Katharine of Aragon – Waity Katie
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Katharine of Aragon and Arthur Tudor were married on the 14th of November 1501, at St Paul’s Cathedral.
The new prince and princess of Wales moved to Arthur’s residence at Ludlow Castle in Wales, to begin their married life.
Their life of hopes and dreams came crashing down five months later, when they both fell ill with the Sweating Sickness.
Arthur succumbed to the illness, the seemingly healthy heir apparent was now dead.
This news sent shockwaves throughout the country, Henry VII now had only one surviving male heir – the ten-year-old Henry, Duke of York.
In a desperate attempt for another heir, Elizabeth of York became pregnant.
Sadly, another horrific blow was to hit the Tudor monarchy – Elizabeth and her baby daughter died.
Throughout all this turmoil, seventeen year old widow Katharine of Aragon, remained in England, waiting….
It was decided that her marriage obligations now fell onto Prince Henry, who was six years younger.
In order for Katharine to legally marry the new heir, Henry, the Pope had to grant them a dispensation – this could take weeks, months, or even years.
This dispensation was also very controversial, as canon law forbade a man to marry his brother’s widow.
Katharine fervently denied that her marriage to Arthur was consummated, meaning that their marriage was null and void.
Nevertheless, this declaration would have immense consequences in the years to come!
During those seven long years between her marriages to Prince Arthur and Henry VIII, Katharine was not living a fairy tale life of luxury.
Katharine was virtually a prisoner, while Henry VII decided what to do with her.
Along with her ladies, Katharine was placed at Durham House, while Henry VII waited for her full dowry to be paid.
Durham house was situated on the Strand in London.
In sixteenth-century England, the Strand was not the glamorous location that it appears to be today.
Katharine’s time on the Strand was plagued by poverty and fear.
After the death of her mother in 1504, the likelihood of Katharine marrying Henry was deteriorating.
Her value as a potential marriage candidate for the heir to the English throne, decreased.
This was largely due to her father Ferdinand’s, reluctance to pay the other half of her 200,000 ducats dowry.
This made Henry VII somewhat wary about marrying his son and new heir to Katharine.
In 1507, in order to support her ladies-in-waiting, as well as pay for her own means and measures, Katharine was appointed the Spanish ambassador to England in 1507.
This was the first time in European history that a female had been appointed to such a position.
In letters to her father, Catherine’s head-strong nature is echoed throughout, stating that she is not as simple as she may seem, and that she would not be easily manipulated – a quality that she carried through to her marriage.
Finally, not even two months after his accession to the throne in 1509, Katharine and the new King Henry VIII married in a private ceremony at Greenwich Palace.
All those years in poverty and exile had paid off.
Katharine was crowned Queen of England on the 24th of June 1509, alongside her husband, Henry VIII.
However, not all stories have their happy endings – with this one famous for being one of them.
🥀 Portrait of a Lady, identified as Katharine of Aragon
