Sometime during the night of the 15th/16th December 1485 Catherine of Aragon, or Catalina de Aragón as she was known in Spain, was born at the recently reformed fortified palace at Alcalá de Henares, a town just east of Madrid in Spain. She was the daughter of Queen Isabel I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragón and would become the first wife of Henry VIII and the mother of Mary I.
Catherine was named after her maternal great-grandmother, Catalina of Castile (or Catherine of Lancaster), who was the daughter of John of Gaunt and his second wife, Constance of Castile.
You can read all about Catherine in the articles on our Catherine of Aragon Bio page
Happy 527th Birthday KoA!!!!!:)
I wonder if Henry VIII’s later treatment of Catherine was due to her possibly having a better claim to the English throne than he had (on his father’s side, Henry was descended from John of Gaunt through his third wife; when urging Charles V to make war on Henry, Chapuys noted that Henry’s grandfather Edward IV was pre-contracted to another when he married Henry’s grandmother, making Henry’s mother illegitimate).
Happy birthday to te late Queen of England!! I feel sad for her final years but ath the same time i really like Anne Boleyne!! I really enjoy this website not only for all the stories on Anne but the Tudor Dynasty!! Great job finally we have great information on everybody from Henry VIII to Elisabeth 1!! Well done!!
Great post, but that’s a portrait of Catherine’s sister Juana/Joanna.
No, the Museo Thyssen- Bornemisza in Madrid, who have the portrait by Juan de Flandes believe that it is Catherine, although they can’t be 100% sure – see http://www.museothyssen.org/en/thyssen/ficha_obra/323
The description says it was probably his other sister, Maria. Although there have always been questions about this picture.
That’s a good point Esther. I do remember reading something about Henry VII thinking that marrying Arthur to Catherine would help strengthen the Tudor claim on the throne.
I have such mixed feeling about this Queen! On one hand I feel great sympathy for her because she was a brave and loyal woman who was treated horribly by her spouse, but I dislike the fact she was willing to martyr her daughter rather than give up her title. Either way, I have to admit her life makes for fascinating reading.
I think Katherine was trying to in fact protect her daughter’s right to be Queen after Henry. Although as a parent Given the option of having my marriage declare null and void and protecting my daughter as legitamate, i think I would have taken it. But let’s look at what Katherine went through right after Arthur’s death at the hands of the Tudors. She doubted their sincerty. So in reality, Katherine took the only path available to her to make sue Mary was Reconized as the heir to the throne and legitimate. I giveherall the credit in the world, she was as brave as Anne and i feel if Anne was in the same shoes she would have acted the same!
Her life was very interesting, i wish she never married Henry viii. But stuff happens.
Henry VIII has only one wife. Happy Birthday Queen Katherine.