source: other-projects/nightly-tasks/diffcol/trunk/gs3-model-collect/Web-Tudor/archives/HASH01ad.dir/doc.xml@ 28241

Last change on this file since 28241 was 28241, checked in by ak19, 11 years ago

Rebuilt the GS3 model collection after the change over to using placeholders for standard GS path prefixes in the two archiveinf gdb files

File size: 25.1 KB
Line 
1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
2<!DOCTYPE Archive SYSTEM "http://greenstone.org/dtd/Archive/1.0/Archive.dtd">
3<Archive>
4<Section>
5 <Description>
6 <Metadata name="gsdlsourcefilename">import/englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/aragon.html</Metadata>
7 <Metadata name="gsdldoctype">indexed_doc</Metadata>
8 <Metadata name="Plugin">HTMLPlugin</Metadata>
9 <Metadata name="FileSize">20144</Metadata>
10 <Metadata name="Source">aragon.html</Metadata>
11 <Metadata name="SourceFile">aragon.html</Metadata>
12 <Metadata name="Language">en</Metadata>
13 <Metadata name="Encoding">windows_1252</Metadata>
14 <Metadata name="Content">Katharine Catherine Katherine of Aragon first wife of Henry VIII</Metadata>
15 <Metadata name="Page_topic">Katharine Catherine Katherine of Aragon first wife of Henry VIII mother of Queen Mary I</Metadata>
16 <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
17 <Metadata name="Title">Katharine / Katherine / Catherine of Aragon: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
18 <Metadata name="FileFormat">HTML</Metadata>
19 <Metadata name="URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/aragon.html</Metadata>
20 <Metadata name="UTF8URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/aragon.html</Metadata>
21 <Metadata name="weblink">&lt;a href=&quot;http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/aragon.html&quot;&gt;</Metadata>
22 <Metadata name="webicon">_iconworld_</Metadata>
23 <Metadata name="/weblink">&lt;/a&gt;</Metadata>
24 <Metadata name="dc.Subject">Tudor period|Monarchs</Metadata>
25 <Metadata name="Identifier">HASH01ad04ada6e97e8f0ae04ea7</Metadata>
26 <Metadata name="lastmodified">1378708204</Metadata>
27 <Metadata name="lastmodifieddate">20130909</Metadata>
28 <Metadata name="oailastmodified">1378708715</Metadata>
29 <Metadata name="oailastmodifieddate">20130909</Metadata>
30 <Metadata name="assocfilepath">HASH01ad.dir</Metadata>
31 <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">aragoncardinal.gif:image/gif:</Metadata>
32 <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">aragonsittow1.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
33 <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">aragonhorenbout1.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
34 </Description>
35 <Content>
36&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot; height=&quot;674&quot;&gt;
37 &lt;tbody&gt;
38 &lt;tr&gt;
39 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;39&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;
40 &lt;/td&gt;
41 &lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;39&quot;&gt;
42 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;'In this world I will confess
43myself to be the king's true wife, and in the next they will know how
44unreasonably I am afflicted.'&lt;/font&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt; &lt;br&gt;
45 &lt;/b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;Katharine of Aragon, 1532&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
46 &lt;/td&gt;
47 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;39&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;
48 &lt;/td&gt;
49 &lt;/tr&gt;
50 &lt;tr&gt;
51 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;
52 &lt;/td&gt;
53 &lt;td width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;1&quot;&gt;
54 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
55 &amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;
56 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;
57 &lt;/td&gt;
58 &lt;/tr&gt;
59 &lt;tr&gt;
60 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;
61 &lt;/td&gt;
62 &lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;
63 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
64 &lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/aragoncardinal.gif&quot; alt=&quot;Katharine of Aragon&quot; width=&quot;443&quot; height=&quot;114&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
65 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
66 &lt;img border=&quot;2&quot; src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/aragonsittow1.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;portrait of Katharine of Aragon by Michael Sittow, c1502&quot; width=&quot;351&quot; height=&quot;541&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
