was, making sense of what is not recorded. As for the romantic myths, I have made use of them, and make no excuses for doing so.
By the time I wrote my final sentence, I had decided that Katherine, rather than a rather dim but lovely creature, must have been a remarkable woman.
I am always delighted to keep in touch with my readers who are interested in my writing, both the process and the content. I enjoy receiving feedback and readers’ thoughts and insights into my heroines.
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http://www.anneobrienbooks.com/blog/2012/11/katherine-swynford/
Read all about it…
MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK
2 Questions for your reading group
4 Inspiration for writing
The Forbidden Queen
6 And After…
8 Further reading
9 Travelling in Katherine de Valois’s footsteps
MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
12 Author biography
14 Why I write
15 Q&A on writing 20 A writer’s life
22 A day in the life
23 Top Ten Books
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR READING GROUP
1. What do you think of Katherine? What appeals to you about her and what doesn’t?
2. Apart from Katherine, who is your favourite character in the book and why?
3. What influence did Katherine’s childhood have on her as a young adult? To what extent do you consider our adult characters to be formed in these earliest years?
4. Katherine was described as ‘tall, fair and beautiful.’ Yet history has written her off as the archetypal ‘dumb blonde.’ Do you, from the decisions she made and the way she responded to influences at the English court, think this does justice to Katherine?
5. After Henry’s death, Katherine is left with no role to play, her part in the childhood of her son is restricted by those placed in authority over him and her. How does Katherine react? What would you have done in a similar situation?
6. Shakespeare wrote a wonderful love scene for Katherine with King Henry. Do you think that the evidence merits it? If not, why did he do it? Can we forgive authors for writing their own version of history?
7. What is your feeling about Henry V’s relationship with Katherine? Could she have done anything to improve it?
8. Katherine lived though a period of bloody warfare and yet seems untouched by it. Can we excuse her for this, even when the war is between the two sides of her family, English against French? Would we expect her to have more sympathy with her disinherited brother?
9. Katherine’s relationship with Edmund Beaufort was at best foolhardy, at worst politically dangerous. Can we have any compassion for her? Is her falling in love with Owen Tudor just as foolish and lacking in judgement?
10. Do you consider that Katherine deserved the punishment and restrictions inflicted on her by the Duke of Gloucester and the Royal Council?
11. In what manner does Katherine’s character develop when she falls in love with Owen Tudor? Is she a better or worse person? Does your reaction to her change throughout the novel?
12. What do you think of Owen Tudor? Is he hero or villain? Did he fall irrevocably in love with Katherine, or merely use her to improve his own lot in life?
13. At the end, faced with impossible pressures, Katherine retires to Bermondsey Abbey. Could you have done the same in similar circumstances?
INSPIRATION FOR THE FORBIDDEN QUEEN
I was inspired to write the story of Katherine de Valois because although history records her as being very much a fairy-tale princess—fair and beautiful and greatly loved by King Henry (indeed contemporaries believed them to be the perfect couple)—the historical evidence did not quite stack up for me.
But why not? Their love story in Shakespeare’s Henry Vis legendary. On his betrothal Henry ‘kissed her with great joy’ and on the day of their marriage he is said to have looked proud and emotional, as if he were ‘king of all the world.’ As well he might, of course. By marrying Katherine, Henry would take possession of the kingdom of France, without having to waste one more drop of English blood in battle.
But their marriage—lasting only a little more than two years—is a sorry tale of absence. Katherine’s honeymoon was spent on campaign. Back in England Henry went on royal progress, only taking Katherine with him for part of the journey. As soon as she was pregnant he left for France to renew the war. They only met once more, briefly in France, and Henry never saw his son. Dying, Henry made no attempt to contact his beautiful wife.
So what sort of relationship was it? I had to find out, just as I had to discover if Katherine truly was the weak, manipulated young woman who appears between the pages of history books. It seemed to me that there was far more to say about this youngest of the French Valois princesses. After Henry’s death, Katherine fell into a dangerous relationship with Edmund Beaufort. And then there was her scandalous marriage to Owen Tudor when she quite deliberately married below her station, Owen being no more than her servant.
All of this did not sound to me like the lifestyle of a young woman mourning the lost love of her life. Nor did Katherine, in her relationship with Owen, give the impression of being perpetually under the influence of stronger characters.
Was such contrast and ambiguity not a gift to an historical novelist?
In the light of this I decided that Katherine deserved a re-evaluation, allowing her a life of her own within her two marriages. I hope I have done her justice in writing The Forbidden Queen, allowing us to see the woman behind the façade.
AND AFTER THE FINAL WORD IN THE FORBIDDEN QUEEN…
There is nothing but tragedy to record for Katherine. In her own words she suffered from ‘a grievous malady, in which I have been long…troubled and vexed.’ Whether physical or mental is not clear, but she died at Bermondsey Abbey on 3rd January 1437, aged thirty-five years. Her infant daughter, sometimes named Margret, sometimes Katherine, was born and died at Bermondsey.
