Catherine of Aragon

“I would rather be a poor beggar’s wife and be sure of heaven, than queen of all the world and stand in doubt thereof by reason of my own consent."  

Catherine of Aragon (1485 – 1536) was Queen of England from June 1509 until May 1533 as the first wife of King Henry VIII.

Catherine was born in 1485, the youngest surviving child of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile.  She received a great education from a Catholic priest. She studied many subjects including maths, law, literature, history, philosophy, religion, and theology – alongside traditional “women’s work” like music, needlework, and drawing. Her strong religious upbringing would play a major role in her later life. She spoke and read five languages.

At an early age, Catherine was considered a suitable Arthur, heir to the English throne. On her maternal side, Catherine had a stronger legitimate claim to the English throne than King Henry VII of England himself. The Tudor monarchy was not accepted by all European kingdoms owing to Henry’s illegitimate descent, and thus an alliance between Catherine and Arthur strengthened their position and made their heirs’ claim indisputable. The pair were married by proxy and corresponded only by letters written in Latin until Arthur turned fifteen.

When Catherine arrived in England, she brought with her a group of African attendants who are the first recorded Africans in London at the time. They were thus considered luxury attendants and created a powerful impression amongst her new countrymen.

The 15-year-old Catherine met her new husband in November 1501. Even in Latin, the pair could not converse. They married ten days later after their first meeting. However, just a few months later they both caught the sweating sickness and Arthur died in April 1502. Thus, Catherine became a widow aged sixteen.

This put her father-in-law Henry VII in the difficult position of having to return her dowry. Thus, after briefly considering marrying Catherine himself, he decided that he would marry Arthur’s younger brother Henry – 5 years Catherine’s junior. The death of Catherine's mother, however, meant that her "value" decreased and she was kept as a virtual prisoner in London while it was decided whether the marriage would go ahead. She wrote to her father of her treatment: "I choose what I believe, and say nothing. For I am not as simple as I may seem." She was left to support herself and her ladies. In 1507, she became the first female ambassador in history when she served as Spanish ambassador to the English King.

After papal approval, she was married to Henry in 1509, when Catherine was 23. Henry VIII and Catherine were anointed and crowned together at Westminster Abbey the same year. Catherine was popular with the English public and was greeted enthusiastically by the crowds. Catherine fell pregnant at least six times, but only one child survived – her daughter Mary born in 1516.  

Despite their long and happy marriage, Catherine’s life was about to change forever. In 1525, Henry VIII became infatuated with Anne Boleyn, the Queen’s young lady-in-waiting. Catherine was now past her child-bearing years and Henry began to believe that his marriage was cursed owing to the biblical prohibition on marrying your brother’s wife. Until her dying breath, Catherine swore that she came to Henry a virgin, however he saw their “childless” status (because a daughter was irrelevant) as proof that their union was against God.  Despite the Pope having ruled the marriage valid, Henry pursued an annulment – most likely motivated by his desire for an heir in hopes of avoiding another civil war in England.

However, Catherine refused to quietly step aside. She refused the King’s request to retire to a nunnery: "God never called me to a nunnery. I am the King's true and legitimate wife." Unfortunately for Henry, the current Pope was prisoner of Catherine’s nephew Charles and thus Henry could not count on him to secure an annulment.

Instead, Henry’s right-hand-man Cardinal Wolsey convened an ecclesiastical court in England presided by a representative of the Pope’s, which Catherine and Henry both attended. Catherine herself testified that she had never had carnal relations with Arthur, and humiliated herself by discussing the intimate details of both marriages publically in order to prove her devotion to Henry. She is quoted as having said:

“Sir, I beseech you for all the love that hath been between us, and for the love of God, let me have justice and right. Take of me some pity and compassion, for I am a poor woman, and a stranger, born out of your dominion. I have here no assured friend and much less indifferent counsel. I flee to you, as to the head of justice within this realm. Alas, Sir, where have I offended you? Or what occasion have you of displeasure, that you intend to put me from you? I take God and all the world to witness that I have been to you a true, humble and obedient wife, ever comfortable to your will and pleasure. I have been always well pleased and contented with all things wherein you had any delight or dalliance. I never grudged a word or countenance, or showed a spark or discontent. I loved all those whom ye loved, only for your sake, whether I had cause or no, and whether they were my friends or enemies. This 20 years or more I have been your true wife and by me ye have had divers children, although it hath pleased God to call them from this world, which hath been no default in me. And when ye had me at first, I take God to my judge; I was a true maid, without touch of man."