67 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt; &lt;i&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;portrait of Katharine of Aragon by
68 Michael Sittow, c1502&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
69 &lt;p align=&quot;left&quot;&gt; &lt;b&gt;&lt;br&gt;The youngest surviving child of
70the 'Catholic Kings' of Spain, Katharine was born on 16 December 1485,
71the same year that Henry VII established the Tudor dynasty.&amp;nbsp; At
72the age of three, she was betrothed to his infant son, Prince
73Arthur.&amp;nbsp; In 1501, shortly before her sixteenth birthday, Katharine
74sailed to England.&amp;nbsp; But her marriage to Arthur lasted less than
75six months and was supposedly never consummated.&amp;nbsp; Katharine was
76then betrothed to Arthur's younger brother, Prince Henry.&amp;nbsp; When he
77became king in 1509, at the age of eighteen, he promptly married
78Katharine and they lived together happily for many years.&amp;nbsp; But
79their marriage produced just one living child, a daughter called Mary,
80and Henry was desperate for a male heir.&amp;nbsp; He also fell deeply in
81love with another woman.&amp;nbsp; Cast aside, Katharine fought against
82great odds to deny Henry an annulment.&amp;nbsp; But the king would not be
83denied and when the Catholic church would not grant the annulment, he
84declared himself head of a new English church.&amp;nbsp; Katharine was
85banished from court and died on 7 January 1536, broken-hearted but
86still defiant.&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
87 &lt;p align=&quot;left&quot;&gt; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
88 &lt;blockquote&gt;
89 &lt;blockquote&gt;
90 &lt;p&gt;&lt;a
91 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2faragon.html#Biography&quot;&gt;
92 &lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;Read the biography of Katharine of Aragon.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
93 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
94 &lt;blockquote&gt;
95 &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br&gt;
96Primary Sources&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;
97Read &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fletters.html&quot;&gt;letters
98written by Katharine&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a
99 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fh8crown.html&quot;&gt;an account of her
100coronation&lt;/a&gt; at Westminster Abbey.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;
101 &lt;br&gt;
102 &lt;b&gt;Secondary Sources&lt;br&gt;&lt;/b&gt;Read JA Froude's 1891 work &lt;i&gt;
103 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fsecondary.html&quot;&gt;The Divorce
104 of Catherine of Aragon&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
105 &lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;Visit &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2fimages.html&quot;&gt;Tudor England:
106Images&lt;/a&gt; to view portraits of Katharine.&lt;br&gt;
107Visit the &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fmary1.html&quot;&gt;Queen
108Mary I site&lt;/a&gt; to learn more about Katharine's daughter.&lt;/p&gt;
109 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br&gt;
110Interact&lt;br&gt;
111 &lt;/b&gt;Meet other Six Wives enthusiasts at &lt;a
112 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fladiesallfanlist.cjb.net&quot;&gt;Ladies All: A Fanlisting for
113the Six Wives of Henry VIII&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br&gt;
114 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2ftudorhistory.org%2flists%2flist.html&quot;&gt; Tudor Talk
115 &lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;This email discussion list is sponsored by
116Tudorhistory.org.&lt;br&gt;
117 &lt;a
118 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fgroups.yahoo.com%2fgroup%2fReign%5fof%5fthe%5fTudors%5frpg&quot;&gt;Reign of
119the Tudors&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; This is a role-playing game set in 16th century
120England.&amp;nbsp; If you would like to 'play' Jane Grey or Anne Boleyn or
121other Tudors, click the link to join.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
122 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
123 &lt;p align=&quot;left&quot;&gt; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
124 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
125 &lt;/td&gt;
126 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;
127 &lt;/td&gt;
128 &lt;/tr&gt;
129 &lt;/tbody&gt;
130&lt;/table&gt;
131&lt;blockquote&gt;
132 &lt;blockquote&gt;
133 &lt;blockquote&gt;
134 &lt;blockquote&gt;
135 &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