Katherine was buried in Westminster Abbey. In 1503 her body was placed in Henry V’s tomb on the orders of her grandson Henry VII, but—what a terrible, gruesome custom—was often displayed as a curiosity. In 1669 Samuel Pepys viewed Katherine’s body, held it and planted a kiss on her mouth—and was proud to record it. It was not until 1871 that her remains were moved to their present spot in Henry V’s chantry. There is a striking, wooden, painted effigy, used in her first funeral in the Abbey Museum. I recommend that you go to see such an accurate likeness, taken from her death mask.
As for Owen… As soon as Katherine was dead, Gloucester took his revenge on Owen, resulting in Owen’s being arrested without due process of law, his possessions seized and he was incarcerated in Newgate prison. It took a year before his innocence was recognised; he was released, pardoned of all offences.
But with the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses, Owen, fighting beside his son Jasper on the Lancastrian side at Mortimer’s Cross in the Welsh Marches, was apprehended after the battle and taken to Hereford and there he was beheaded by the Yorkists. His head was placed on the base of the market cross in High Street, where ‘a madde woman’ combed his hair and washed away the blood from his face and then set a hundred candles about his head. Owen did not expect to die. When he saw that this would be his fate, he is recorded as saying ‘that head shall lye on the stock that was wont to lye on Queen Katherine’s lap.’ A sad end.
Owen
’s body was taken to be buried in the chapel of the Greyfriars Church in Hereford but Greyfriars suffered at the Dissolution, the building demolished and the land sold off for other purposes. All trace of his grave has disappeared.
But of course, the careers of the children of Katherine and Owen should be on record:
Edmund Tudor: married Margaret Beaufort. Their son Henry Tudor was to become King Henry VII and the founder of the Tudor dynasty. (See Family Tree)
Jasper Tudor: was created Earl of Pembroke, later Duke of Bedford. He married Katherine Woodville, one of Elizabeth Woodville’s sisters.
Owen Tudor: legend says he became a monk at Westminster Abbey under the name Edward Bridgewater. The provenance is very unstable here.
Tacinda: disappears without trace.
Young Henry lived on as Henry VI into adulthood, but events of the Wars of the Roses overtook him. Never a strong character, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London where he was eventually murdered, perhaps at the hand of Richard, Duke of Gloucester. His son Edward, Prince of Wales, was killed after the Battle of Tewkesbury, thus bringing the direct line of Lancaster to an end.
FURTHER READING ABOUT KATHERINE DE VALOIS…
There is astonishingly little. Katherine is invariably written about as an adjunct to Henry V.
There is an excellent chapter about Katherine in Lisa Hilton’s Queens Consort: England’s Medieval Queens.
Historical novels about Katherine de Valois:
Vanora Bennet: The Queen’s Lover (Blood Royal)
Margaret Mallory: Knight of Passion
Jean Plaidy: The Queen’s Secret
Rosemary Hawley Jarman: Crown in Candlelight
FOLLOWING IN KATHERINE DE VALOIS’S FOOTSTEPS
Tempted to travel? Feel an urge to follow in the footsteps of Katherine de Valois, even if it’s only through the internet or travel guides, from the comfort of your armchair? Here are some interesting locations associated with her, and I have added website addresses. There are other sites, of course, to add to your enjoyment.
Windsor Castle
Katherine spent most of her life in England in Windsor Castle. This was where the young king, Henry VI, was principally based in his infancy and so this is where Katherine lived as part of his royal household. This is a ‘must-visit’ place. Or you can take a virtual tour with the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/launch_vt_windsor_castle.shtml
St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle
It is not proven that Katherine’s marriage to Owen took place in the St George’s Chapel, but since she and Owen were living at Windsor, and there was no attempt to hide the marriage, I imagine that they did. I certainly placed their marriage in this magnificent chapel in The Forbidden Queen. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/launch_vt_windsor_castle.shtml
Westminster Abbey
Visit Henry V’s tomb and the magnificent chantry chapel, surrounded by the other English monarchs. Katherine was finally buried beside her husband in 1878, but it is not a tomb to take the eye. I do not think that it is a fitting memorial to so gracious a woman. If you visit the Abbey, don’t miss the museum where you will find personal items belonging to both Katherine and Henry. How I wish I could touch them…
http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/westminster_abbey.htm
Hertford Castle
One of Katherine’s dower castles, and one which she is known to have enjoyed. Hertford is where Katherine spent much time with Owen and their children. Today there is very little to see of her property other than the gatehouse, which is referred to as the ‘Castle’ but the setting is very attractive. It is not difficult imagining Katherine enjoying life here, isolated from the royal court. http://www.hertford.net/history/castle/
Leeds Castle, Kent
Another of Katherine’s dower castles which she is known to have visited. This is also the castle where Joanna of Navarre was kept in confinement by her stepson, Henry V, when she was charged with witchcraft. It is a beautiful place—although I imagine incredibly damp in winter and I doubt that Joanna recalled it with any affection—and it must be on your list of places to visit. Do drop into my blog on Leeds Castle to discover the royal connections to this extraordinarily beautiful palace: A Palace Fit for a Queen. http://www.anneobrienbooks.com/blog/
