Claire | May 11, 2023
Henry VIII’s great matter, his quest for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, caused him to break with Rome and was the beginning of the English Reformation. However, Henry chose to marry Catherine in 1509 and their marriage was happy for many years. In this talk, I explore how they came to […]
Claire | January 7, 2023
On this day in Tudor history, 7th January 1536, at two o’clock in the afternoon, King Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, who had been demoted to Dowager Princess of Wales, died at Kimbolton Castle. Catherine had been ill for several months, but had felt worse after drinking a draught of Welsh beer in […]
Claire | December 16, 2022
Today is the anniversary of the birth of Queen Catherine of Aragon, first wife of King Henry VIII and mother of Queen Mary I. Catalina de Aragón was born during the night of 15th/16th December 1485 at Alcalá de Henares in Spain. She was the daughter of Isabella (Isabel) I of Castile and Ferdinand (Fernando) […]
Claire | October 7, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 7th October 1529, in the reign of King Henry VIII, the pope wrote to the English king regarding his quest for an annulment of his marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. It wasn’t good news for Henry VIII. Pope Clement VII had decided that Henry VIII’s marriage […]
Claire | September 29, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 29th September 1528, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio landed at Dover on the south coast of England. Campeggio had been sent as a papal legate to hear Henry VIII’s case for annulment along with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who’d been made the pope’s vice-regent. The […]
Claire | September 27, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 27th September 1501, in the reign of King Henry VII, Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, set sail from Laredo in Spain. Catherine was headed for England to marry Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, eldest son and heir of King Henry […]
Claire | July 3, 2022
This day in Tudor history, 3rd July 1533, was a bad day for Catherine of Aragon, first wife of King Henry VIII. Not only did Catherine have a sore foot from treading on a pin and a bad cough, but she was also told that she had to stop calling herself queen. Catherine was not […]
Claire | June 21, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 21st June 1529, ten days after her 20th wedding anniversary, Queen Catherine of Aragon appeared at the Legatine Court at Blackfriars and delivered an impassioned speech which stole the show. This court was hearing the case for the annulment of Catherine’s marriage to the king, and Catherine was going […]
