The Year of Isabella I of Castile – Catherine of Aragon, “No woman could be more agreeable” (Part two)

Read part one here.

However, she was still very malnourished from all the fasting she had done, and she died within an hour of giving birth. A historian at court wrote to the Archbishop of Braga, “The mother [Queen Isabella] was large, while the daughter [Isabella] was so consumed by her thinness that she did not have the strength to resist the birth… Scarcely had the child emerged from her uterus than the mother’s spirit was extinguished… Despite this, let’s fix it so that this tragic tale ends with a (more) musical refrain. There is compensation for so much misfortune, an important lightener to such a deep pain: she gave birth to a son.”¹

Her son was named Miguel de la Paz, and he was granted Aragonese succession rights on top of the rights he had in Castile and Portugal. He was a sickly child and Manuel left him in the care of Queen Isabella while he returned to Portugal. On 19 July 1500, Queen Isabella held her young grandson as he, too, died. This left Joanna as the next heir.

Over the years, Catherine had waited for her own marriage as she watched her siblings leave. In 1497, she signed her own name to some new terms concerning her marriage contract. The formal betrothal took place at Woodstock Palace on 15 August 1497, and Catherine was represented by Ambassador de Puebla. A proxy ceremony took place on 19 May 1499 at Tickenhill Manor. Arthur “was very much rejoiced to contract with Catherine … in indissoluble marriage, not only in obedience to the Pope and King Henry but also for his deep and sincere love for the princess, his wife.”² Meanwhile, Catherine and Arthur exchanged letters in Latin. Surprisingly, no effort was made to teach Catherine English. Following the tragic death of John, Catherine’s parents insisted on a new clause in the contract. Catherine’s dowry, which was meant to be paid ten days after the wedding, was now moved to be paid ten days after the consummation, implying that there may be some delay in the consummation. King Henry apparently suggested some compromise, where the marriage was consummated on the day of the wedding, but Arthur would then “separate himself from her for two or three years because it is said in some way the prince is frail.”³ After Arthur’s 14th birthday, a second wedding ceremony was held on 22 November 1500.

As the year 1501 began, Catherine’s departure was now being carefully prepared. Her elaborate trousseau consisted of skirts, veils, brocades and laces. Isabella also packed a christening gown for her future grandchildren. Catherine was to be accompanied by 150 people, but King Henry objected to the size of the entourage and gave a list of 20 positions that should be filled. He also requested that her ladies should be “of gentle birth and beautiful or, at the least, by no means ugly.”⁴

On 21 May 1501, Catherine left the Alhambra with a household of 55. Her mother was already in “ill health”, and they said their farewells in Granada.⁵ They would never see each other again. Isabella had written to King Henry, asking him to treat her “as their true daughter.” ⁶ Catherine set sail from Corunna, and they spent six weeks making the dangerous crossing. Early on, they were hit by a storm, and one of the ships was lost to the sea. She arrived at Plymouth on 2 October 1501. Her first request was to be taken to the local parish church to give thanks.

The entourage headed to Exeter the following day, which took them a couple of days. In Exeter, she received a letter from King Henry in which he requested that she regard him “henceforth as your good and loving father, as familiarly as you would do the king and queen your parents, for on our part we are determined to treat, receive and favour you like our own daughter, and in no wise more, or less dearly, than any of our own children.”⁷ As Catherine headed to London, King Henry rode to meet her. At the same time, Arthur departed from Ludlow Castle. They met her at Dogmersfield House on 6 November, where they surprised her Spanish entourage. They were under strict instructions that Catherine should have no “manner of communication or company with Prince Arthur or his family, or to be seen unveiled, until the morning of the wedding day.”⁸

King Henry insisted on seeing Catherine, finding that the Spanish customs had no jurisdiction in England. Catherine found it more diplomatic to see him and asked only for a little time to prepare herself. He was pleased with her and considered it an “honourable meeting.”⁹ He quickly brought Arthur to meet her, and they finally met face to face after years of writing to each other in Latin. Communication proved difficult; she spoke no English, Henry and Arthur spoke no Spanish, and they found that they had different pronunciations of Latin. Arthur would later write to Catherine’s parents that he had “never felt so much joy” as when he “beheld the sweet face of his bride” and that “no woman in the world could be more agreeable to him.”¹⁰

The following day, King Henry and Arthur left for London and Catherine followed behind slowly. On 12 November, they arrived at Lambeth Palace. That day, she would also meet her second husband, Arthur’s brother Henry. Slowly, Catherine proceeded from St George’s Field to London Bridge. Her entry into the city had been planned long before, and she was joyously welcomed with pageants and other festivities. On the 13th, Catherine finally met her mother-in-law, Elizabeth of York.

Part three coming soon.

1. Isabella of Castile by Giles Tremlett p.405
2. Catherine of Aragon by Amy Licence p.67
3. Catherine of Aragon by Amy Licence p.70
4. Catherine of Aragon by Amy Licence p.73
5. Isabella, The Warrior Queen by Kirstin Downey378
6. Isabella of Castile: the first Renaissance queen by Nancy Rubin Stuart p. 390
7. Catherine of Aragon by Amy Licence p.73
8. Catherine of Aragon by Amy Licence p.86
9. Catherine of Aragon by Amy Licence p.88
10. Catherine of Aragon by Amy Licence p.91