Was Catherine of Aragon the Wife King Henry Loved Most?

King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Their love story is often overshadowed by their plenteous troubles. Catherine’s many miscarriages, King Henry’s numerous affairs, their shared inability to create an heir to the throne, his ongoing and obsessive pursuit of Anne Boleyn, and his split from the Roman Catholic Church. These are just a few of the things for which Henry and Catherine are now best remembered.

Perhaps it is time to forget these problems for a moment and instead, venture back to the very beginning of their 25-year marriage.  In this article, we will reimagine the loyal, love-struck 17-year-old King and his beautiful 23-year-old bride. We will attempt to understand their relationship as it appeared at the very height of their happiness.

“Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived.” 

In this catchy jingle, Catherine of Aragon is represented by the first word — divorced. Partly thanks to rhymes such as these, Catherine’s memory has been tainted permanently by her ultimate undoing.

She was the woman who married Prince Henry’s brother, Arthur Tudor. She was the woman who, seven years and one royal death later, married the newly styled King Henry. She was the woman who failed to provide England with an heir; the woman who lost her youth, beauty, and fertility; the woman who lost her husband to Anne Boleyn; the woman who accidentally prompted the split between the Roman Catholic Church and Reformation England.

Yes, this is how Catherine of Aragon is remembered in the 21st century. But originally, back in the year 1509, and before any of these woes had occurred, she was known as something else altogether. She was the woman who held King Henry’s heart. She was the woman who was the undoubted love of his life.

But with 21st-century hindsight, we may now perceive that when it comes to the question of which of King Henry’s wives was his favorite, Catherine of Aragon had more than a little competition.

As we now know, Catherine of Aragon was the first in a long line of women to have the honor of being called King Henry’s wife and Queen of England. Little did she know at the beginning of her marriage, five women (Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr) were all yet to take her place.

But she needn’t have been too concerned; all the other wives would suffer a similar fate to her. Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard would be beheaded. Jane Seymour suffered an agonizing death in childbirth. Anne of Cleeves would share in Catherine’s misfortune by way of Royal divorce. Catherine Parr would survive King Henry but would die a year later, nonetheless.

But before all these well-known 16th-century events occurred, Catherine of Aragon and her husband had much happiness to experience. She was married to King Henry for nearly 25 years. The wedding took place on the 11th of June in 1509, in the Queen’s Closet at Greenwich Palace.

According to the Calendar of State Papers, King Henry was asked, “Most illustrious Prince, is it your will to fulfil the treaty of marriage concluded by your father, the late King of England, and the parents of the Princess of Wales, the King and Queen of Spain; and as the Pope has dispensed with this marriage, to take the Princess who is here present for your lawful wife?” King Henry answered, “I will.” Catherine was asked the same, and she also gave her consent.

At the time of their wedding, Catherine was already considered to be much older than King Henry. She was 23, and he was just about to turn 18. However, although she had suffered much hardship since the death of her first husband, Arthur Tudor, she was still more than capable of holding the attention of the young and energetic King Henry.

The month of June—probably the most significant of King Henry’s life—continued in a similar fashion. The newlywed couple were crowned king and queen of England in a joint ceremony at Westminster Abbey just a few weeks later, on the 24th of June. Four days following that, King Henry celebrated his birthday.

So, how long did this happy union actually last? Well, that would depend on who you were talking to. King Henry would say that it ended with their annulment on the 23rd of May in 1533. However, Catherine would almost certainly maintain that she had been his true and legitimate wife from the moment they took their vows until the moment she took her last breath in 1536.

Whichever way you look at it, the fact remains that King Henry was married to Catherine of Aragon for a longer length of time than he was married to his other five wives put together. Throughout this marriage, as far as we know, Catherine of Aragon was pregnant six times. She miscarried a daughter at approximately six months in 1510. On the 22nd of February in 1511, Henry, her firstborn son, died suddenly after just one month of life. Her second and third sons were either miscarried or stillborn in September 1513 and then December 1514.

