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Today on the 7th January is when Catherine of Aragon died in 1536. Catherine of Aragon is best known for being the first wife of Henry VIII of England and the mother of Mary I of England. After Henry annulled his marriage to her in 1533, he married Anne Boleyn. After this, Catherine was sent away from court and known as the Dowager Princess of Wales, she died in 1536. This article will look at the impact of Catherine’s death on the royal court, particularly how her death impacted Anne Boleyn whose grip on power was already loosening and her position as Queen was fragile.
Catherine of Aragon was born in Spain on 16th December 1485, the daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. She first came to England in 1501 to be married to Henry’s older brother, Arthur who was the Prince of Wales at the time before he died in 1502. Therefore, Catherine was left a widower, and her future was unstable. Her previous marriage to Arthur would be the cause of her downfall and the reason Henry sought to annul their marriage. She would marry Henry in 1509 at 23 years old. During her marriage to Henry, she had six pregnancies but only one resulted in a child that would live to adulthood and that was Mary. After her marriage to Henry was annulled, Catherine would never see her daughter Mary again.
Henry was desperate for an heir and after Bessie Blount gave him an illegitimate son in 1519, Henry concluded that his marriage to Catherine was cursed by God and so he sought to annul the marriage. When he met Anne Boleyn, who refused to sleep with him until they were married, Henry knew that he would have to do whatever it took to annul his marriage. Consequently, this led to England’s break from Rome and Henry established himself as the Head of the Church. This was achieved in 1533 and Henry was able to marry Anne. However, this marriage would also end similarly. Anne would fail to produce a son for Henry, and she would be accused of adultery and treason. Her marriage to Henry ended in divorce in 1536, the same year of Catherine’s death. Instead of being sent away like Catherine, Anne would be executed for her crimes against the king.
After her marriage was annulled, Catherine spent her remaining years at Kimbolton Castle, and she died on 7th January 1536. Her death led to historians to ask the following questions; what was Henry and Anne’s reaction to Catherine’s death? What did her death mean for Anne? Many argue that Anne finally felt safe in her position after Catherine’s death as many people had remained faithful to both Catherine and her daughter and saw Anne as a whore. At the time of Catherine’s death, Anne was once again pregnant, but this would end with a miscarriage. It was believed to have been a boy. Finally, this article will also ask what was the relationship between Catherine and Anne themselves like? How has it been represented in popular media?
Regarding Henry and Anne’s reaction to Catherine’s death, there have been various interpretations by different historians. The TV show, The Tudors’ representation of their reactions remains the most popular interpretation due to the millions of people who have watched it and have assumed it is historically accurate. In addition to this, during the scene depicting her death, Catherine asks to be buried in the Observant Friars, presumably in Greenwich and five hundred masses to be said for her soul, and someone to pray at the Shine of Our Lady Walsingham on her behalf. This is a place she is believed to have visited to pray for a healthy child in the past. She spoke of her daughter and wished to leave her Spanish Gold to her and spoke of her everlasting love for Henry and that she had forgiven him during the scene as well. The scene has religion at its heart as would have been custom in those days, people would have received last rites on their deathbeds. The reaction of those around her in the scene is full of love for Catherine as they can be seen weeping. Henry’s reaction to her death in The Tudors is depicted as one of sorrow as he can be seen cradling her will and the last letter to him. The historian, David Starkey, has pointed out that this interpretation of Henry’s reaction to Catherine’s death would not be the case. Indeed, it is hard to see how he would have been feeling sad at her death after causing so much misery to her during her life, for example forcing her to annul the marriage so he could marry another woman whom he had known for less time than her.
In a contrasting view, in The Tudors, when Anne is told of Catherine’s death she rejoices and says she is now indeed queen. The historian, Alison Weir, believes Anne did quote this. Of course, Mary’s reaction is one of extreme sorrow and we can see her going through her mother’s things. She was denied contact with her mother after the annulment but sympathetic servants, such as those depicted in The Tudors, may have allowed letters to be sent between the two. Furthermore, there is a celebration held where Anne is believed to have been seen wearing yellow only. Some believe that yellow was the traditional mourning colour in Spain but this is not the case as the official mourning colour of Spain is black, just as it was in England. However, there is no evidence that shows that Anne Boleyn indeed did wear yellow but there is still a possibility that she did. Many believe that this meant Anne was celebrating Catherine’s death and indeed seeing a celebratory scene in The Tudors, one would agree with that opinion but since we do not know if Anne did wear yellow, there is a chance that Anne might have worn black out of respect.
