London Times

Back to Character  Menu                                                                                                                                                                        January 8, 1536

Forgotten Queen Dies Alone

by: T.L. Havill

Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand V, King of Aragon and Isabella, Queen of Castile, passed away on January 7, 1536 due to illness.   Arthur Tudor, son of Henry (VII) Tudor, and Catherine were betrothed as young children and were married in1501. But because of Arthur’s poor health Catherine of Aragon was a widow in less than a year.  Her father-in-law wanted to keep the alliance with Spain so he betrothed Catherine to the next heir to the throne, his son Henry VIII. At the time of the betrothal Henry was only ten years old and not old enough to marry.  By 1505 Henry was old enough but the king was no longer interested in the alliance with Spain. 

“Catherine's future was uncertain for the next four years. When Henry VII

 died in 1509, one of the new young king's actions was to marry Catherine.

She was finally crowned Queen of England in a joint coronation ceremony

 with her husband Henry VIII on June 24, 1509.” [1]

            Catherine experienced a great deal of hardship during her marriage to Henry because there was a great deal of pressure for her to produce a male heir. But she suffered a number of miscarriages and the son that did survive died after a couple of months.  The only child that survived until childhood was a girl, Mary. When Henry realized that she was not going to get his male heir from Catherine he began to take interest in Anne Boleyn, one of Catherine’s ladies and he began the works of annulling their marriage.  Catherine was initially kept unaware of what Henry was doing but once she realized Henry’s plan she put up a fight. 

“Catherine then appealed directly to the Pope, which she felt would listen to her case since her nephew was Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor.  The political and legal debate continued for six years. Catherine was adamant in saying that she and Arthur, her first husband and Henry's brother, did not consummate their marriage and therefore were not and therefore were not truly husband and wife. Catherine sought not only to retain her position, but also that of her daughter Mary.”[2]

Catherine was sent to out of the royal court to live a simple life away from her daughter and the rest of her family.  It is reported that she never surrendered to the idea that her marriage to Henry was illegitimate and hoped that he would return for her.