Knaresborough Castle, North Yorkshire
Another of Katherine’s dower properties. I’m not certain that she ever visited Knaresborough, but she may just have done so when she accompanied Henry on their progress through the north in their months together when we know that she was at Pontefract, York and Beverley. It is splendidly situated on a cliff overlooking the River Nidd. http://www.knaresborough.co.uk/castle/
Bermondsey Abbey
The abbey, where Katherine went into retreat in the last sad months of her life, is no longer in existence, the site of it covered with later buildings, but reconstructions have allowed some archaeological investigations and the outline of some of the buildings that Katherine would have known have been discovered. http://www.londononline.co.uk/abbeys/bermondsey/
Hereford
This is an important city for the final days of Owen Tudor. Taken prisoner after the battle of Mortimer’s Cross, when Edward, Earl of March defeated the Lancastrian army, Owen was taken to Hereford and executed in the market place. He was buried in Greyfriars. The remnants in Hereford are not outstanding, but Owen can be discovered. Try my blog: Owen Tudor: a Right Royal Revenge http://www.anneobrienbooks.com/blog/
And for those straying as far as France:
Hotel de in St Pol in Paris
This royal palace where Katherine spent her earliest turbulent years no longer exists. It was completely destroyed in the early sixteenth century, except for one wall of the church.
Convent at Poissy
Unfortunately this too no longer exists.
Church of St Jean-au-Marche, Troyes
The scene of Henry V’s marriage to Katherine. This can of course still be visited. A lovely church.
http://en.tourisme-troyes.com/discover/the-city-of-10-churches/saint-jean-au-marche-church-13th-14th-c
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
I was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire. After gaining a BA Honours degree in History at Manchester University and a Master’s degree in education at Hull, I lived in the East Riding for many years as a teacher of history. Always a prolific reader, I enjoyed historical fiction and was encouraged to try my hand at writing. Success in short story competitions spurred me on.
Leaving teaching—but not my love of history—I wrote my first historical romance, a Regency, which was published by Mills & Boon in 2005. To date ten historical novels and a novella, ranging from medieval through the English Civil War and Restoration and back to Regency, have been published in the UK, North America and Australia, as well as in translation throughout Europe and in Japan.
I now live with my husband in an eighteenth-century timber-framed cottage in the depths of the Welsh Marches in Herefordshire. It is a wild, beautiful place on the borders between England and Wales, renowned for its black-and-white timbered houses, ruined castles and priories and magnificent churches. It is steeped in history, famous people and bloody deeds, as well as ghosts and folklore, all of which give me inspiration and sources for my writing, particularly in medieval times.
My two previous historical novels:
Devil’s Consort: the marvellous story of a medieval Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who fought to hold her own power in a world dominated by men. Dynamic, charismatic, she divorced one husband to claim another. As for going on Crusade…
Virgin Widow, the story of Anne Neville, wife of Richard III. What if there truly was an emotional connection between Anne and Richard…?
The King’s Concubine, the dramatic ‘rags to riches’ tale of Alice Perrers, infamous mistress to King Edward III.
The King’s Concubine was the first novel in a series of Wives and Mistresses in the years of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. The Forbidden Queen,
telling the story of beautiful yet tragic Katherine de Valois, wife of Henry V and Owen Tudor, is the second.
I am now working on a novel of a royal mistress, the most famous of them all, who simply could not be omitted: Katherine Swynford and her famously passionate love affair with John, Duke of Lancaster.
WHY I WRITE…
I recall the days, when I was still teaching history, when I wanted to write but found it difficult. What to write, how to construct a plot, how to make it interesting—I never seemed to make any progress. What do I write about? That was the real problem. I felt an urge to write, but the subject matter defeated me. When I did, short stories were as much as I could cope with, and I admit to still finding it hard to write stories set in contemporary situations. The inspiration hit me when I realised that I could use what I knew: when I discovered the rich vein of history as subject matter, my imagination was fired. Now I find writing a compulsive necessity in my life, the ideas springing from a combination of events, characters and conflicts that enable me to visualise a situation. When my interest is caught, I feel a need to breathe life into a scene or situation by allowing the characters to speak. I particularly enjoy writing about medieval women. Their lives may be very different from our own, the pressures of family and politics and religion, the place they are expected to occupy in society, yet their emotions are no different. What a delight it is to make these women come alive again.
I write because I enjoy the experience—both the process of it and its end result.
Q&A ON WRITING
What do you love the most about being a writer?
I think it is the control factor. Manipulating and directing characters to allow them—or sometimes to force them—to tell the story so that distant historical events come alive through conversation and the interaction of characters, proving that in some ways we are not too different today from our ancestors. We are driven by the same ambitions and motivations. I love seeing the scenes develop as the characters speak.