136 &lt;p&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;Biography&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;
137 &lt;/a&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'My tribulations are so great, my life so
138disturbed by the plans daily invented to further the king's wicked
139intention, the surprises which the king gives me, with certain persons
140of his council, are so mortal, and my treatment is what God knows, that
141it is enough to shorten ten lives, much more mine.'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;i&gt;
142 &lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;Katharine of Aragon to Charles V, November 1531&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
143 &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
144 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
145 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
146 &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Biography&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;
147Katharine was born on 16 December 1485 at Alcala de Henares, in the
148archbishop of Toledo's palace.&amp;nbsp; Her early life promised a future
149of splendor and success, if not personal happiness.&amp;nbsp; Her parents,
150Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, were legends throughout
151Europe.&amp;nbsp; Their marriage had united the kingdom of Spain and
152together they had driven the Moors from Granada.&amp;nbsp; Katharine's
153mother was deeply pious and very intelligent.&amp;nbsp; Her children, even
154the daughters, received excellent educations.&amp;nbsp; Katharine's brother
155Juan and sister Joanna were married off into the powerful Hapsburg
156family and two other sisters, Isabella and Maria, would each marry the
157king of Portugal.&amp;nbsp; Katharine was promised to England; the
158betrothal contract was finalized before her fourth birthday.&amp;nbsp; The
159island nation, so long torn between Plantagenet cousins vying for the
160throne, was now ruled by Henry Tudor.&amp;nbsp; He had married the daughter
161of the former Plantagenet king, Edward IV, and in 1486 had a male heir
162and a desire to establish the stability and validity of his new
163dynasty.&amp;nbsp; A match with a Spanish princess would give him
164both.&amp;nbsp; And so Katharine, proud and solemn and accompanied by a
165vast dowry, came to England in 1501.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
166 &lt;p&gt; She
167wed Prince Arthur within a few weeks of her arrival.&amp;nbsp; It was a
168grand celebration; all of London rejoiced and there was every
169expectation of a glorious future for both husband and wife.&amp;nbsp; They
170left for Ludlow Castle, the government seat of the Prince of Wales, and
171within six months Arthur was dead.&amp;nbsp; It was the dreaded sweating
172sickness.&amp;nbsp; The news devastated his parents.&amp;nbsp; Katharine
173returned to London but was not sent home.&amp;nbsp; Henry VII was already
174writing to her parents about another marriage.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
175 &lt;p&gt;Katharine was now promised to Arthur's younger brother,
176Henry.&amp;nbsp; Born 28 June 1491, he was almost six years younger than
177Katharine.&amp;nbsp; But he was robust and healthy, and already regarded as
178a precocious intellect.&amp;nbsp; Before his brother's death, he had been
179destined for the church and educated accordingly.&amp;nbsp; But now he was
180the future king and as such he needed a future wife.&amp;nbsp; Henry VII
181betrothed young Henry to his brother's widow, a plan which required a
182papal dispensation.&amp;nbsp; Ferdinand, at odds with France, was anxious
183to please his English ally; Isabella's piety may have ruined the plan
184but she was dying and did not protest.&amp;nbsp; Katharine and her duenna,
185Dona Elvira, both wrote that her marriage to Arthur had never been
186consummated.&amp;nbsp; Pope Julius II granted the dispensation.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
187 &lt;p&gt;The new betrothal may have been spurred by Henry VII's legendary
188avarice.&amp;nbsp; Katharine had brought half of her dowry with her upon
189marriage to Arthur; if she returned home, her marriage contract
190required that the dowry be returned.&amp;nbsp; Also, her inheritance as
191dowager Princess of Wales was substantial.&amp;nbsp; If she left England,
192so would that steady income.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
193 &lt;p&gt;Katharine herself &lt;a
194 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fletters.html&quot;&gt;wrote to her father&lt;/a&gt;
195that she had no wish to remain in England but she would obey his
