My novel of Katherine de Valois, The Forbidden Queen, released in March 2013, is a novel that explores both great joy and also heart-break for the heroine.
The Forbidden Queen
But when I was writing it, it made me smile:
1. To discover a little known heroine, given only passing comment in English History, but who really caught my attention. What a pleasure it was for me to research Katherine de Valois and restore her own particular voice after 600 years of silence. And how much she had to say for herself ... 2. To discover a hero with whom I could fall in love a little. I image Owen Tudor, the love of Katherine's life, looked astonishingly like Neil Oliver, all dark hair and Celtic cheek bones and brooding passions. I do hope that he did ... 3. To visit Leeds Castle near Maidstone in Kent. A magical place, and part of Katherine's dower, set within two branches of the river and so forming an island. Surely it was here that the romance of Katherine and Owen was played out. 4. Viewing Katherine's funeral effigy in the museum in Westminster Abbey. It is impossible not to be drawn to her long features, her elegant neck and her heavy lidded eyes. What an arresting face and how vulnerable she looks. I liked the groove that would have held a crown in place at her funeral. The effigy was perfect for giving me an insight into my character for Katherine. 5. An unexpected touch of romance for King Henry V who sent for two harps to be brought from England to the battle front in France so that he and Katherine, when newly-weds and on their honeymoon of sorts, could play together. Did Henry ever find the time to make music with Katherine between sieges? Perhaps Henry was not always the war-driven monarch he appears to be. 6. To enjoy a cup of tea to recover from the steamy but doomed love affair between Katherine and Edmund Beaufort. Yes, it happened, although we know next to nothing about it. Marriage must have been discussed between them ... 7. A perfect wet shirt moment. Move over Mr Darcy! Did Katherine truly fall for Owen after seeing him emerge from the Thames after swimming there on a hot day? So tradition says. And why not? 8. Proof that Katherine and Owen were actually wed? There may be no written confirmation, but the legitimacy of their children was never questioned. So come on the Tudors! Without Katherine and Owen, Henry VII, their quite legitimate grandson, would never have made it to the throne. 9. Making the acquaintance of Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick. Soldier, statesman, a man of the highest reputation for chivalry, he was a good friend to Katherine and appointed Governor to her young son Henry. A visit to the superb Beauchamp Chapel in St Mary's, Warwick, where Richard Beauchamp is buried, is an absolute must. 10. A glass of wine to celebrate when I had finished the story of a young woman who had been used for political ends, the lot of most medieval princesses, but who grew up to have an unimagined strength of will to stand by the man she loved. And to discover what she actually did, you will have to read the book ...Read my interview with Anne O'Brien on The King's Concubine