On this day in Tudor history, 2nd April, Henry VII’s eldest son, Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, died at Ludlow Castle; Anne Boleyn’s almoner, John Skip, preached a controversial sermon; and fourteen-year-old Edward VI fell ill with measles and smallpox…
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On this day in Tudor history, a treaty arranged the marriage of Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, and Catherine of Aragon; a young apprentice was burnt to death for reading the Bible; and George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, was buried…
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Thank you to Amanda Glover for writing this guest article for us on the question of whether Catherine of Aragon's marriage to Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, was consummated.
More than 500 years ago two teenagers married. Only four and a half months later the boy sadly died. Since then, historians have hotly debated whether the marriage was ever consummated.
The girl was called Catalina, known in England as Catherine of Aragon, and the boy was Arthur, Prince of Wales, heir to the fledgling dynasty of the Tudors.
But why was the question of the consummation so important?
When Arthur died so tragically young, his ten-year-old brother, Henry became the heir to his father’s crown. In 1509, eight years after Arthur’s demise, the 17-year-old Henry ascended the throne as Henry VIII on the death of his father, Henry VII. One of his first acts was to marry Catherine, having obtained Papal dispensation, a necessity in the eyes of the Church because of Catherine’s first marriage to Arthur, which made the new couple “related”.
On this day in Tudor history, 6th November 1501, just eight days before their marriage, Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King Henry VII, met Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.
The couple met at Dogmersfield in Hampshire.
Arthur and Catherine had already had a proxy marriage but had never met.
Let me tell you more about the lead-up to their meeting on 6th November 1501, including Catherine’s journey from Spain to England, how their first meeting went and what happened next…
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Catherine of Aragon and Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, were married from 14th November 1501 until Arthur’s death on 2nd April 1502, but did they consummate their marriage? They certainly slept in the same bed, but did Catherine of Aragon and Arthur Tudor have sex?
Find out what people said at the Legatine court hearing in 1529 and the Zaragoza hearing in 1531, and what Catherine claimed, in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th September 1586, Anthony Babington, John Ballard, John Savage, Chidiock Tichborne and three other conspirators were executed near St Giles-in-the-Fields in London.
They suffered full traitors’ deaths, being hanged, drawn and quartered, after being found guilty of treason for plotting to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I in the famous Babington Plot, which sought to replace Elizabeth with Mary, Queen of Scots.
Find out more about Anthony Babington, the Babington Plot, the men involved, how it was discovered, and how it led to Mary, Queen of Scots’ execution…
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th November 1501, Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, met her betrothed, Arthur, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King Henry VII, at Dogmersfield in Hampshire.
The couple were actually already married by proxy, but had never met, and Catherine had only just arrived in England.
Find out more about the lead-up to Catherine of Aragon and Arthur Tudor’s meeting on 6th November 1501, including Catherine’s journey from Spain to England, how their meeting went and what happened next, in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 2nd April 1502, Arthur, Prince of Wales, son and heir of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, died at Ludlow Castle. He was just fifteen years old, and had only been married to the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon for four and a half months.
In today’s talk, I discuss his death and the theories regarding Arthur’s cause of death, which include sweating sickness, consumption, testicular cancer and Atypical Cystic Fibrosis.
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On this day in Tudor history, 27th March 1489, the Treaty of Medina del Campo was signed between England and Spain. One part of it was the arrangement of the marriage between Arthur, Prince of Wales, and Catherine (or Catalina) of Aragon. It was signed by Spain on this day and ratified in 1490 by Henry VII.
Find out more about this treaty and the betrothal and marriages (yes, plural!) of Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, and Catherine of Aragon in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th September 1486, Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales and son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was christened at a lavish ceremony at Winchester Cathedral.
His mother’s confinement, his birth, his christening and early upbringing had all been carefully ‘choreographed’ by his paternal grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, and in today’s talk, Claire Ridgway, author of “On This Day in Tudor History”, shares details from Margaret Beaufort’s “Ordinances” regarding the christening of a royal prince or princess, as well as sharing specific details of Prince Arthur Tudor’s christening.
