On this day in history, 11th June 1509, just under two months after his accession to the throne of England, seventeen-year-old King Henry VIII married twenty-three-year-old Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, and the widow of Henry’s brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales.
The couple got married in the Queen’s Closet at Greenwich Palace in a private and low key ceremony, due to the fact that their lavish joint coronation was scheduled to take place on 24th June, the Feast of St John and Midsummer’s Day. Only two people stood as witnesses to the wedding ceremony: George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury and Lord Steward of the King’s Household, and William Thomas, a groom of the Privy Chamber.
Little did Henry VIII know that this was to be the first of six weddings for him!
