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    <Metadata name="Content">Primary Sources - Letter of Katharine of Aragon to her father, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, 2 December 1505</Metadata>
    <Metadata name="Title">Primary Sources - Letter of Katharine of Aragon to her father, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, 2 December 1505</Metadata>
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    &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;FONT size=+1&gt;
    Letter of Katharine of Aragon to her father, King Ferdinand II of Aragon &lt;br&gt;2 December 1505&lt;/FONT&gt;
    &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&lt;b&gt;Background&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;The following letter was written in Spanish by 
  Katharine while she was Princess Dowager of Wales.&amp;nbsp; Katharine only wrote 
  in English after her marriage to King Henry VIII.&amp;nbsp; Her mother, the famous 
  Queen Isabella of Castile, had died in the previous year; her father was beset 
  by diplomatic troubles, particularly with the English (he was unable to force 
  Castilian acceptance of a trade agreement with England, which resulted in loss 
  of money for the parsimonious King Henry VII.)&lt;/FONT&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;In 
  1502, Katharine's husband and Henry VII's heir, Prince Arthur, had died.&amp;nbsp; 
  Katharine was put in an untenable position, and spent seven years of miserable 
  widowhood in England before Arthur's brother married her.&amp;nbsp; Her father was 
  never able to pay the full amount of her dowry to Prince Arthur.&amp;nbsp; This 
  issue became even more pressing when she was then betrothed to Prince 
  Henry.&amp;nbsp; Ferdinand and Henry VII were equally wily monarchs, each 
  unwilling to compromise in order to make Katharine's life in England 
  bearable.&lt;/FONT&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;The marriage to Prince Henry, though 
  formally recognized in 1504, was not to be celebrated until two years later 
  when the prince came of age.&amp;nbsp; The Spanish ambassador Dr De Puebla had 
  negotiated the contract, and assumed Henry VII would gladly support Katharine 
  for those two years.&amp;nbsp; But Henry gave her barely enough money for food; 
  she had no money to pay servants' wages or buy clothing, among other 
  things.&amp;nbsp; She lived in extreme poverty and with a frightening lack of 
  attention or respect.&amp;nbsp; Henry VII made it clear that if her dowry was not 
  paid, he would renege on the marriage to Prince Henry.&amp;nbsp; And Ferdinand 
  made it clear that he lacked the funds to pay the dowry; indeed, it was not 
  even a priority in his tumultuous life.&lt;/FONT&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;In this 
  letter, Katharine mentions an 'Infanta Isabel'; this was her older sister 
  Isabella.&amp;nbsp; She also unfairly maligns the amiable Dr De Puebla.&amp;nbsp; 
  Katharine's duenna Dona Elvira despised De Puebla for political reasons and 
  poisoned the young woman's mind against him.&lt;/FONT&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;This letter, a litany of complaints - all politely phrased - 
  is fascinating, and offers invaluable insight into Katharine's life as 
  Princess of Wales.&amp;nbsp; She was poor, hungry, and desperately ill; 'I shall 
  soon die,' she wrote to her father in despair.&amp;nbsp; She survived, of course, 
  but these conditions explain why she considered her marriage to King Henry 
  VIII to be so miraculous.&lt;/FONT&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;FONT size=-1&gt;This letter also offers a 
  funny glimpse into Henry VII's miserly nature.&lt;/FONT&gt; 
  &lt;P&gt;
  &lt;HR width=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;

    &lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Most high and most puissant lord, &lt;BR&gt;Hitherto I have not wished 
    to let your highness know the affairs here, that I might not give you 
    annoyance, and also thinking that they would improve; but it appears that 
    the contrary is the case, and that each day my troubles increase; and all 
    this on account of the doctor de Puebla, to whom it has not sufficed that 
    from the beginning he transacted a thousand falsities against the service of 
    your highness, but now he has given me new trouble; and because I believe 
    your highness will think I complain without reason, I desire to tell you all 
    that has passed. &lt;BR&gt;Your highness shall know, as I have often written to 
    you, that since I came into England, I have not had a single maravedi, 
    except a certain sum which was given me for food, and this such a sum that 
    it did not suffice without my having many debts in London; and that which 
    troubles me more is to see my servants and maidens so at a loss, and that 
    they have not the wherewith to get clothes; and this I believe is all done 
    by hand of the doctor, who, notwithstanding your highness has written, 
    sending him word that he should have money from the king of England, my lord 
