Catherine of Aragon Part I

Catherine of Aragon was an unusual queen in that she was married twice...  But her second marriage ended in a bitter dispute and an annulment which she refused to accept.   She was born in Spain in 1485, and her parents were the co monarchs of Spain Ferdinand and Isabella.   She had some English ancestry, from an earlier marriage between the Spanish royal family and the Lancaster family…so she was a distant cousin of the Tudors.   Her mother was a reigning monarch, who was an intelligent woman and gave her daughter a good education.  She saw no reason why women should not be trained to be good rulers.  Catherine learned languages and loved literature...and she was also taught womanly skills of sewing and housekeeping, and learned music and dancing and the lighter arts.  From a very Catholic house, she studied theology and was very devout.

At an early age, she was considered as a wife for Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII... Her English blood was a factor which led her to be accepted.  The Tudors were a new dynasty and were considered upstarts by many English, so a marriage to a prestigious foreign princess like Catherine was important to them.

At the age of 15, she was sent to England to marry. She met Arthur and they seemed to get on well though they had to converse in Latin... Catherine was a pretty girl, and it is likely he found her attractive.  They were married in November 1501.   They were sent to Wales, to begin learning the business of ruling and running a court, but within a few months the young couple both became ill possibly with “sweating sickness” which was a mysterious illness that often attacked people and was frequently fatal.  Catherine recovered but Arthur died, and she was now a very young widow.  There were disputes with her father about her dowry, half of which had been paid... and the Tudors did not want her to leave England... because they didn’t want to repay it.

In 1503 Elizabeth of York died, and Henry VII considered a marriage to Catherine, so he could keep the dowry but it was a complicated issue for her to marry her father in law.  Catherine’s mother died, and Castile, her kingdom, was inherited by her older sister Juana or Joanna...

It was then suggested that Catherine could marry Henry, Arthur’s younger brother, but he was almost 6 years her junior and too young to marry…  A dispensation would also have to be received from the Pope, as she had been married to a brother of her future groom thus creating an affinity... so negotiations went on to acquire the dispensation.   Catherine was living in London, on a small income and very isolated.  She must have wondered if she would ever find a royal husband….She was more intelligent  and determined than people gave her credit for though…..