Catherine of Aragon
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 | |
---|---|
Queen consort of England | |
11 June 1509 – 23 May 1533 | |
24 June 1509 | |
Predecessor | Elizabeth of York (1503) |
Successor | Anne Boleyn (28 May 1533) |
Born | 16 December 1485 Archiepiscopal Palace of Alcalá de Henares, Alcalá de Henares, Castile |
Died | 7 January 1536 Kimbolton Castle, England | (aged 50)
Burial | 29 January 1536 Peterborough Cathedral, Peterborough, England |
Spouse | |
Issue | |
House | Trastámara |
Father | Ferdinand II of Aragon |
Mother | Isabella I of Castile |
Early life
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
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
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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Catherine Of Aragon Media
Portrait by Juan de Flandes thought to be of 11-year-old Catherine. She resembles her sister Joanna.
Portrait of a noblewoman, possibly Catherine of Aragon c. 1502, or Mary Tudor, Queen of France c. 1514 Michael Sittow
Henry VIII at the time of their marriage, by Meynnart Wewyck, c. 1509
Catherine watching Henry jousting in her honour after giving birth to a son, by Thomas Wriothesley, 1511. Henry's horse mantle is emblazoned with Catherine's initial letter, 'K'.
The Trial of Queen Catherine of Aragon, by Henry Nelson O'Neil (1846–1848)
Miniature of Princess Mary at the time of her engagement to Emperor Charles V, by Lucas Horenbout, c. 1521–1525. She is wearing a rectangular brooch inscribed with "The Emperour".
Catherine of Aragon, attributed to Joannes Corvus
Statue of Catherine at Alcalá de Henares
Grave of Catherine of Aragon in Peterborough Cathedral
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Edwards, John. The Spain of the Catholic Monarchs 1474–1520. Blackwell Publishers Inc, 2000, p. xiii
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 John II, King of Castille at Encyclopædia Britannica
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ferdinand I, King of Aragon at Encyclopædia Britannica
- ↑ López de Ayala (1780), Tome II, Crónica del rey Enrique II, Año Nono, Cap. II, p. 61.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Mariana de Ayala Córdoba y Toledo". Ducal House of Medinaceli Foundation. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ↑ "Philippa of Lancaster". Dictionary of National Biography 45. (1896). Ed. Sidney Lee. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ↑ Gerli, E. Michael; Armistead, Samuel G. (2003). Medieval Iberia. Taylor & Francis. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-415-93918-8. Retrieved 17 May 2018.