Catherine
of Aragon, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, was born
in 1485. Henry VII was
worried that England might be invaded by Spain, the most powerful
country in Europe. In 1488 Henry signed a treaty with King Ferdinand
of Spain. By this treaty Henry
agreed that his eldest son,
Arthur, should marry Catherine.
On 14 November 1501, Arthur,
who was just fifteen, married Catherine at St
Paul's Cathedral in London. Five months
later Arthur died of tuberculosis.
Henry VII was keen that England and Spain should remain united and
arranged
for his other surviving son. Henry, to
marry Catherine. At that time, Christians believed it was wrong for
a man to marry his brother's wife. Henry VII therefore had to gain
special permission
from the Pope before the marriage could go ahead.
In 1509 Henry
VII died. His
son Henry now became king of England. It
was very important to Henry VIII that
his wife, should
give birth to a male
child. Without a son to take over from him
when he died. Henry feared that the Tudor family
would lose control of England. Catherine gave
birth to six children but five died within a few
weeks of being born. Only one child, Mary,
survived into adulthood.
By 1530 Catherine was
too old to have any more children. Therefore, Henry decided he would
have to have another wife.
His choice was Anne Boleyn, the 20-year-old
daughter of Viscount Rochford. Before he could marry Anne, Henry had
to gain permission from the Pope.
Henry
VIII sent a message to the Pope arguing that his marriage to Catherine
had been invalid as she had previously been married to his brother
Arthur. When Catherine discovered Henry's plans she informed King
Charles (Carlos) of Spain and Emperor Charles (Karl) V of the Holy
Roman Empire. Unwilling to have his aunt lose her position, Charles
warned the Pope that he would be very angry if he granted Henry a
divorce. The Pope knew that once he made a decision, he would upset
one of these two powerful monarchs. In an attempt to keep the peace,
the Pope put off making a decision about Henry's marriage.
In January 1533 Henry discovered
that Anne Boleyn was pregnant. As it was
important that the child should not be classed as illegitimate, arrangements
were made for Henry and Anne to get married. King Charles V of Spain
threatened to invade England if the marriage took place, but Henry
ignored his threats and the
marriage went ahead.
In September Anne gave
birth to a daughter called Elizabeth.
While Henry was furious about having another daughter, the supporters
of Catherine were delighted and claimed that it proved God was punishing
Henry for his illegal marriage to Anne.
Catherine was sent into
retirement at Ampthill, Bedfordshire. Later she moved to Kimbolton,
Cambridgeshire. Catherine
of Aragon died in
1536.
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