I’m thrilled to be hosting a stop on Tony Riches’ Blog Tour for his latest novel, Katherine Tudor Duchess. To mark the occasion, Tony has written a wonderful guest post entitled ‘Understanding the life of Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk’. Without further ado, over to Tony!
Katherine Tudor Duchess
by Tony Riches
Publication Date: October 1, 2019
Preseli Press
eBook & Paperback; 328 pages
Series: The Brandon Trilogy, Book 3
Genre: Historical Fiction
Attractive, wealthy and influential, Katherine Willoughby is one of the most unusual ladies of the Tudor court. A favourite of King Henry VIII, Katherine knows all his six wives, his daughters Mary and Elizabeth, and his son Edward, as well as being related by marriage to Lady Jane Grey.
She marries Tudor knight, Sir Charles Brandon, and becomes Duchess of Suffolk at the age of fourteen. Her Spanish mother, Maria de Salinas, is Queen Catherine of Aragon’s lady in waiting, so it is a challenging time for them all when King Henry marries the enigmatic Anne Boleyn.
Following Anne’s dramatic downfall, the short reign of young Catherine Howard, and the tragic death of Jane Seymour, Katherine’s young sons are tutored with the future king, Prince Edward, and become his friends.
Katherine and Charles Brandon are chosen to welcome Anna of Cleves as she arrives in England. When the royal marriage is annulled, Katherine’s good friend, Catherine Parr becomes the king’s sixth wife, and they work to promote religious reform.
When King Edward dies, his Catholic sister Mary is crowned queen and Katherine’s Protestant faith puts her family in great danger – from which there seems no escape.
Katherine’s remarkable true story continues the epic tale of the rise of the Tudors, which began with the best-selling Tudor trilogy and concludes with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Amazon UK | Amazon US
Understanding the life of Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk
I began exploring the life of Katherine Willoughby when writing about her first husband, Charles Brandon. With typical panache, Brandon borrowed the money to buy the wardship of nine-year-old Katherine, who’d become Baroness Willoughby de Eresby on the death of her father – and one of the wealthiest heiresses in England.
He claimed his plan was to secure her as a bride for his son and heir, Henry, (named after the king) yet I suspect the truth was a little different. Charles Brandon’s wife, Mary Tudor, Dowager Queen of France (and the king’s little sister) suffered with a debilitating ‘pain in her side’, so I believe he was making plans for the future.
Whether or not I’m right, the fact is that Brandon married young Katherine himself barely three months after Mary’s death, and instantly solved his money worries, becoming the wealthiest landowners in Lincolnshire.
Katherine was fourteen at the time, and though we must take care not to apply modern standards, it must have been quite a shock to suddenly become a duchess, with privileged access to the king, and one of the most senior ladies of the Tudor court. The age difference was not unusual, although court gossips will have raised an eyebrow at Brandon’s haste.
Katherine’s mother, Maria de Salinas, was the Spanish companion to Queen Catherine of Aragon, and arrived with the queen from Spain in 1501. Maria raised her daughter as a strict Catholic, so I was intrigued to discover how Katherine became anoutspoken advocate of religious reform.
As I expected, the answer is complex. The break with Rome enabled radicals such as Hugh Latimer to argue for a simpler form of religion, more relevant and accessible to the common people, who could never learn Catholic Latin. There is evidence of young Katherine attending Latimer’s sermons at Hampton Court, and her surviving letters to William Cecil reveal her questioning and enquiring attitude.
For my research, I was able to visit Katherine’s home, Grimsthorpe Castle, and see the Tudor rooms where she lived. After her mother’s death, Katherine had the walls of the family chapel whitewashed, and removed the gilded saints from their niches, then she invited Hugh Latimer and other Protestants to preach to her friends and neighbours.
Katherine’s resolve was hardened by the conviction of a Lincolnshire woman who shared her views of the need to reform religion. The woman’s name was Anne Askew, and on 16th July 1546, she was burned at the stake as a heretic in Smithfield, with three other Protestants. Katherine knew them all, and must have wondered if she would be named, but Anne kept her silence, even when her bones were broken on the rack at the Tower.
I was also fascinated to research the relationship between Katherine and Queen Catherine Parr. Katherine, aided and abetted by William Cecil, funded the publication of Catherine’s controversial book, The Lamentation of a Sinner, in 1547, and no doubt encouraged the queen to influence the King’s religious views. This was, of course, a high risk strategy, and almost the downfall of them both.
Seven years after Charles Brandon’s death, Katherine married for love, to her gentleman usher, Richard Bertie, in 1552. Their first child, a daughter, Susan, was born in 1554, and when the Catholic Mary became queen and began persecuting Protestant reformers, they fled into exile on the continent, living in near poverty until assisted by the King of Poland.
Their son, Peregrine, was born in Cleves in 1555, the same year Hugh Latimer was burned at the stake in Oxford. After Queen Mary’s death in 1558 they returned to England, and although Katherine didn’t serve Queen Elizabeth, she used her position in Lincolnshire to promote religious reform.
A lifelong supporter of the Protestant faith, many books on reform carried Katherine’s coat of arms, and were dedicated to her, including works by Erasmus and William Tyndale. The family’s adventures on the continent were even told in popular Elizabethan ballads.
Katherine died after a long illness aged sixty-one, on 19th September 1580, at Grimsthorpe Castle. I recently visited her magnificent alabaster tomb in the Willoughby chapel at St Johns Church, Spilsby Lincolnshire. Her husband, Richard Bertie, who died two years after Katherine, is buried beside her.
Katherine Willoughby was a woman far ahead of her time, prepared to stand up for her beliefs. The story of her life helps us see the complex world of the Tudors through a new perspective, and I believe she would have been pleased to know that is her legacy.
Tony Riches – Author Bio
Tony Riches is a full-time UK author of best-selling historical fiction. He lives in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and is a specialist in the history of the Wars of the Roses and the lives of the early Tudors. Tony’s other published historical fiction novels include The Tudor Trilogy, The Brandon Trilogy, The Secret Diary of Eleanor Cobham and Warwick – The Man Behind the Wars of the Roses. For more information about Tony’s books please visit his website tonyriches.com and his blog, The Writing Desk and find him on Facebook and Twitter @tonyriches
Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, November 18
Excerpt at Short Book and Scribes
Tuesday, November 19
Guest Post at On the Tudor Trail
Wednesday, November 20
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books
Thursday, November 21
Review at 100 Pages a Day
Feature at View from the Birdhouse
Friday, November 22
Feature at Cover To Cover Cafe
Monday, November 25
Review at A Chick Who Reads
Tuesday, November 26
Excerpt at The Book Junkie Reads
Wednesday, November 27
Review at Passages to the Past
Thursday, November 28
Excerpt at Chicks, Rogues and Scandals
Monday, December 2
Review at book frolic
Review at History + Fiction + Spirit
Tuesday, December 3
Review at Nursebookie
Wednesday, December 4
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit
Thursday, December 5
Review at Donna’s Book Blog
Review at Curling up by the Fire
Friday, December 6
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink
Review at A Darn Good Read
Giveaway
During the Blog Tour, we are giving away two paperbacks of Katherine-Tudor Duchess by Tony Riches! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.
Giveaway Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on December 6th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Paperback giveaway is open internationally.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.
What a fantastic post! Thank you so much for hosting the Katherine Tudor Duchess blog tour!
Amy
HF Virtual Book Tours
On my wishlist! Definitely looking forward to reading. I loved Charles Brandon, Tudor Knight. Thanks for the chance to win. Michelle