    that their costs should be given them, yet, in order not to trouble him, 
    will rather entrench upon and neglect the service of your highness.&amp;nbsp; 
    Now, my lord, a few days ago, donna Elvira de Manuel asked my leave to go to 
    Flanders to be cured of a complaint which has come into her eyes, so that 
    she lost the sight of one of them; and there is a physician in Flanders who 
    cured the infanta donna Isabel of the same disease which which she is 
    affected.&amp;nbsp; She labored to bring him here so as not to leave me, but 
    could never succeed with him; and I, since if she were blind she could not 
    serve me, durst not hinder her journey.&amp;nbsp; I begged the king of England, 
    my lord, that until our donna Elvira should return his highness would 
    command that I should have, as a companion, an old English lady, or that he 
    would take me to his court; and I imparted all this to the doctor, thinking 
    to make of the rogue a true man; but it did not suffice me - because he not 
    only drew me to court, in which I have some pleasure, because I had 
    supplicated the king for an asylum, but he negotiated that the king should 
    dismiss all my household, and take away my chamber-equipage, and send to 
    place it in a house of his own, so that I should not in any way be mistress 
    of it. &lt;BR&gt;And all this does not weigh upon me, except that it concerns the 
    service of your highness, doing the contrary of that which ought to be 
    done.&amp;nbsp; I entreat your highness that you will consider that I am your 
    daughter, and that consent not that on account of the doctor I should have 
    such trouble, but that you will command some ambassador to come here, who 
    may be a true servant of your highness, and for no interest will cease to do 
    that which pertains to your service.&amp;nbsp; And if in this your highness 
    trusts me not, do you command some person to come here, who may inform you 
    of the truth, and then you will have one who will better serve you.&amp;nbsp; As 
    for me, I have had so much pain and annoyance that I have lost my health in 
    a great measure; so that for two months I have had severe tertian fevers, 
    and this will be the cause that I shall soon die.&amp;nbsp; I supplicate your 
    highness to pardon me that I presume to entreat you to do me so great favor 
    as to command that this doctor may not remain; because he certainly does not 
    fulfill the service of your highness, which he postpones to the service of 
    the worst interest which can be.&amp;nbsp; Our Lord guard the life and most 
    royal estate of your highness, and ever increase it as I desire.&amp;nbsp; From 
    Richmond, the second of December. &lt;BR&gt;My lord, I had forgotten to remind 
    your highness how you know that it was agreed that you were to give, as a 
    certain part of my dowry, the plate and jewels that I brought; and yet I am 
    certain that the king of England, my lord, will not receive anything of 
    plate nor of jewels which I have used; because he told me himself that he 
    was indignant that they should say in his kingdom that he took away from me 
    my ornaments.&amp;nbsp; And as little may your highness expect that he will take 
    them in account and will return them to me; because I am certain he will not 
    do so, nor is any such thing customary here.&amp;nbsp; In like wise the jewels 
    which I brought from thence [Spain] valued at a&amp;nbsp; great sum.&amp;nbsp; The 
    king would not take them in the half of the value, because here all these 
    things are esteemed much cheaper, and the king has so many jewels that he 
    rather desires money than them.&amp;nbsp; I write thus to your highness because 
    I know that there will be great embarrassment if he will not receive them, 
    except at less price.&amp;nbsp; It appears to me that it would be better if your 
    highness should take them for yourself, and should give to the king of 
    England, my lord, his money.&amp;nbsp; Your highness will see what would serve 
    you best, and with this I shall be most content. &lt;BR&gt;The humble servant of 
    your highness, who kisses your hands.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

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    &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&lt;A 
href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fletters.html&quot;&gt;to Letters of the Six Wives 
of Henry VIII&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;P align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&lt;A href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html&quot;&gt;to 
Primary Sources&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&lt;A 
href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor.html&quot;&gt;to Tudor England&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&lt;A 
href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2faragon.html&quot;&gt;to Katharine of 
Aragon website&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
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