(Cover image – © Unknown Artist – Pinterest)
Katherine of Aragon; Infanta of Spain. Princess of Wales. Mother. Martyr. Queen of England.
There are so many facets to Katherine, and so many stories to tell; though often in visual media she is presented when she is already in middle age, and the love from her husband has begun to wane. This is, quite literally, cutting her story in half, and immediately positions Katherine as a saintly, wronged woman. That isn’t to say she isn’t either of these two things, but it does her an injustice to be endlessly shown as such.
What you do have though, is much more scope to explore her story through novels. In this medium, you can discover her childhood as the daughter of Isabella of Castille, one of the most formidable warrior Queens the world has ever seen, and her absolute knowledge that she was being raised to be Princess of Wales, to then become Queen of England. She was born to rule, and she believed that it was the absolute will of God that it be so.
(Charlotte Hope in The Spanish Princess – © Pinterest)
You could almost say that Katherine has been portrayed as the ultimate ‘first wife’; you share in your husband’s golden years together, and when things turn ever so slightly sour, he swaps his affection to a younger model, in the hope of replicating what he originally had. It has always been known that it was King Henry VIII’s desire for Anne Boleyn that ultimately split the religion of England in two, and caused untold chaos for the years to come. But, the reason why he had to go so far and split with Rome and the Papacy is all due to Katherine. It was she who refused to enter a convent, she refused to make her daughter illegitimate, and ultimately refused to be known as the Dowager Princess of Wales. If she had just given in, and allowed Henry his divorce, what would that have been like? Would she have had a happier end to her days? She can be viewed as stubborn, with regards to the fact it would have just been easier to give in, and let the King have what he wanted. But this was never an option for Katherine of Aragon, daughter of mighty Spain, as she was the anointed and crowned ruler of England… whether Henry liked it or not.
The guts, and sheer determination that it would have taken, to refuse England’s mightiest of Lords all the way up to the King himself is what makes Katherine a heroine most writers can only dream of!
As mentioned, the scope of Katherine’s character is a lot broader in novels in comparison to TV and film. In The Tudors, we are introduced to Katherine long after the possibility of her bearing any more children for the King, and she is shown to be a sad, but absolutely devoted wife to Henry, and to God. This is much the same portrayal as shown in Anne of the Thousand Days; sad, lonely and devoted. In novels however, is where she can truly come to life. Three major works focusing on Katherine can be used to offer different perspectives; Katherine of Aragon by Jean Plaidy, The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory and Katherine of Aragon – The True Queen by Alison Weir. All three focus on her earlier life in varying degrees, where she is known originally as Catalina, Infanta of Spain. From here you can get to understand her complete journey, and why she was adamant that she would remain Queen of England for the rest of her life, despite the machinations of her husband.
Through these collected works, you can see how each author views Katherine, and just how differently she is presented to the reader. It may be a point of reference to note when each were published; Plaidy in 1968, Gregory in 2005, and Weir in 2016.
(Irene Papas in Anne of a Thousand Days – © Universal)
Plaidy’s Katherine isn’t so much the determined Spanish Princess, but more of a Princess in a fairy tale; things happen to her, rather than her having much of an agency. Whilst Katherine was in limbo, waiting to potentially marry Prince Henry, one of her ladies scandalously leaves her service to get married far beneath her station. This takes place in upmost secrecy on the maids part, as it’s the ultimate disgrace. She should have asked Katherine’s permission, who would then have had to ask her own parents, the King and Queen of Spain, as they are her locus parentis. To go behind their backs, and leave the service of the Princess with no warning is wildly scandalous. In the novel Katherine is shocked, but eventually almost shrugs her shoulders to it. She needs to keep her household in good order, and no scandal should come anywhere near her. To just behave as ‘oh well’, and maintain her gentle demeanour is a little maddening to the reader, but it fits with the tolerant, sad Queen of legend.
