Today Catherine of Aragon is considered a tragic victim of King Henry VIII.
She did not lose her head inside the Tower of London like Anne Boleyn or Catherine Howard,
but the way that the King treated his first wife was nothing short of disgusting.
He and Anne would celebrate her death in a disgraceful spectacle, and ultimately Catherine’s
downfall was brought by the King’s wandering eye and his determination for a male heir.
Her split from the King forced Henry VIII to break from Rome, and declare himself the
Supreme Head of the Church of England and also turn his back on the Pope.
But Henry forced his first wife out of the royal apartments, and then for the rest of
her life practically held her as a prisoner of the crown, being housed in various royal
houses with restricted freedom.
But Catherine of Aragon’s story is centred around the fact she could not provide Henry
VIII with his greatly wanted male heir and successor.
It would be Jane Seymour his third wife who provided the notorious Tudor King his heir,
Edward VI.
But Catherine did give birth to a daughter, the oldest child of Henry VIII a daughter
called Mary who would go on to become Queen, being known as Bloody Mary I.
But what is the story of Catherine’s other pregnancies?
Throughout the centuries, many historians have debated the number of pregnancies that
Catherine of Aragon experienced.
Some claim it was six, and some even consider that she may have fallen pregnant 10 times.
Catherine may not have known that she was pregnant until she had missed her period,
or missed several periods.
Another give away of pregnancy was that the Tudor Queen may have felt a baby moving or
kicking in her womb around 4 or 5 months pregnant which was known as the quickening.
Today it’s easy for a woman to find out if there pregnant, and this can be determined
in a matter of minutes from a few weeks onwards.
But there was great pressure and hope on Catherine of Aragon to provide the future heirs for
the Tudor dynasty for centuries it was hoped.
In Medieval England the English Crown had only been held by men, and it was believed
that women were physically and mentally inferior to men.
Women were expected to be pure and chaste until when they had a husband, when they would
try and produce a child for her husband.
It was especially desired for a son during the Tudor Period, and if a woman could not
provide a healthy child, it was considered her fault.
Women were blamed for not giving birth to healthy children and sons, and in particular
there must have been a huge pressure on Catherine of Aragon to give birth to a son.
It was at the time her duty to do so, and to provide Henry VIII her husband with the
heir to carry on the Tudor blood line.
But it’s mostly believed that Catherine had six pregnancies, and only one of these
would be considered successful and only one child lived past infancy.
The first pregnancy she had resulted in a child being born on the 31st January 1510,
shortly after she married Henry VIII.
There was great hope for the first royal child and the heir, but 7 months into her pregnancy,
Catherine gave birth to a stillborn daughter.
On the 27th May 1510, someone wrote to her father King Ferdinand of Spain that, ‘Some
days before was delivered of a daughter.
That her child was stillborn was considered to be a misfortune in England.
Has therefore not written sooner or permitted any other person to send the news of her confinement.
Begs him not to be angry with her, for it has been the will of God.
She and the King her husband are cheerful.
Thanks God and him that he has given her such a husband as the King of England.’
But many were hopeful that as the King and Queen were young, their time would come.
On the 1st January 1511, Catherine gave birth to a baby boy named Henry after his father.
Across England there were huge celebrations.
Henry VIII had got what he wanted, a healthy son and all across the land bells tolled in
churches for the new heir to the throne.
A huge ceremony was held at Westminster with a celebratory joust, to mark the heir’s
birth.
But at the age of 52 days old, the young boy Prince Henry tragically died and with this
the royal family were distraught.
In September 1513, Catherine gave birth to another son, and a record stated that, ‘a
male heir was born to the King or England and will inherit the crown, the other son
having died.’
However it’s believed that this child was alive when born, but shortly after passed
away.
It was believed that Henry VIII was in France when Catherine was giving birth, and was not
due to return to England until the following month.
But it’s likely that the King would not have gone away when a child was likely to
have born, meaning that its most probably that Catherine went into labour a while before
her due date, possibly a few months early.
In November 1514, Catherine gave birth to another son, and it was said, ‘The Queen
has been delivered of a stillborn male child of eight months to the very great grief of
the whole court.’
By this time it’s likely that Henry VIII would be growing frustrated with his wife.
But on the fifth attempt, Catherine gave birth to a daughter who was christened Mary.
Mary became the Queen of England later on in 1553, and became the first female monarch
to rule England.
However Catherine of Aragon’s final pregnancy it’s believed took place on the 9th November
1518.
She gave birth to a stillborn daughter, and once again she had delivered a child around
a month too early.
But Catherine of Aragon throughout her pregnancies had delivered 5 children who tragically died.
The amount of pregnancies and the tragic loss of them took a great toll on the Queen and
after November 1518 she had no more children.
It’s not known why she lost so many of her children, but during the Tudor Period it was
very dangerous to give birth for mother and also child.
It was not unusual for children to die young, and it was reported that only 40% of all children
lived into adulthood and were healthy.
There were reports at the time that Henry VIII was infertile and incapable of creating
a strong son, and these rumours plagued him and his mind.
He may have been infertile in his final years, but this wasn’t the case during his first
marriage.
One thing that may have affected Catherine’s pregnancies was the fact she was known for
being devoutly catholic and religious, and she fasted regularly which could have prevented
her children from getting the correct nutrition that they needed.
But the story of Catherine of Aragon’s lost children is incredibly sad and tragic, and
it must have been very traumatic for her.
She ultimately had a tragic end at the hands of her husband Henry VIII and his second wife
Anne Boleyn.
She was cast aside and banished from court, and spent the last few years of her life prevented
from speaking to her daughter Mary I as her husband the King forced them apart.
Catherine and Mary would have been allowed to see and write to each other if they accepted
Anne Boleyn as the rightful Queen, but both were too proud to accept this.
Catherine of Aragon died a very lonely woman inside of Kimbolton Castle, and is remembered
as the tragic first wife of King Henry VIII.
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