Childhood
Born in 1485 to Ferdinand and Isabella, Catherine was raised from a young age in the necessary pursuits for a European Queen of the time. Notably, she was taught Religion, housewifery, and was taught Spanish, Latin, English and French. In her spare time, she also pursued embroidery. She found herself travelling frequently across Spain with her family, in particular she saw the attempted removal of Muslims in Granada.
Aged four, in 1489, she was betrothed to Prince Arthur, in order to cement Spanish-English relations. At sixteen, they married, in 1501, however just a year later, on April 2nd, he died. This then led to her agreement to marry Prince Henry instead, when he was of a suitable age – his father prevented the marriage until his death. The pair were married in 1509.
Career
Upon her marriage to Henry in 1509, Catherine began to make her mark as a ruler in her own right. The couple had a joint coronation, which broke tradition as it had previously been the case that the Queen was only coronated upon producing an heir. After this, she began to get involved in English politics, recalling the Spanish Ambassador and calming relations in one event, upon her father’s lack of military action towards Guyenne, for the English. The battle of Flodden in 1513 is also fairly significant, as she was left Queen Regent whilst her husband went over to France. Despite being pregnant at the time, she oversaw victory, and even sent the bloody coat of King James to her husband. It is also claimed that she rallied the troops.
She was heavily involved in Spanish relations all throughout her career as Queen. Princess Mary, born in February 1516, was betrothed to Catherine’s nephew, the rising power in Europe, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, at the age of five.
Catherine was also very much involved in charitable work, and made a good Queen in that respect. She was generous to the poor, and donated to colleges, funding learning. One college she supported was St John’s College.
However, her career was marred by her lack of heirs. In 1510, she saw her first miscarriage. Then, a year later, a son was born, only to die within a month. In 1513, after the Battle of Flodden, she saw another miscarriage, and again in 1514 and 1518, she saw multiple stillborn children and pregnancy failures. Mary was her only surviving child. The King, needing a male heir, wishing to ensure the Tudor dynasty stability, as England’s experience of Empress Matilda, one of the Plantagenets, did not end so well, could not tolerate this of Catherine. By 1524, they had stopped having marital relations, and, as in 1525, Henry saw through Henry Fitzroy, Bessie Blount’s son, that he was capable of male heirs, he began to pursue a divorce. With Anne Boleyn gaining his affection in around 1526 to 1527, he asked Catherine for a formal separation, and her subsequent retirement to a nunnery. She did not agree, believing herself to be the true Queen of England, and appealed to her nephew for help. In 1529, a trial was held to hear the case, and Catherine reportedly kneeled before the King in her desperate attempt to hold onto her marriage. However, it was a losing battle, and in 1531, Henry VIII was recognised as the supreme Head of the Church of England, and after two year, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, found the marriage to be null. This signalled her loss, as Anne Boleyn became the new Queen quickly. Catherine was sent to Ludlow to live in isolation for the last few years of her life, never seeing her daughter or ex-husband again. She died on January 7th 1536.
Importance in Henry’s Reign
Catherine’s primary importance is that her inability to produce a male heir led to the creation of the Church of England. Upon the Pope’s original denial of a divorce, somewhat due to the imperial influence of Charles V, Henry VIII removed Wolsey and looked for those who could guarantee him a separation. In 1934, with the Act of Supremacy officially establishing Henry as the supreme Head of Church, in England, this finalised the annulment of the marriage, and led to the Protestant church gaining much popularity in England.
She was also important in his reign as she produced Henry’s first legitimate child, Mary I, who would later go onto rule for just over five years. In this time, 280 religious dissenters were burnt at the stake. However, this made Catherine important within his reign due to, after the third act of succession, repealing the previous two, the fact that Mary was then able to be a real heir to the throne.
Finally, her influence within the politics of England cannot be overlooked. With the Battle of Flodden, she saw a great British victory – and it was in her hands, left as Queen regent during her husband’s absence. Furthermore, she was a key figure in Anglo-Spanish relations, which massively was important for a while in the early years of Henry’s reign.