Some of the Spanish spark though can be seen in her ultimate fallout with her Doña Elvira. In the novel, Elvira is a frightening and stern woman, and head of Katherine’s household. She is discovered scheming behind the Princesses back, and Katherine goes to confront her.
‘Pray do not interrupt me. You forget to whom you speak’.
Elvira gasped in amazement. Never before had Katherine spoken to her in that manner…
‘I do not wish’, said Katherine, ‘to have here with me in England servants whom I do not trust’.
‘What are you saying?’ Elvira began in the old hectoring manner.
She ultimately dismisses her, and sends her back to her husband. This leaves Katherine exposed, as she no longer has a mother – type figure to look after and protect her interests, and no one to run the day to day of her own household. But, she does what’s right and choses to be without rather than live with someone how has lied and betrayed her.
Gregory’s Katherine is a haughty Spanish Princess, who has an instant dislike of England; from her father-in-law King Henry VII, to the weather, to the bathing habits of the populace in general, and of women’s lack of agency at court. This is supposedly from her mother, bestowing her with the idea that women can just be as powerful as men. This is shown in a chat with Prince Arthur, when they are discussing what children they will have. Speaking about Arthur’s mother, Katherine asks,
‘Why didn’t she claim the throne for herself …?’
‘Not in this country,’ Arthur ruled. ‘We don’t have reigning queen’s in this England. Girls don’t inherit. They cannot take the throne.’
‘But if a King has only a daughter?’
He shrugged. ‘Then it would be a tragedy for the country. You have to get me a boy my love, nothing else will do.’
‘But if we have only a girl?’
‘She would marry a prince and make him King Consort of England, and he would rule alongside her. England has to have a king. Like your mother did. She reigns alongside her husband.’…
She drew away from him in indignation… ‘I tell you this, if we only have one child and she is a girl, then she will rule as queen and she will be a queen as good as any man can be king.’
Even though Katherine came from family where her mother was Queen in her own right, she comes over in the novel as slightly too modern in her way of thinking. It almost feels this version of her has the benefit of hindsight with regards to women ruling just as well, if not better, than most men.
Each Katherine featured in these works knows it is her destiny to rule, as she has been raised to not think anything else. She was to be Princess of Wales, then Queen. Even when her Prince died, she felt God ordained it so there was a brother she could be betrothed to, in order to still fulfil her destiny of being Queen. It almost becomes a character blindness; she will brook no argument or hear anything else regarding it. This can be seen in Weir’s portrayal of Katherine. But here she is more nuanced; you feel her doubts, and how the whole situation troubles her. She ultimately overcomes these feelings, and sets her course firmly where she feels it should never be moved from. You also see her as a woman, most especially when she is going through her change. This is a heart-breaking moment for her, as it’s one of her final holds on her husband; the fact that it might still be possible to give him sons.
That night he came to her. He still visited her bed often, hoping to get her pregnant again. It was three and a half years since little Isabella had been born, and both of them were beginning to feel desperate. Katherine had not the heart or the courage to tell Henry that there had been three occasions in the past year her courses had not flowed. Three times her hopes had been raised, then dashed a month later. She, who had been as regular as phases of the moon, was regular no longer…she felt dragged down by a terrible sense of failure. What was worse, she was now afflicted with a horrible, foul-smelling discharge from her woman’s parts. She shrank with embarrassment at the thought of telling anyone, and suffered in silence, assuming it was part of the change she was undertaking. Henry came to her that night…she was shamefully conscious of the slight stench from her womb, and prayed he had not noticed it, but he was an unusually fastidious man with a sensitive nose, and she sensed him drawing away from her in distaste.
The finality of the situation, and the fact that she knows from here on in, it will be the most bitter of fights to get the scales to fall from Henry’s eyes, and for him to fully see her again.
Yet, she still carries on. The Spanish fortitude never fails her.
