Catherine of Aragon

Catherine of Aragon , was a Madrilenian queen of England who was humiliated by Henry VIII . She was highly appreciated by the English people, and being the wife of the Monarch, she refused to accept the annulment of her marriage, demanding that her nephew Charles I defend her rights and those of her daughter María I, who was to be the future Queen of England. . The King’s determination to divorce led him to break his relations with the Catholic Church.

Biography of Catalina de Aragón

Catalina was born in Alcalá de Henares in 1485 and died in Kimbolton , England in 1536. Daughter of Fernando II of Aragon and Isabel I of Castile. In 1501 she married Arthur , the first-born of Henry VII of England, as an alliance designed by his parents to diplomatically isolate France . Arthur died the following year, and the widow’s marriage had to be negotiated with the new heir, Prince Henry , the deceased’s brother, although the wedding took place until the Prince of Wales became Henry VIII .

They had six children, only Maria Tudor , future queen of England , survived . Henry VIII, who wanted a male successor, and in love with Ana Bolena , requested a divorce from the ecclesiastical authorities for the wrongfulness of the marriage between brothers-in-law. The queen defended the validity of the link by the fact that her marriage to Arthur had not been consummated.

The Pope did not want to grant a divorce for the political and military control of Charles V over Rome; and appointed Cardinals Campeggio and Wolsey to investigate. However, Catalina de Aragón refused to defend her position by denying the jurisdiction of the court. Henry VIII solicited the opinion of European universities , which came out in favor of divorce. The Pope Clement was against divorce, and ordered him to go to the Holy See . Advised by Cromwell and Cranmer, Henry VIII refused to appear, denying the authority of the pope.

Enrique finished with Catherine in the year 1531 and married Ana Bolena, already pregnant with the future queen Elizabeth I.  In 1533 the Archbishop of Canterbury annulled the king’s marriage to Catherine; the monarch separated from the Catholic Church and became supreme head of the new Church of England. Henry VIII’s disobedience to the papacy thus triggered the constitution of an Anglican national church , which was approved by parliament. Catherine was confined to Kimbolton Castle , but she never renounced the title of queen.

Queen of England

Madrid Reina kept his dignity and love of the people when Henry VIII ‘s repudiated and humiliated to marry Anne Boleyn. The subsequent rivalry of Spain and England concealed the fact that the Queen was one of the sovereigns most loved by the English people in history . After marrying and becoming queen, her husband fell ill and died leaving her in a precarious situation because she had no money to support her army. For this reason, Henry VIII decided to marry her to his son Henry VIII.

As queen, she was always politically relevant and knew how to measure up in state affairs. She was appointed regent of the kingdom so she traveled to France and even had to deal with the incursion of the Scots into England.

Separation

The separation of Catalina de Aragón with her husband had its origin in the need that he had to have a male child and because he was in love with Ana Bolena . For this reason he fought against his wife and against the Catholic Church , including the Pope, to achieve divorce from Catherine and marry another woman.

Death

She was banished to the Castle of the More in the winter of 1531 and later transferred to the castle of Kimbolton , where she could not communicate in written form. On January 7, 1536, before dying of possibly cancer , Catalina de Aragón wrote a letter to her nephew Carlos I asking him to protect her daughter, and another addressed to her terrible husband . The black color of her heart indicated that she suffered from some type of cancer, but the rumor spread through England that she had been poisoned by order of the King .

Parents

Daughter of Queen Isabel I of Castile better known as Isabel la Católica , title granted by Alexander VI and King Ferdinand II of Aragon , called the Catholic who was king of Aragon, Castile, Sicily, Naples and Sardinia.

Sons

On January 31, 1510, Catherine of Aragon prematurely gave birth to a dead daughter. She had a son, Henry, Duke of Cornwall, who was born in the new year 1511 and died suddenly 53 days later on February 22, 1511. In 1513, Catherine became pregnant, but also passed away. In December 1514 she had another son, Prince Henry , who died days later. On February 18, 1516, Catherine gave birth to a healthy daughter, Maria, and she was baptized three days later in a grand ceremony at the Church of the Observing Friars . In 1518, Catherine became pregnant for the last time, gave birth, but the baby was weak and died.

Importance

It was of great importance to both Spain and England. She was respected and loved by her people and books are still being written about her life and work. She was in charge of showing the importance of education for women in her country. She was an example of a queen , wife, and mother .

Books about Catalina de Aragón

Some of the books that talk about Catalina de Aragón are the following:

• Catalina de Aragón, Queen of England by the author Almudena de Arteaga : shows the history of Catalina , her life and her works .
• Catalina de Aragón by the author Garret Mattingly : a novel that tells the life of Catalina. He recounts the epic in this historic book that is enclosed in the biography of this amazing woman. It is one of the most complete and basic works that have been written about this queen of England.
• Catalina de Aragón, by Giles Tremlett : tells the story of the Spanish Infanta who became Queen of England.