Catherine of Aragon - As Wife and Widow of Arthur

As Wife and Widow of Arthur

The couple met on 4 November at Dogmersfield in Hampshire. Little is known about their first impressions of each other, but Arthur did write to his parents-in-law that he would be "a true and loving husband" and told his parents that he was immensely happy to "behold the face of his lovely bride". Unfortunately, the couple found that they could not understand each other, since they had learned different pronunciations of Latin. Ten days later, on 14 November 1501, they were married at Old St. Paul's Cathedral.

Once married, Arthur was sent to Ludlow Castle on the borders of Wales to preside over the Council of Wales and the Marches, as was his duty as Prince of Wales, and his bride accompanied him. The couple stayed at Castle Lodge, Ludlow. A few months later, they both became ill, possibly with the sweating sickness which was sweeping the area. Arthur died on 2 April 1502; Catherine recovered to find herself a widow.

At this point, Henry VII faced the challenge of avoiding the obligation to return her dowry to her father. To settle the matter, it was agreed that Catherine would marry Henry VII's second son, Henry, Duke of York, who was five years younger than she was. The death of Catherine's mother Isabella of Castile, however, meant that her "value" in the marriage market decreased. Castile was a much larger kingdom than Aragon, and it was inherited by Catherine's mentally unstable elder sister, Joanna. Ostensibly, the marriage was delayed until Henry was old enough, but Henry VII procrastinated so much about Catherine's unpaid dowry that it was doubtful if the marriage would ever take place. She lived as a virtual prisoner at Durham House in London. Some of the letters she wrote to her father complaining of her treatment have survived. In one of these letters she tells him that "I choose what I believe, and say nothing. For I am not as simple as I may seem." She had little money and struggled to cope, as she had the well-being of her ladies-in-waiting to maintain as well as her own. In 1507 she served as the Spanish Ambassador for England, thus becoming the first female ambassador in European history. While Henry VII and his councillors expected her to be easily manipulated, Catherine went on to prove them wrong.

Marriage to Arthur's brother depended on the Pope granting a dispensation because canon law forbade men to marry their brother's widow. Catherine testified that her marriage to Arthur was never consummated, as also according to canon law, a marriage was not valid until consummated.