On the 18th of February in 1516, Mary, her first surviving child and future queen of England was born.

To find out more about Catherine of Aragon and her relationship with King Henry, we must first look back to her early life, and attempt to discover what made her the woman and queen she later became.

Catherine of Aragon was born in the early hours of the morning on the 16th of December, 1485. Her life began at the Archbishop’s Palace of Alcala de Henares near Madrid. This mighty residence had been commissioned nearly 300 years earlier, in 1209, by Archbishop Ximenez de Rada, as a temporary home of the Archbishops of Toledo.

At the moment of her birth, Catherine of Aragon was granted one of her most famous titles; Infanta of Spain. In both Spain and Portugal, this Royal honor is usually granted to every child of a reigning Monarch. In Spain, unlike other European Monarchies, only the heir to the throne had the right to be called Prince or Princess. In 1368, it had been stated by Royal Decree that “the children of the King who do not have the status of Prince of Princess of Asturias and the children of the said Prince or Princess are Infantas of Spain, and receive the style of Royal Highness.”

Catherine of Aragon’s lineage was impressive to say the least. Her father was King Ferdinand II of Aragon and her mother was his wife, Isabella I of Castile. Together, Ferdinand and Isabella were the ultimate power in 16th-century Europe.

Catherine also shared close relations with the English Royal family and she was descended on her mother’s side from the House of Lancaster. Catherine’s great-grandmother was Catherine of Lancaster, and her great-great-grandmother was Philipa of Lancaster.

Philipa of Lancaster was a daughter of John of Gaunt, and therefore a granddaughter of King Edward III of England. This means that Catherine of Aragon was the third cousin of her future father-in-law, King Henry VII of England, and a fourth cousin of her future mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth of York.

Catherine of Aragon was the fourth and last child in the Aragon-Castile nursery, and consequently, she grew up as the youngest member of the Spanish Royal family. Her siblings were Isabella (1470-1498), John Princes of Asturias (1478-1497), Joanna future Queen of Castile (1479-1555), and Maria (1482-1517).

Catherine of Aragon made her first appearance before ambassadors from England on a notable day in March 1489, at the age of just three. Two Englishmen, named Richard Nanfan and Thomas Savage, were being presented to Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile at Medina del Campo in the Province of Valladolid.

Surrounded by 14 Maids of Honor, Catherine’s elder sister danced for the ambassadors in the hope of impressing them with their courtly skills. The following day, the whole royal nursery was present at a bullfight, during which Catherine was reported to have watched from her mother’s lap.

Catherine of Aragon spent much of her later childhood in the schoolroom. Her tutor was Alessandro Geraldini (1455-1524), who worked as a Clerk in Holy Orders but is now best remembered as a humanist scholar.

During her time with Geraldini, Catherine of Aragon studied and became proficient in a wide range of subjects. She studied the academic subjects of arithmetic, canon law, and civil law. She also studied the classics, classical literature, philosophy, and mythology and she studied languages — French, Greek, Castilian Spanish. She studied the past: history, heraldry, and genealogy.

Catherine of Aragon even learned the traditional, domestic skills: embroidery, cooking, lace making, sewing, spinning, music, dancing, and drawing.

Obviously, she was carefully educated in good manners and court etiquette. Like all children, Catherine enjoyed some subjects more than others. The great scholar Erasmus stated that she “loved good literature which she had studied with success since childhood.”

It was thanks to her enviable education and exceptional ability that Catherine of Aragon, of all of the wives of King Henry VIII, was the best prepared for life as queen of England.

Of course, it was originally not Henry Tudor but Arthur Tudor whose Queen she was supposed to have been. That, perhaps, is a story for another day.

Although we will never be able to determine to what extent King Henry loved Catherine of Aragon, (we can hardly ask him now), what we can do is attempt to delve deeper into his thoughts and feelings by examining the historical evidence we do have.