196decision.&amp;nbsp; Perhaps she had already learned enough of Henry VII's
197character to know she would be shabbily treated.&amp;nbsp; Despite her
198royal position, she lived in poverty.&amp;nbsp; The Spanish ambassador was
199forced to buy her necessities and she was unable to pay her
200attendants.&amp;nbsp; And soon enough Henry VII was implying that he would
201break the Spanish betrothal.&amp;nbsp; Katharine spent the next seven years
202in a state of political limbo.&amp;nbsp; And when he turned fourteen, Henry
203VII had his son publicly repudiate the betrothal, claiming that the
204marriage contract was made without his knowledge or consent.&amp;nbsp; Yet
205Katharine remained in England.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
206 &lt;p&gt;In 1509, the situation was resolved with startling speed.&amp;nbsp;
207Henry VII died and his eighteen year old son became king.&amp;nbsp;
208Handsome, proud, and imbued with the romantic spirit of chivalry, he
209promptly married Katharine.&amp;nbsp; Did he marry her out of a sense of
210obligation?&amp;nbsp; Was it because, as he later claimed, he wished to
211respect his father's last wish?&amp;nbsp; Were political councilors
212encouraging the Spanish alliance?&amp;nbsp; Or did he love the dignified
213and lovely young princess?&amp;nbsp; It is impossible to know.&amp;nbsp; But
214they certainly acted like a loving and affectionate couple, far beyond
215typical royal marriages.&amp;nbsp; There were public displays of affection,
216declarations of love and respect, and for a long while she was also a
217close political adviser.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
218 &lt;p&gt;Henry VIII's court was full of gaiety and celebration.&amp;nbsp; It
219was a welcome change from the austerity of his father's rule.&amp;nbsp;
220Katharine proved herself to be the perfect consort, even when politics
221led her father to humiliate and betray Henry.&amp;nbsp; Katharine
222recognized that she must choose between unwavering support of her
223father and loyalty to her husband.&amp;nbsp; She chose Henry, though his
224Lord Chancellor, &lt;a
225 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fcitizens%2fwolsey.html&quot;&gt;Cardinal
226Wolsey&lt;/a&gt;, never trusted her and instead favored an Anglo-French
227alliance.&amp;nbsp; His influence, and Henry's own suspicions, led the king
228to disregard her political advice.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
229 &lt;p&gt;Katharine's primary duty was both personal and political - to
230bear children, as many as possible and preferably sons.&amp;nbsp; This was
231especially important in England since Henry VIII was the sole surviving
232son of his father.&amp;nbsp; Katharine was far from barren and did her
233best; in the first nine years of their marriage, she conceived at least
234six times.&amp;nbsp; She miscarried twice, once delivered a stillborn
235daughter, and two sons died within weeks.&amp;nbsp; The only surviving
236child was a daughter, Princess Mary, born in 1516.&amp;nbsp; Katharine's
237last recorded pregnancy was in 1518, when she was thirty-three years
238old.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
239 &lt;p&gt;Henry was not unhappy with the birth of Mary; he assured
240ambassadors that if it were a daughter this time, a son would surely
241follow.&amp;nbsp; But it was soon clear there would be no sons.&amp;nbsp; The
242age difference between he and Katharine was now more noticeable.&amp;nbsp;
243The queen, struggling with frequent pregnancies and constant stress,
244looked older than her years.&amp;nbsp; Henry was a far more prudent king
245than most; he had just two serious affairs during his marriage to
246Katharine.&amp;nbsp; But one of his mistresses, Elizabeth Blount, bore him
247a son.&amp;nbsp; It was clear he could have sons, but the queen could
248not.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
249 &lt;p&gt;By 1527, the question of the succession was the most pressing
250issue facing the king.&amp;nbsp; Two years before, he had titled his
251illegitimate son the duke of Richmond and granted him vast estates.&amp;nbsp;
252Many, Katharine included, believed this was a preliminary step to
253naming him heir to the throne.&amp;nbsp; This never occurred and Richmond
254would die in 1536, but - until then - it was a possibility.&amp;nbsp; Henry
255sent Princess Mary to Ludlow Castle as Princess of Wales and his
256official heir, but even that did not stop the rumors or her mother's
257concerns.&amp;nbsp; Katharine confronted Henry; he responded angrily and
258dismissed several of her beloved Spanish attendants.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
259 &lt;p&gt;The king by now had hopes of a legitimate heir.&amp;nbsp; He had
