Ekaterina Aragonskaya: biography, photo

The daughter of the royal couple who united Spain, turning it into a mighty European power, and the Queen of England - Katerina of Aragon was loved both in her native land and in Albion for her modesty, honesty and kindness.

Genealogy

Ekaterina of Aragon was descended from the influential Spanish dynasty of Trastamar. Her name she received in honor of great-grandmother on the maternal line of Catherine Lancaster. Infanta was a distant relative of John Gaunt, from whose illegitimate son the Tudor dynasty occurred. In fact, Catherine of Aragon was related to her husband.

Also Catherine was the sister of Juan of Asturias, heir to the throne of Spain, but died of a fever at the age of 19. The infants' older sisters were Queen of Portugal Isabella of Asturias, Queen Consort of Portugal Maria Aragon and Queen of Castile Juan I Mad.

Catherine of Aragon: biography

Catherine of Aragon was born on December 16, 1485 and was the youngest daughter of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. The girl from childhood was preparing to become the Queen of England, as Ferdinand signed a contract with King of England Henry VII - the first ruler of the Tudor dynasty.

At 15, Katerina married the 11-year-old painful prince of Wales Arthur, heir to the throne. Only six months later he died, and without fulfilling his marital duty. Catherine of Aragon remained a widowed princess with a modest allowance and an uncertain future.

At the age of 23, the Spanish Infanta married Henry VIII who ascended to the throne. Catherine was older than her husband for 6 years, but this did not stop her from living with Henry for a long time in concert. For the people, she became a beloved queen, won the respect of most courtiers and was a loyal companion and companion of her king and husband.

Of the six children born to the queen, only one girl survived to adulthood. The daughter of Catherine of Aragon - Maria in the future will be the first woman-monarch, who entered the throne officially. However, Henry VIII longed for a male heir, realizing that after his sixth birth his wife was unlikely to be able to conceive again, the king began a divorce process.

Divorce from Henry Catherine did not recognize until the end of her days, remaining true to her husband, she admitted that she still loved him and wrote to the Pope asking not to forget about her and Henry and pray for the sinful soul of the King of England. Catherine of Aragon died on January 7, 1536.

Life in Spain

In her childhood, Catherine often moved from place to place, because Queen Isabella did not want to part with children, especially girls, and strictly followed their education. All the daughters of the Spanish royal couple had been engaged to the heirs of the thrones from a small age and were therefore preparing to rule the state.

Childhood and the youth of Catherine of Aragon took place in the heyday of the humanities and the ideals of the Renaissance. Mentor Infante and Prince Juan was Alessandro Geraldini. Queen Isabella insisted that the formation of her daughters be at the level of what the heir to the throne received, so the girls were extremely intelligent, educated, well-read and knew the ancient languages, including Latin and Ancient Greek. On the recommendation of the court English King Henry VII, Catherine of Aragon began to learn French. Infanta was trained in court manners, ballroom dances, as well as sewing and embroidery. According to contemporaries, even being a queen, she herself darned her husband's shirts.

Catherine possessed an unusual appearance for Spanish look: blond hair with a rusty hue, gray eyes and pale skin with a slight blush. Her image was captured by eminent artists of the Renaissance. Many of them were struck by the unique appearance that Ekaterina of Aragon possessed. A photo of her portraits (see above) proves that the Infanta was more like an Englishwoman than a Spaniard.

Engagement and marriage with the Prince of Wales - Arthur

As soon as Catherine turned 15, the treaty entered into force, which her father concluded with Henry VII, when the infant was only three years old. The young bride left with a small retinue and half a dowry to England, where she was met by a royal family.

In 1501, Catherine married the 11-year-old heir to the English throne, Prince Arthur, but this marriage was not destined to last long. Immediately after the wedding, Catherine went for her husband to Wales, where Arthur ran the entrusted territories, justifying the title of Prince of Wales.

Six months later the newlyweds fell ill with a sweat. Catherine soon recovered, but Prince Arthur died seven months after the wedding, leaving behind a young widow. The fate of Catherine of Aragon after the death of her husband was extremely uncertain, since the girl remained a pawn in the political game of her parents and the King of England.

Marriage with Henry VIII

In 1509 Henry VIII set foot on the throne, who almost immediately married Catherine. Information about the reasons for the marriage vary, some argue that Henry loved Catherine, others - that the young king did not dare to oppose the decree of the dying father. Whatever the true reasons for the marriage, Catherine of Aragon and Henry 8 lived in peace and harmony for almost 20 years.

The first years of marriage, Queen Catherine of Aragon served as the Ambassador of Spain, entrusted to her by Ferdinand in 1507, but Henry insisted that Catherine's mission consisted in the birth of the heir. The first pregnancy of the queen ended with premature birth, and the second produced a healthy boy Henry, Duke of Cornwall. The boy died two months later.

During the French-English war of 1513, Henry left England, leaving for the continent. He appointed Catherine of Aragon as regent, temporarily giving her the reins of government. During the absence of the king, Catherine successfully suppressed the uprising of the Scottish lords, sentencing the death of their leader.

Prerequisites for divorce

During the years of married life with Henry VIII, Catherine was pregnant six times, but of all her children only one daughter survived, named after her sister Henry Maria. After the sixth and again unsuccessful birth the king despaired of receiving an heir from Catherine and began to make plans for divorce proceedings.

Since 1525 the king was carried away by Anna Boleyn, the youngest daughter of one of their court lords. Since that moment, attempts have been made to dissolve the marriage on the grounds that Catherine can no longer give birth to the king of the heir. This reason, however, was not legitimate and canonical according to the rules of the Catholic Church, to which at that time England belonged. Pope Clement VII refused Henry permission for divorce, and the king decided to inform Catherine of his plans.

Divorce

In conversation with the Queen Henry called their alliance sinful, because Catherine was the wife of his brother and asked her to cancel the marriage and go to the monastery, to which Catherine reacted with an outraged refusal. The king was forced to begin an official church hearing, which lasted for five years.

In 1534 Henry VIII pressed the parliament and declared himself the head of the new Anglican Church, which allowed him to terminate the marriage with Catherine of Aragon, depriving her of the title of queen, and their daughter Maria the right to inherit the throne.

Life after the divorce from the king

After the divorce, Catherine was sent from the courtyard with a small retinue. She was forbidden to communicate with her daughter, and all visits to her were to be approved by the king. Despite the court's decision to divorce, Catherine until the very last days considered herself the queen of England and the only legitimate wife of Henry VIII. In addition to Catherine, Henry had five other wives, two of whom (Anne Boleyn and Keith Howard) were sentenced to death by the king.

Since 1535, Catherine of Aragon, officially known as the Dowager Princess of Wales, lived in the county of Cambridgeshire, enjoying the relative freedom and respect of a small suite and servants. A year after moving to Cambridgeshire, Catherine died. Around the unexpected death of the former queen, persistent rumors of poisoning were circulating. The murder was suspected both by the acting Queen Anne Boleyn, and by Henry VIII himself.