Catherine of Aragon to Henry VIII of England
    Weak and approaching death, Catherine of Aragon, the Spanish princess and former wife of Henry VIII, dictated her last letter to him. She began with a wifely admonition, and ended with a loving plea to see him again,

"mine eyes desire you above all things."
A few hours later she died, according to her chaplain still asking God's pardon for,

"the kind her husband, for the wrong he had done her."
    Catherine was the youngest daughter of the powerful Spanish rulers, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, and had an important part to play in Spanish policy. Catherine was to cement an alliance with England by marrying the heir to the throne, Prince Arthur, the elder son of Henry VII. On October 2, 1501, she landed at Plymouth in England, and married Arthur a month later--he was 14 and she was 16. Within six months Arthur lay dead in Ludlow Castle, the victim of an epidemic.
    Henry VII was reluctant to lose the alliance with Spain and determined not to return Catherine's dowry, so it was decided that she would marry Prince Henry, Arthur's younger brother. He was only 11 years old and 14 was the minimum legal age for marriage, so Catherine waited, at mercy of the gossip-ridden English court, while European politics shifted behind the scenes. Through her years of widowhood Prince Henry was one of Catherine's few regular visitors and a genuine affection grew up between them. As Henry VII began to regret the promised marriage and seek other allies, his son began to desire the match for love, not for political advantage. By the time the prince was 17, the couple were still not married. Then, in 1509, just as Catherine was making preparations to return to Spain, the old king died, and young Henry ascended to the throne. Exercising his new authority, he married Catherine almost immediately.

"If I were still free, I would choose her for my wife before all other,"
wrote Henry VIII to his father-in-law, Ferdinand.
    Early in 1510, Catherine's first pregnancy ended, as did so many in the Tudor age, with a stillborn baby. On January 1, 1511 she gave birth to a baby boy, who died seven weeks later. This pattern repeated itself; in spite of Catherine's many pregnancies, only one child, Mary, survived. The lack of an heir was a constant anxiety, but in all other respects the king and queen seemed an ideal and loving couple. Visiting the English court in 1520, Eramus wrote:

"What family of citizens offers so clear an example of strict and harmonious wedlock?"
    Then in the spring of 1526 Henry became infatuated with Anne Boleyn, one of Catherine's ladies-in-waiting. He had had affairs before, but Anne resisted Henry's advances, insisting on marriage first. Henry had needed the pope's dispensation to marry Catherine, since marriage to a brother's widow was forbidden without special permission. Now Henry argued that his expedient marriage to Catherine had broken God's law. He feared--or said he feared--that he had been punished by God for this transgression through the death of his male children. Through long hours of cross-examination Catherine defended her status, emphasizing her devotion and loyalty,

"I love and have loved my lord the king as much as any woman can love a man, but I would not have borne him company as his wife one moment against the voice of my conscience."
While the pope delayed in Rome, Henry subdued objections in parliament and the English church. However, he seemed reluctant to say anything that attacked Catherine personally. Throughout the legal battles he praised the queen as a lady,

"against whom no word could be spoken."
He continued,

"If it be adjudged that the Queen is my lawful wife, nothing will be more pleasant or more acceptable to me...If I were to marry again, I would choose her above all women."
If, however, the marriage were ruled unlawful,

"...then shall I sorrow, parting from so good a lady and loving companion."
    On July 11, 1531, Henry rode out from Windsor to go hunting--Catherine never saw him again. Satisfied with the decisions he had forced from the church in England, Henry married anne Boleyn in secret. She was crowned queen with full public splendor on June 1, 1533, when she was already six months pregnant. Henry believed that God showed approval through the pregnancy, and confidently expected a son, but Anne gave birth to a baby girl, the future Elizabeth I. Henry was devastated, and a worse blow was to follow. In March 1534, the pope declared Catherine's marriage with Henry still valid. He had left himself no choice but to reject the pope's authority. English statesmen and clerics who refused to accept reform were executed. Catherine, though spared execution, was cut off from all but a few loyal friends and servants. She died on January 7, 1536.
    A few months later, Anne was executed for adultery. Within 24 hours, Henry married his third wife, Jane Seymour. His 22 year marriage to Catherine had been based on loyalty and affection. The rapid succession of marriages that followed (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived) suggested that Henry never found that stability again.





Text from
Famous Love Letters
Messages of Intimacy and Passion
Edited by Ronald Tamplin