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th September 1486, King Henry VII’s wife, Elizabeth of York, gave birth to the couple’s first child at Winchester.
The baby was a boy and was baptised Arthur, named after the legendary King Arthur. There were high hopes for this boy and King Henry VII believed that his firstborn would be a powerful king who would bring a golden age to the country. Of course, things wouldn’t go according to plan.
Find out more about Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, who was, of course, Catherine of Aragon’s first husband, in today’s talk from Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society.
[Read More...]Thank you so much to historian and author Kristie Dean for writing this article for us.
When I was writing my last book, I spent time researching Elizabeth of York and her role as a bridge between the York and Tudor dynasties. While Henry may have married Elizabeth in order to help secure his throne, it seems clear that he grew to love her, or at the very least, considered her a partner. This may have partly stemmed from a shared sense of responsibility for their children. When Arthur was born, Henry seized the moment to display the strength of his dynasty.
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On this day in history, 20th September 1486, Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, was born at St Swithun’s Priory in Winchester. Arthur was the first child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York and he was born just eight months after his parents’ marriage.
Elizabeth had travelled to Winchester to give birth because the city was believed to have been the capital of King Arthur’s Camelot and the site of his castle. Her husband the king believed that his firstborn son would be a hero like his namesake, legendary King Arthur, and that his reign would bring about a golden age in England.
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Thank you to Tudor Society member Angela for asking the question “Should Ferdinand of Aragon have insisted on Katherine’s return when Prince Arthur died?”. Historian Amy Licence, who is the author of “Catherine of Aragon: An Intimate Life of Henry VIII’s True Wife” has answered Angela’s question…
This is a complex question, because Katherine’s position in England fluctuated during the period of her widowhood between 1502 and 1509. Also, we have to consider the dual impulses in Ferdinand, as a father on one hand, and as a monarch on the other, playing on the international stage, on which all his children were pawns for the furtherment of the Spanish Empire. Out of Katherine’s parents, it was Isabella of Castile who played a more active role in terms of writing to Henry VII before and after her daughter’s wedding, so she was really the commanding figure of the pair until her death in 1505. We must be careful too, with the word “should,” because it is suggestive of hindsight. We know what an awful time Katherine was to have during her widowhood and later, at the hands of Henry VIII, but back then they didn’t know how things would turn out.
[Read More...]I’ve only just been made aware of this exhibition so apologies for the late notice. Thank you to Susan Mintram Mason for sharing it with me. It’s on today, tomorrow and Saturday 11am until 4pm at Worcester Cathedral and it’s free.
It is described as “an exciting new exhibition telling the tragic story of Henry VIII’s older brother through an interactive dramatized audio-tour in the Dean’s Chapel.”
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In today’s Claire Chats, I talk about Catherine of Aragon, her marriage to Arthur Tudor and its implications in Henry VIII’s quest for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine.
[Read More...]On 2nd April 1502, Arthur Tudor, eldest son of King Henry VII, died at Ludlow Castle. He was just fifteen years old and had been married for less than five months.
Arthur Tudor had married Katherine of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. King Henry VII had worked hard for several years to secure a marriage between his son and Princess Katherine to see a strong alliance created between England and Spain. The marriage would also help to put England on the international stage and secure the succession of the Tudors.
[Read More...]Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, got pregnant straight after her marriage to Henry VII in January 1486 and the news of her pregnancy was celebrated throughout England. Henry VII, was ecstatic at the news and decided that the birth of his first-born would take place at Winchester, the place believed to have been the capital of the legendary Camelot and the site of King Arthur’s castle, and that the child would be called Arthur. Henry was convinced that Arthur’s birth would bring about a new golden age.
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In today’s Claire Chats, I look at an event from Henry VII’s reign, the marriage of Catherine of Aragon and Arthur, Prince of Wales, and the pageantry involved in Catherine’s procession through London.
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