260fallen in love the year previously with a young Englishwoman, &lt;a
261 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fboleyn.html&quot;&gt;Anne Boleyn&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;
262She was the sister of a former mistress and refused to take that
263position herself.&amp;nbsp; Henry, who was also deeply pious and a student
264of theology, now took a closer look at his marriage to Katharine.&amp;nbsp;
265In particular, he looked at the text in Leviticus which seemed to
266directly reference his own life - 'If a man shall take his brother's
267wife it is an unclean thing..... they shall be childless.'(Leviticus,
268XX, 21)&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
269 &lt;p&gt;Of course, they were not childless but a daughter was not the
270heir he needed.&amp;nbsp; No woman had attempted to rule England since the
271disastrous Matilda centuries&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/aragonhorenbout1.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;miniature portrait of Katharine of Aragon by Lucas Horenbout&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; width=&quot;329&quot; height=&quot;324&quot;&gt; before.&amp;nbsp; Henry now firmly believed
272that his incestuous marriage had been doomed from the start.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
273 &lt;p&gt;But how could he annul the marriage?&amp;nbsp; He needed to convince
274the current pope, Clement VII, that the dispensation of his predecessor
275was inadequate.&amp;nbsp; It directly contradicted the Bible and had no
276merit.&amp;nbsp; This should have been a simple enough matter.&amp;nbsp; Royal
277marriages had been annulled for far less.&amp;nbsp; But Katharine's nephew,
278Charles V, was the Holy Roman Emperor and he had no intention of
279allowing his aunt to be cast off.&amp;nbsp; This was not out of personal
280love or loyalty, but a purely political stance.&amp;nbsp; And after the
2811527 'sack of Rome', Charles controlled the pope.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
282 &lt;p&gt;Henry was soon thwarted, despite extensive work by Wolsey and
283other advisers.&amp;nbsp; For her part, Katharine was kept in the dark for
284as long as the king could manage it.&amp;nbsp; But she was no fool.&amp;nbsp;
285She knew of the romance between her husband and Mistress Boleyn; she
286knew Henry avoided her company, though he was scrupulous about
287attending official functions with her.&amp;nbsp; He had always respected
288her unassailable dignity and eloquence.&amp;nbsp; He did not wish to fight
289Katharine; he wanted an amicable end to their union and he was prepared
290to be generous.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
291 &lt;p&gt;When news of his intentions became official, she was given
292counsel but only that chosen by the king.&amp;nbsp; She turned to the
293Spanish ambassador and close friends at court for support.&amp;nbsp; Anne
294Boleyn was not popular and Katharine was a respected and beloved
295queen.&amp;nbsp; The king soon came under popular scorn for his
296plans.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
297 &lt;p&gt;But Henry was as firmly convinced of the righteousness of his
298cause as Katharine was of hers.&amp;nbsp; He had read the Bible; he had
299debated the issue with prominent theologians; he even sponsored
300hearings of the case at European universities.&amp;nbsp; Both king and pope
301knew there was a valid basis for the annulment, and a pressing national
302need for it.&amp;nbsp; Clement could have granted it without troubling his
303conscience.&amp;nbsp; And with the spread of Lutheranism in the German
304states, Clement had no wish to antagonize the loyal and devoted king of
305England.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
306 &lt;p&gt;But the English king could not be helped at the Holy Roman Emperor's
307 expense.&amp;nbsp; This was soon made abundantly clear.&lt;/p&gt;
308 &lt;p&gt;The pope prevaricated; he could do little else.&amp;nbsp; And for
309several years, the 'King's Great Matter' consumed England and
310fascinated Europe.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
311 &lt;p&gt;Henry inevitably tired of the endless parade of papal legates
312and repetitious hearings.&amp;nbsp; He was growing older and Anne was
313growing impatient.&amp;nbsp; Her youth was being wasted to no purpose, she
314told the king.&amp;nbsp; Meanwhile, Katharine encouraged Mary to be
315obstinate in protecting her rights as princess.&amp;nbsp; Mary lost her
316father's favor and was forbidden to visit her mother.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
317 &lt;p&gt;Finally, in 1533, Henry did the only thing he could to end the
