ON THIS DAY

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June 11, 1509

Hent VIII weds Catherine of Aragon

Catherine of Aragon (1485 – 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until its annulment on 23 May 1533. She was Princess of Wales while married to Henry's elder brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales, for a short period before his death. She was then aged 16.

She married Henry 7 years later but failed to produce a male heir. In 1525, Henry VIII became enamoured of the younger Anne Boleyn, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine, who was no longer able to bear children by this time. Henry began to believe that his marriage was cursed and sought confirmation from the Bible, which he interpreted to say that if a man marries his brother's wife, the couple will be childless. Even if her marriage to Arthur had not been consummated (and Catherine would insist to her dying day that she had come to Henry's bed a virgin), Henry's interpretation of that biblical passage meant that their marriage had been wrong in the eyes of God.

The Pope refused to annul the marriage, resulting in Henry rejecting the Catholic Church and forming the Church of England, with himself at the head. He annulled his marriage and wed Anne Boleyn.

Until the end of her life, Catherine would refer to herself as Henry's only lawful wedded wife and England's only rightful queen, however Henry refused her the right to any title but "Dowager Princess of Wales" in recognition of her position as his brother's widow.

Catherine died on 7 January 1536, there being rumours that she was poisoned. Modern thought is that she died of cancer.

On the day of Catherine's funeral, Anne Boleyn miscarried a male child.

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