(Charlotte Hope and Angus Imrie in The Spanish Princess – © Entertainment Weekly)
The greatest of all controversies with regards to Katherine is did she, or did she not sleep with her first husband, Prince Arthur. People to this day still argue whether she did or didn’t, and it is highly unlikely we will ever know. Did she lie, keeping the secret to the grave, so that she could ultimately become Queen as ordained? Or, as she held fast with her adamant denial all through her life to her deathbed confessional, surely that’s proof enough that this God fearing woman never did consecrate the marriage? After all, the same logic is used for Anne Boleyn; she couldn’t have really committed all the crimes she was accused of, because in her final confession she remained steadfast in her denial. To lie at this point, or to keep this sin from God, would ensure you went straight to hell and were damned, rather than eternal peace. The risk was just too high for Katherine to lie, surely?
Both Weir and Plaidy follow the story that Katherine and Arthur did not consummate the marriage. Arthur and Katherine are both young, and after the initial bedding on the wedding night, there is no further talk of intimacy between the two. Years later when King Henry VIII was trying to divorce her, it was revealed that after the wedding night Arthur proclaimed he needed “…a cup of ale, for I have been this night in the midst of Spain”. (1 ) If it was said at all, it’s more than likely to be ‘lads chat’ to ensure his potency isn’t questioned, and the marriage is now legal due to the consummation. From reading their stories from both authors, you understand why it didn’t happen. Arthur isn’t well, and he is a wildly unhappy man. He is struggling with his position as heir, and being kept separate from his family to run his own estate in Wales proves difficult. In turn, Catherine struggles with communication skills, speaking only Spanish, Latin, and French. All this adds up to having two vulnerable young people trying to muddle their way through, not very successfully.
This whole idea is then turned on it’s head by Gregory, who not only has them consummating their relationship, but also being extremely happy together. This is of course by no means not out of the realm of possibility; Katherine views it as her duty as Princess to lay with her husband, ultimately to then beget an heir. It’s hard for them both at first, but it’s not long before they fall deeply in love. Where this drastically alters Katherine’s character, is the fact the she lies to keep the what she feels is rightfully hers, the throne of England. She knows if her marriage to Arthur is a true one, she won’t be able to marry back into the Tudor family. Therefore she creates the story that they weren’t successful in the marriage bed. You can see it as great grit and determination from Katherine; heartbroken, but moving forward with Arthur’s wish of her marrying his brother so she can carry on and rule their dream kingdom where he could not.
‘England needs a great queen, especially with him. He’s not fit to rule. You must teach him. Build my forts. Build my navy. Defend against the Scots. Have my daughter Mary. Have my son Arthur. Let me live through you’.
‘Let me do it,’ he whispered longingly. ‘Let me keep England safe through you. Let me live through you.’
‘I am your wife,’ she said fiercely. ‘Not this’.
‘Tell them you are not…tell them I could not do it…tell them I was unmanned. Then marry Harry.’
‘You hate Harry! You cannot want me to marry him. He is a child! And I love you.’
‘He will be king, so you will be queen. Marry him. Please. Beloved. For me.’
This is a fundamental part of Katherine’s story; did she or didn’t she lie, either for the greater good, or sheer ambition? It’s an interesting twist from Gregory, and gives the viewer a very different Katherine.
Queen Katherine is portrayed here by three very talented authors, all very differently, but there are certainly threads of cohesion between them all. Katherine is a determined girl, who in turn through much suffering and strife, becomes a powerful and devoted woman. She knows that it was God’s will she was placed in England, and it is at his behest that she is destined to be it’s Queen. Though her end is a desperately sad one, she ultimately didn’t know this is where her actions would take her. I truly don’t know she would have done any differently if she did.
The Katherine I feel for the most is Weir’s version of her; in The True Queen, you get to see the famous ‘first wife’ as a real woman, who through sheer determination wouldn’t let her husband try and play God, and take away what is rightfully hers. Long live good Queen Katherine!
Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things. Katharine the Quene (2)
References:
Hanson, Marilee. "Letter of Katharine of Aragon to her husband, King Henry VIII 7 January 1536" https://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter/letter-of-katharine-of-aragon-to-king-henry-viii/, February 8, 2015
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