Catherine of Aragon

first wife of Henry VIII of England (1485–1536)

Catherine of Aragon (Spanish: Catalina) (16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was the daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. Catherine was the wife of Arthur, Prince of Wales and later married his brother, Henry VIII.

Catalina of Alcalá de Henares
Portrait c. 1520
Queen consort of England
Tenure11 June 1509 – 23 May 1533
Coronation24 June 1509
PredecessorElizabeth of York (1503)
SuccessorAnne Boleyn (28 May 1533)
Born16 December 1485
Archiepiscopal Palace of Alcalá de Henares, Alcalá de Henares, Castile
Died7 January 1536(1536-01-07) (aged 50)
Kimbolton Castle, England
Burial29 January 1536
Spouse
(m. 1501; d. 1502)
(m. 1509; ann. 1533)
Issue
HouseTrastámara
FatherFerdinand II of Aragon
MotherIsabella I of Castile

Early life

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When Catherine was three years old, it was decided that she would marry Arthur, Prince of Wales. Catherine and Arthur were married on 14 November 1501. They were sent to Ludlow Castle in Shropshire, to take control of the Council of Wales. Months later, Catherine and Arthur became ill, possibly from a sickness which was sweeping the area at the time. Prince Arthur died on 2 April 1502, leaving after Catherine a widow at the age of 16.

Henry VIII married Catherine in 1509, shortly after he became king. She was extremely popular with the people of England. In 1513, when Henry VIII invaded France, she ruled as his regent.

Name Birth Death Info
Stillborn twins December 1502 December 1502
Stillborn Daughter 31 January 1510 31 January 1510
Henry 1 January 1511 23 February 1511
Louis 17 September 1513 18 September 1513
Edmund 29 November 1514 2 December 1514
Mary Tudor of Greenwich 18 February 1516 17 November 1558
Margret 10 November 1518 11 November 1518
Ferdinand 26 January 1522 26 January 1522
Arthur 4 April 1524 4 April 1524

Annulment: end of marriage

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Catherine Or Mary Tudor c. 1502 – c. 1514

Despite Catherine's popularity, she did not produce a surviving son. Her only surviving child was a daughter, Mary I of England. Henry's need for a son caused him to try and divorce his wife.

At first, Henry tried to convince Anne Boleyn to be his mistress in 1527. Anne refused, so Henry decided to marry her. Divorce was not allowed in the Catholic faith. Henry claimed that, as Catherine had been married to his elder brother Arthur, his was an invalid marriage. He quoted a verse in Leviticus which states that "a man may not marry his brother's wife and such a union would be without the blessing of God and fruitless", and used this as his case. It became referred to as the kings "Great Matter" and a special court was held with Cardinal Wolsey leading it.

An official from Rome was brought over and a trial was held. The official stated that he could not come to a conclusion and the case would have to be referred to Rome for the Pope to make a decision. The matter dragged on for quite some time, as the Pope would not agree to an annulment.

Later years

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In 1532, Anne Boleyn became pregnant with the king's child. She was married to Henry on 25 January 1533 so that the baby could be a legitimate heir. Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon was finally annulled in the following May by Archbishop Cranmer, thus ending the first of Henry's 6 marriages. The divorce went against the Roman Catholic belief system, so Henry created his own church, the Church of England. This was the beginnings of protestantism in England, with the King as the head of the church instead of the Pope.

Until the end of Catherine's life, Catherine believed that she was the true wife of Henry VIII. Her servants called her their queen, but Henry called her the "Dowager Princess of Wales".

In 1535, Catherine was transferred to Kimbolton Castle and was not allowed to see her daughter Mary. Henry VIII told her that until they declared Anne their queen, they would be able to see each other. They never did.

Catherine died, most likely of heart cancer, in January of 1536, just five months before the execution of Anne Boleyn.

Ancestry

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References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 Edwards, John. The Spain of the Catholic Monarchs 1474–1520. Blackwell Publishers Inc, 2000, p. xiii
  2. 2.0 2.1 John II, King of Castille at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  3. Burkholder, Suzanne Hiles, "Isabella I of Castile" in Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture, vol.3, p. 298. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Ferdinand I, King of Aragon at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  5. López de Ayala (1780), Tome II, Crónica del rey Enrique II, Año Nono, Cap. II, p. 61.
  6. Ortega Gato, Esteban (1999). "Los Enríquez, Almirantes de Castilla" (PDF). Publicaciones de la Institución "Tello Téllez de Meneses". 70: 1–2. ISSN 0210-7317. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  7. "Mariana de Ayala Córdoba y Toledo". Ducal House of Medinaceli Foundation. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  8. Lee, Sidney, ed. (1896). "Philippa of Lancaster" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 45. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 167.
  9. Gerli, E. Michael; Armistead, Samuel G. (2003). Medieval Iberia. Taylor & Francis. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-415-93918-8. Retrieved 17 May 2018.