318marriage - he rejected the authority of the Holy See and declared
319himself Supreme Head of a new Church of England.&amp;nbsp; His archbishop
320of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, issued the long-awaited decree of
321nullity.&amp;nbsp; Katharine was no longer queen of England but 'Princess
322dowager of Wales'.&amp;nbsp; Princess Mary was now illegitimate, and rumors
323spread that Anne Boleyn had finally succumbed to the king and was
324pregnant.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
325 &lt;p&gt; Katharine was exiled from court and to a
326succession of damp and unpleasant castles.&amp;nbsp; She had but a handful
327of servants for few would call her queen and she refused to be called
328princess.&amp;nbsp; It was a mark of her early education that she was meek,
329deeply pious and believed in obedience to her husband - but she was
330also a proud and intelligent princess of Spain.&amp;nbsp; She would never
331allow her dignity, or that of her daughter, to be destroyed.&amp;nbsp; In
332the end, this stubborn spirit did both her and Mary far more harm than
333good.&amp;nbsp; Katharine was undoubtedly truthful when she declared her
334marriage to Arthur unconsummated but the truth was cold comfort in the
335last years of her life.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
336 &lt;p&gt;Her final years were lonely and sad; the Spanish ambassador kept
337her informed of outside events and smuggled letters to her daughter,
338but she was often ill and at prayer.&amp;nbsp; The wrongs she had suffered
339from Henry filled her with sadness rather than anger.&amp;nbsp; Perhaps she
340was inspired by her motto, Humble and Loyal, for that is how she
341remained.&lt;/p&gt;
342 &lt;p&gt;She died at Kimbolton Castle on 7 January 1536, three weeks
343after her fiftieth birthday.&amp;nbsp; There were rumors that she had been
344poisoned.&amp;nbsp; But if Henry had been so inclined, he would have
345attempted it years before and spared himself much trouble.&amp;nbsp; A
346lingering illness and the psychological effects of her exile were the
347obvious causes.&amp;nbsp; She was buried at Peterborough Abbey with all the
348ceremony befitting the widow of the prince of Wales.&amp;nbsp; Henry did
349not attend the funeral; we do not know if he read Katharine's &lt;a
350 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fletters.html&quot;&gt;last letter&lt;/a&gt; to
351him.&amp;nbsp; It was a love letter and she signed it 'Katherine the
352Queen'.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
353 &lt;p&gt;The tragedy of their annulment was that both he and Katharine
354were equally convinced of their causes.&amp;nbsp; For the modern reader,
355both arguments are persuasive.&amp;nbsp; It is an ironic footnote to her
356life story that Katharine, such a devoted and pious Catholic,
357unintentionally brought the Reformation to England.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;
358&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
359 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
360 &lt;center&gt;
361 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;&lt;a
362 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fwives.html&quot;&gt;to the Six
363Wives main page&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt; &lt;br&gt;
364 &lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor.html&quot;&gt;to
365Tudor England&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
366 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;&lt;a
367 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;/p&gt;
368 &lt;/center&gt;
369&lt;/blockquote&gt;
370
371&lt;!-- text below generated by server. PLEASE REMOVE --&gt;&lt;!-- Counter/Statistics data collection code --&gt;&lt;script language=&quot;JavaScript&quot; src=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fhostingprod.com%2fjs%5fsource%2fgeov2.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script language=&quot;javascript&quot;&gt;geovisit();&lt;/script&gt;&lt;noscript&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;el=direct&amp;amp;href=http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1108082566&quot; alt=&quot;setstats&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; height=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;/noscript&gt;
372&lt;IMG SRC=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;el=direct&amp;amp;href=http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=76001524&amp;t=1108082566&quot; ALT=1 WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=1&gt;
373</Content>
374</Section>
375</Archive>
Note: See TracBrowser for help on using the repository browser.