Firstly, King Henry was known to adore beautiful women, and Catherine of Aragon was reported to have possessed great beauty.

Unfortunately and extremely unfairly, Catherine of Aragon is often remembered as a woman who lost the affection of her husband upon growing older and losing her youthful appearance.

It should be noted that, in her youth, Catherine was described as “the most beautiful creature in the world.” It was said that there was “nothing lacking in her that the most beautiful girls should have.” Thomas More reflected that “there were few women who could compete with Queen Catherine in her prime.”

King Henry and Catherine of Aragon were well-matched in the way of appearances. In her book, The Six Wives Of King Henry VIII, the historian Alison Weir describes King Henry as “a man of great physical beauty; he was magnificent to look upon, being lean and muscular, with an extremely fine calf to his leg, of which he was inordinately proud.” Eustace Chapuys also commented on the King’s appearance, stating that “there is no finer youth in the world.”

Secondly, King Henry publicly proclaimed his affection for Catherine.

On the first day of January in 1511, Catherine of Aragon was safely delivered to the Prince. The Tudor Court broke forth into celebration, and King Henry spared no expense when planning his festivities. The Royal couple called their baby Henry and gave him the title of Duke of Cornwall from his birth.

One fact that is particularly relevant to King Henry and Catherine’s love story is how he chose to style himself during this period. In typical Tudor fashion, he considered that there would be no better way to mark the arrival of his first living son than with a joust. He went as far as to put on the most magnificent jousting display of his entire reign.

Making several signs of devotion to his wife, King Henry dressed in Catherine’s colors, rode out with the initials H&C on his armor, and even tilted under the name Sir Loyal Heart. These three things combined sent one clear message to the Court: he was Catherine’s husband, and he loved her deeply.

The third piece of evidence: King Henry trusted her as regent.

Catherine of Aragon was one of two wives King Henry trusted enough to leave in charge of the kingdom in his absence. Most notably, in 1513, Catherine served competently as regent for six months while King Henry was away in France. She certainly did her husband proud; during her regency, she oversaw an English victory against Scotland at the Battle of Flodden. It was a difficult but successful period of Catherine’s life.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica tells us that “for some years the couple lived happily; Catherine matched the breadth of her husband’s intellectual interests, and she was a competent regent while he was campaigning against the French” (1512-14). 

The fourth piece of evidence is that King Henry listened to Catherine of Aragon’s advice and responded to her pleas.

On the morning of the 5th of May in 1517, a crowd of nearly 300 recently arrested men were brought by force into Westminster Hall to attend an audience with King Henry. All these men had one thing in common: they had all taken part in the May Day riots just four hours earlier. Once gathered together, all they could do was await Royal judgment, and pray that their punishment would not be too severe.

King Henry immediately declared that he would condemn all 300 men to death. However, there was a woman present at Westminster Hall who had the courage to go against her husband’s decision and suggest an alternative.

Seeing the sorrow and fear that had consumed the crowd, Catherine of Aragon decided to make an appeal. As easily as if it had been rehearsed, she stood, walked slowly to the King, stood directly before the throne, fell to her knees, and proceeded to beg for compassion on behalf of the men.

Eventually, King Henry relented and agreed to change his mind. He announced that only 15 of the 300 should be executed and that only the men responsible for starting the riot would be condemned to death.

When the announcement was made, the crowd jumped for joy and cheered for mercy. 

Finally, the fifth piece of evidence: King Henry mourned her after her death.

Catherine of Aragon died at Kimbolton Castle in January 1536. The following day, news of her death reached King Henry, Anne Boleyn, and the rest of the Tudor Court.

Eustace Chapuys, the Spanish Ambassador, reported that King Henry wore yellow. This fact could be interpreted in two ways; either he was celebrating the news with bright colors traditionally associated with happiness, or he was showing his respect by wearing the traditional color of mourning in Spain. As King Henry is known to have wept privately for her death, we may consider the latter suggestion as a more likely reason for his choice.