Theresa Dunthorne
Born in 1485 to Ferdinand and Isabella, Catherine was raised from a young age in the necessary pursuits for a European Queen of the time. Notably, she was taught Religion, housewifery, and was taught Spanish, Latin, English and French. In her spare time, she also pursued embroidery. She found herself travelling frequently across Spain with her family, in particular she saw the attempted removal of Muslims in Granada.
Aged four, in 1489, she was betrothed to Prince Arthur, in order to cement Spanish-English relations. At sixteen, they married, in 1501, however just a year later, on April 2nd, he died. This then led to her agreement to marry Prince Henry instead, when he was of a suitable age – his father prevented the marriage until his death. The pair were married in 1509.
Career
Upon her marriage to Henry in 1509, Catherine began to make her mark as a ruler in her own right. The couple had a joint coronation, which broke tradition as it had previously been the case that the Queen was only coronated upon producing an heir. After this, she began to get involved in English politics, recalling the Spanish Ambassador and calming relations in one event, upon her father’s lack of military action towards Guyenne, for the English. The battle of Flodden in 1513 is also fairly significant, as she was left Queen Regent whilst her husband went over to France. Despite being pregnant at the time, she oversaw victory, and even sent the bloody coat of King James to her husband. It is also claimed that she rallied the troops.
She was heavily involved in Spanish relations all throughout her career as Queen. Princess Mary, born in February 1516, was betrothed to Catherine’s nephew, the rising power in Europe, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, at the age of five.
Catherine was also very much involved in charitable work, and made a good Queen in that respect. She was generous to the poor, and donated to colleges, funding learning. One college she supported was St John’s College.
However, her career was marred by her lack of heirs. In 1510, she saw her first miscarriage. Then, a year later, a son was born, only to die within a month. In 1513, after the Battle of Flodden, she saw another miscarriage, and again in 1514 and 1518, she saw multiple stillborn children and pregnancy failures. Mary was her only surviving child. The King, needing a male heir, wishing to ensure the Tudor dynasty stability, as England’s experience of Empress Matilda, one of the Plantagenets, did not end so well, could not tolerate this of Catherine. By 1524, they had stopped having marital relations, and, as in 1525, Henry saw through Henry Fitzroy, Bessie Blount’s son, that he was capable of male heirs, he began to pursue a divorce. With Anne Boleyn gaining his affection in around 1526 to 1527, he asked Catherine for a formal separation, and her subsequent retirement to a nunnery. She did not agree, believing herself to be the true Queen of England, and appealed to her nephew for help. In 1529, a trial was held to hear the case, and Catherine reportedly kneeled before the King in her desperate attempt to hold onto her marriage. However, it was a losing battle, and in 1531, Henry VIII was recognised as the supreme Head of the Church of England, and after two year, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, found the marriage to be null. This signalled her loss, as Anne Boleyn became the new Queen quickly. Catherine was sent to Ludlow to live in isolation for the last few years of her life, never seeing her daughter or ex-husband again. She died on January 7th 1536.
Importance in Henry’s Reign
Catherine’s primary importance is that her inability to produce a male heir led to the creation of the Church of England. Upon the Pope’s original denial of a divorce, somewhat due to the imperial influence of Charles V, Henry VIII removed Wolsey and looked for those who could guarantee him a separation. In 1934, with the Act of Supremacy officially establishing Henry as the supreme Head of Church, in England, this finalised the annulment of the marriage, and led to the Protestant church gaining much popularity in England.
She was also important in his reign as she produced Henry’s first legitimate child, Mary I, who would later go onto rule for just over five years. In this time, 280 religious dissenters were burnt at the stake. However, this made Catherine important within his reign due to, after the third act of succession, repealing the previous two, the fact that Mary was then able to be a real heir to the throne.
Finally, her influence within the politics of England cannot be overlooked. With the Battle of Flodden, she saw a great British victory – and it was in her hands, left as Queen regent during her husband’s absence. Furthermore, she was a key figure in Anglo-Spanish relations, which massively was important for a while in the early years of Henry’s reign.
Theresa Dunthorne