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Name: Catherine of Aragon
Born: 16th December 1485 Place of birth: Spain Married to Henry: 1509 to 1533 How the marriage ended: Divorced Children: One daughter called Mary Died: 7 January 1536 |
All about catherine of aragon - henry's first wife
Catherine was born in Madrid, Spain, to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. At only 3 years old she was betrothed (arranged to marry) Henry VIII's older brother, Arthur. Catherine's religion was Catholic.
Catherine married Arthur when she was 15 years old, but he did shortly afterwards. She later married Henry VIII and was crowned Queen of England. In January 1510, Catherine gave birth to a daughter, but she was stillborn, She then gave birth to a second child, Prince Henry, in 1511, but he died soon after. Catherine bore six children in total, but only Mary (born in 1516) survived.
Henry became angry that Catherine could not give him a son. In 1527, he sought an annulment of the marriage, which would allow him to marry his mistress. Henry claimed that his marriage was cursed because he had married his brother's widow. However, the Pope (the Head of the Catholic Church) refused to annul the marriage, as he was afraid of upsetting Catherine's nephew, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.
However, with Anne Boleyn (Henry's mistress) already pregnant with his child, the couple wed in secret in 1533. In order to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry created the Church of England, which allowed him to divorce Catherine. Although Catherine was forced to leave the Royal Court, she refused to accept the divorce and still referred to herself as "Catherine the Queen."
Catherine died of a form of cancer in 1536 at Kimbolton Castle and was buried at Peterborough Cathedral. Henry VIII did not attend the funeral, nor did he allow Mary to.