catherine d'aragon

Catherine of Aragon is the daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile and Leon and descended maternally and paternally from English kings. Her marriage to Prince Arthur Tudor of Wales aims at sealing a diplomatic alliance between Spain recently unified and England, that both have the French for enemies. Arthur is destined to succeed to his father Henry VII in the royal functions. However, in 1502, only a year after his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Arthur dies of an illness. Katherine stays in England as a widow, although she had to live in poverty for a few years. However, in 1509, Henry VII marries his younger son Henry to Katherine, which can be explained by his will to keep her dowry and the alliance against France. Two months later, Henry VII dies and his son Henry is appointed King Henry VIII of England. The marriage will not last as in 1527, Henry VIII will ask for an annulation of the marriage. Katherine was determined to remain the royal wedded wife and therefore struggles to save the marriage. She does it so well that Henry VIII has to break from Rome and thus become the absolute ruler in all areas in his kingdom. How was she successful in opposing her divorce to Henry VIII? My essay will start by focusing on the causes that led Henry to ask for a divorce before focusing on how he could have it done. Then, I will start looking at what Catherine did in order to save her status as legitimate royal wife analyzing her relationship with Spain and the pressure brought on Rome. I will also look at the long process of decision-making regarding the divorce that proved to be unsuccessful for a long time before the marriage was declared to be valid. Finally, I will focus on Henry's final decision to obtain the divorce.

First of all, Katherine's personal skills and willingness enabled her to defend her marriage. She was completely devoted to her husband and did not hesitate to show to the court that she does not agree with her