Catherine of Aragon died on the 7th of January 1536. In the early hours of the morning, sensing what was soon to come, Catherine had requested the company of her priest. George de Athequa, the Bishop of Llandaff, had listened to the final confession of his mistress and administered communion. It is also believed that during these final hours of Catherine’s, de Athequa helped her compose her final letter to King Henry.

It was in this final letter that she wrote powerfully of her undying love for King Henry. “The hour of my death now drawing on,” she began, “the tender love I owe you forces me, my case being such, to commend myself to you.” She spoke of her forgiveness for his sins against her, stating “I pardon you everything, and wish to devoutly pray God that he will pardon you also.” She finished her letter with the words, “Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things.” She signed herself “Catherine the Queen.”

We do not know whether this letter was well received by King Henry, but we may imagine that these words may very well have brought tears, guilt, and perhaps even a little regret.

A few weeks later, on the 29th of January, Catherine of Aragon’s body was laid to rest at Peterborough Abbey, which is now called Peterborough Cathedral. She was buried as the Dowager Princess of Wales, but her grave is now marked with the words “Catherine, Queen of England.”

Even five centuries after her death, Peterborough Cathedral continues to commemorate the life of Catherine of Aragon each year with dedicated services and an annual program of events.

Her final resting place is very rarely bare; throughout much of the year, it is adorned with flowers, candles, and even pomegranates left by tourists and Tudor history enthusiasts.

Catherine of Aragon’s greatest legacy was undoubtedly her daughter, the future Queen Mary I, who ruled England between July 1553 and November 1558.

Since her death, Catherine of Aragon’s story has been portrayed countless times in a variety of different productions. Just some of the actresses who have had the honor of bringing Catherine to life include Maria Doyle Kennedy (The Tudors, 2007), Ana Torrent (The Other Boleyn Girl, 2008), Joanne Whalley (Wolf Hall, 2015), and Charlotte Hope (The Spanish Princess, 2019).

Catherine of Aragon has even inspired works of modern literary fiction by some of the bestselling authors of our era. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory (2005) and The True Queen by Alison Weir (2016) are just two of the novels in which Catherine features as the heroine.

We can continue to speculate. We can continue to analyze records. We can continue to examine pieces of historical evidence and we can continue to weigh the solid facts against each other. The truth is that we will never really know whether or not Catherine of Aragon was King Henry’s favorite wife. How would it be possible for us to understand what was happening inside the mind of Britain’s most notorious and womanizing King?

However, we may draw a small conclusion of our own. It is quite possible that even if only in a small or particular way, each one of King Henry’s wives was his favorite.

Anne Boleyn might have been the wife with whom he was most infatuated and with whom he shared the most passionate of affairs. Jane Seymour might have been the wife he treasured most; the wife with whom he would happily have spent the rest of his life.

Anne of Cleeves might have been the most traditional choice of wife. Certainly, he would have considered her the best-behaved and most agreeable. Catherine Howard might have been exactly the sort of woman he required as he aged: a woman who brought happiness back into his life and made him feel youthful. Catherine Parr might have been the wife he trusted to care not only for him personally but also for his kingdom and his children.

When it comes to the nature of the relationship between King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, the opinions of historians could not be more varied. Many believe that, even at the beginning of their marriage, King Henry was motivated solely by the political advantage of a Spanish alliance.

Others claim that Catherine was the only wife he ever truly cared for. Some even theorize that, had they been able to produce a living and legitimate heir to the English throne, King Henry and Catherine might have enjoyed a lifelong romance.

Catherine of Aragon left historians in no doubt of her feelings for her husband, but was that love so ardently returned, even if only for a short time? The modern historian must settle upon their own individual answers to questions such as these. However, it cannot be denied that there is plenty of evidence that leads us to believe it might just be true. There really is a genuine possibility that Catherine was the wife King Henry loved most.