My opinion leads me to question why Anne would honour a custom that was followed by someone she despised; it is hard to see the true reason behind her decision if this was the case. Indeed, this is noted to have occurred by Edward Hall who said Anne did wear yellow after Catherine’s death. While Eustace Chapuys who served as the imperial ambassador to England from 1525-1549, states that Henry himself wore yellow and joined in the celebrations. However, we must question the validity of his account as he was known to be a staunch supporter of Catherine so could he have lied to make out that Henry was rejoicing at his ex-wife's death to paint him as a villain? Other sources speak about how the court was relieved at Catherine’s death especially as it was seen to validate Anne and Henry’s marriage, and as Anne was once again pregnant, it brought hope that it would result in a son and heir for England bringing stability. Furthermore, Alison Weir believes the wearing of yellow was a mark of respect as Henry regarded Catherine as his sister-in-law due to her previous marriage to Arthur.
If we take The Tudors interpretation into account, then Henry went against Catherine’s will as she was buried in Peterborough Cathedral. Catherine did share her wealth between her servants and her daughter to the dismay of Henry. She was given a funeral suited to a dowager princess and not a queen. Also, Mary was forbidden to attend her mother’s funeral, another cruel decision Henry made.
Most sources conclude that Anne and maybe Henry too wore yellow when Catherine died. We may never know their exact reactions though and the reasoning behind the decisions. However, upon Catherine’s death, Anne’s position weakened. Henry’s first wife was dead, and he could easily now cast aside Anne for another wife. Catherine’s death reminded Anne how the wheels of fate could turn and how being queen was a position you could be removed from.
In a recent documentary, Anne Boleyn and Katherine of Aragon – Brillant Rivals, Suzannah Lipscomb explores the relationship between the two women. There is the interpretation that Catherine and Anne despised each other as a wife and mistress would do. However, this documentary explores how the things they had in common. For example, they were both highly educated and religious women. Although Catherine was Catholic and Anne was a reformist. Interestingly, the documentary looks at the Book of Hours that both Catherine and Anne owned. A historian, Kate McCaffrey, concludes that this signifies a moment of unity between the two women. They could have read their book of hours together as a leisure activity for the queen and her ladies-in-waiting, but this is seen as highly unlikely. Overall, Catherine fought for her marriage to Henry to remain valid and Anne fought for the position of queen, so this means both women were competing for Henry. Many would see Catherine as the true queen, especially as she was born from royal blood. It was a battle between them both to be Henry’s queen.
In The Tudors, the two women are at odds. This is different from how Catherine treated the other mistresses of Henry in the show. For example, she still spoke to Bessie Blount after learning of her affair with Henry. However, Anne overstepped the mark. She sought marriage to Henry which had not occurred before. Henry’s previous mistresses had never suggested this idea. It could be argued that this highlights how Anne was not loyal to Catherine. It is interesting how both women would be cast aside by Henry. In a way, Catherine had a better end to her life than Anne. This could be because Catherine was born of royal blood, so Henry could not have executed her as he did with Anne, but could it have crossed his mind?
During the King’s Great Matter, Catherine was asked by Henry to retire to a nunnery, but she refused. She remained in control till the very end and still saw herself as Henry’s true wife. She would not have known that Henry could annul their marriage. For example, in the TV series, The Spanish Princess, Catherine is under the view that no one could remove her as queen. However, this occurs before Anne comes along. Therefore, we ask ourselves what would have been Catherine’s fate if Henry had not met Anne. I do not think their marriage would have resulted in annulment. I believe they would have remained married, and Henry would remarry on her death as she was older than him so it would have been likely that she would die first. However, Henry could have died first. Overall, I think Henry’s illegitimate son by Bessie Blount, Henry Fitzroy, would have become king upon his death if he did not have any further sons by any future marriages. If Henry had died first, then I believe Catherine would have fought to put Mary on the throne.
The legacy of Catherine remains full of appreciation. She was a supporter of education for women. This view would have been inherited from her mother who believed education was important for women, particularly future queen consorts such as Catherine. If Catherine had been born in this century, she would have excelled and could have achieved more thanks to the changing role of women. She was born into a period where women had very few rights and the thought of a queen in her own right was frowned upon. She fought for her daughter’s place at her father’s side and may have believed she would follow in her grandmother, Isabella’s footsteps, which Mary did as she became queen of England in her own right. Catherine did not live long enough to see how Henry unfairly treated Mary. Many would see her as having fewer enemies than Anne who would be bought down by those around her. Catherine was instead seen as a charitable woman.
Her legacy was restored when Mary became queen who declared her parents' marriage was ‘good and valid.’ Mary also commissioned portraits of her mother to honour her legacy and remember her. Catherine’s tombstone now includes her title as Queen of England, this had not been the case when she was first buried. Every year at Peterborough Cathedral there is a service in her memory. People see how cruelly treated she was and are now honouring her memory. Catherine of Aragon was a well-loved queen, and she was unfairly treated by Henry. Her marriage started a chain of further marriages that Henry would have. She came from a powerful family and is regarded as one of Henry’s most educated queens. It is interesting how Anne was her lady-in-waiting and then went on to become queen herself. This article has been written to commemorate her death and remember her role as queen of England as the first wife of Henry VIII of England.
It has been an honour to remember Catherine through this article.
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