The Pope forbade Henry to marry again before a decision was given in Rome. However, a year later, Catherine was banished from court, and her old rooms were given to Anne Boleyn.

Catherine was defended by John Fisher who spoke on her behalf in court, shocking people with his direct language in defence of Catherine’s integrity. Catherine was also supported by other powerful figures including Thomas More – a trusted mentor of the King’s, Henry’s sister Mary, the Holy Roman Emperor, and Martin Luther. Regardless, Henry proceeded to marry Anne Boleyn in a secret ceremony – his Archbishop Thomas Cranmer having ruled his marriage to Catherine void.

Until the end of her life, Catherine would refer to herself as Henry's only lawful wedded wife and England's only rightful queen, and her servants continued to address her by that title. Henry permitted her only to be referred to as “Dowager Princess of Wales".

Catherine was sent around the country before confined permanently to one room at Kimbolton Castle. She left only to attend mass, wore a hair shirt, and fasted continuously – deeply pious to the end. She was torturously denied permission to see her daughter unless both agreed to accept Anne as the new queen. Both refused, and were thus left to rot in squalor.

In late December 1535, sensing her death was near, Catherine made her will, and wrote to her nephew, the Emperor Charles V, asking him to protect her daughter. She also sent one final letter to her husband:

“My most dear lord, king and husband,

The hour of my death now drawing on, the tender love I owe you forceth me, my case being such, to commend myself to you, and to put you in remembrance with a few words of the health and safeguard of your soul which you ought to prefer before all worldly matters, and before the care and pampering of your body, for the which you have cast me into many calamities and yourself into many troubles. For my part, I pardon you everything, and I wish to devoutly pray God that He will pardon you also. For the rest, I commend unto you our daughter Mary, beseeching you to be a good father unto her, as I have heretofore desired. I entreat you also, on behalf of my maids, to give them marriage portions, which is not much, they being but three. For all my other servants I solicit the wages due them, and a year more, lest they be unprovided for. Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things.
Katharine the Quene.”

Catherine died of cancer in January 1536.  There were reports that she had been poisoned – others claimed that she died of a broken heart. While Henry is said to have privately wept for her death, his public indifference and even jubilation earned her and his new wife ‘disgust’ in the eyes of the public with whom Catherine had remained beloved and popular. Henry forbade their daughter to attend her mother’s funeral.

“My tribulations are so great, my life so disturbed by the plans daily invented to further the King's wicked intention, the surprises which the King gives me, with certain persons of his council, are so mortal, and my treatment is what God knows, that it is enough to shorten ten lives, much more mine.”

 

Catherine of Aragon is another great lady who should be remembered as so much more than “Henry’s first wife”. She achieved many great feats of her own. 

In June 1513, Henry appointed Catherine Regent for six months while he went abroad to fight in France. When the Scots invaded England, a heavily-pregnant Catherine rode in full armour to address her troops. Her leadership was crucial in securing English victory at the Battle of Flodden, and she sent her husband a bloodied piece of clothing from King James IV of Scotland who died in battle.  This is one of the most powerful images I have of Catherine and portrays her as I believe she should be remembered: as a fearless, powerful, intelligent mother and Queen.

The controversial book "The Education of Christian Women" by Juan Luis Vives, which claimed women have the right to an education, was dedicated to and commissioned by her. Such was Catherine's impression on people, that even her enemy, Thomas Cromwell, said of her "If not for her sex, she could have defied all the heroes of History."^[5] She successfully appealed for the lives of the rebels and won widespread admiration by starting an extensive programme of poor relief. She was also a patron of Renaissance humanism, and a friend of the great scholars Erasmus of Rotterdam and Saint Thomas More. Some also saw her as a martyr owing to her dedication to the church and her faith until the end. When her daughter became Mary I of England, her marriage to Henry VIII was declared "good and valid".

Although she was used and humiliated by the most powerful men in Europe - for power, money, or children – she bore all her trials with dignity and courage. She never allowed any man – even the King of England – to challenge her chastity or integrity. She stood up for herself in a time when women – especially those in the public eye – were rarely allowed a voice. She showed that women can rule as effectively as men, she made history in her political pursuits, she survived great personal pain and humiliation with unfaltering faith. Her dedication to her husband, her principles, her education, her daughter, and her duty, and her faith are all inspiring. There are so many things we can learn from Catherine of Aragon – not least never to let a cheating man make you forget what a queen you are.