Katherine of Aragon

Understanding the Man: Henry VIII (Part Two)

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As many of you may already know, King Henry VIII is my favorite monarch of the Tudor dynasty. If it wasn’t for his reign I do not believe the Tudors would be as popular as they are today. In this episode I continue on my journey to explain the Henry I have learned to love...and hate. With the creation of Showtime’s "THE TUDORS", many of us were aware of the name Henry VIII but really didn’t know much about him. In the show we were able to see that there was more to the [More]

Understanding the Man: Henry VIII (Part One)

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As many of you may already know, King Henry VIII is my favorite monarch of the Tudor dynasty. If it wasn't for his reign I do not believe the Tudors would be as popular as they are today. With the creation of Showtime's THE TUDORS, many of us were aware of the name Henry VIII but really didn't know much about him. In the show we were able to see that there was more to the man than the execution of two of his six wives. While I understand that THE TUDORS tv program had a [More]

Book Review: “La Reine Blanche” by Sarah Bryson

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Of the two surviving sisters of Henry VIII, his younger sister Mary was by far his favorite. Nothing shows that more than when he forgave her for secretly marrying Charles Brandon before returning from France after the death of her first husband, King Louis XII of France. When I heard that author Sarah Bryson was releasing a book about Mary Tudor I was excited to learn more about the Tudor princess and French queen. She has fascinated me since her amalgamation in [More]

Get Out of Jail Free Cards: The Many Annulments of Henry VIII (Guest Post)

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By Jillianne Hamilton Everyone knows Henry VIII was unlucky in love. Not nearly as unlucky as many of his wives, of course, but Henry would certainly have considered himself the most unfortunate man in England when it came to his married life. The excuses he used to get out of his marriage varied from wife to wife. But he and his advisors were able to come up with excuses that never put the king at fault. Ever. His first marriage was the most complicated to end [More]

Six Ways Shakespeare Impacted the History of the Last Medieval Queen (Guest Post)

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Guest article by Cassidy Cash But, I beseech you, what's become of Katharine, The princess dowager? how goes her business? William Shakespeare, Henry VIII, Act IV, Scene I When it came time to write his play, Henry VIII, Shakespeare painted a picture of Katharine of Aragon, one of the most famous figures of history and the first wife to Henry VIII. We recognize that truth is often stranger than fiction, but when it comes to historical fiction, we often take the fiction [More]

FLODDEN: A Tale of Two Queens (Guest Post)

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Guest article by Leanda de Lisle The battle of Flodden, which took place in Northumberland over five hundred years ago, is not only a story of fighting men. It is also a tale of two Queens. Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, who lost her husband in the battle on 9 September 1513 and Katherine of Aragon, Queen, Captain General of the English army that killed him.  It is a story of a devastating defeat, but also of ultimate triumph. For Margaret Tudor it began in Augu [More]

The Last Days of Katherine of Aragon (Guest Post)

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Guest Post by Sarah Clement In 1531 Henry VIII formally separated from his wife of over twenty years, Katherine of Aragon. For some time, he had been bringing pressure upon her to accept a divorce or take holy orders so that he may marry someone else. In this case, Anne Boleyn. Katherine's refusal to do so and her insistence that they were man and wife even after their marriage had been annulled and Henry had married Anne Boleyn would cause her no end of problems. The [More]

Katherine of Aragon and Her Pomegranate Seeds (Guest Post)

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Guest Article by Wendy J. Dunn Finding Katherine  Katherine of Aragon first captured my heart when I was deep in the research for my first Tudor novel, Dear Heart, How Like You This? When I finished that novel, I knew I just had to write about her, only to discover a writing road burdened with false starts and pit holes. Very early on, I decided to use Katherine of Aragon’s personal symbol of the crowned pomegranate as my inspiration for the overarching title for t [More]

The Act in Restraint of Appeals, 1533: A Divorce at Last (Guest Post)

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The Act in Restraint of Appeals, 1533: A Divorce at Last Guest article by Samia Chebbah It is well-known that Henry VIII wanted to make official his relationship Anne Boleyn when he was already married to Catherine of Aragon. According to Paul G. Friendmann's chronology, the case of the divorce between Henry VIII and his Queen started at Westminster in May 1527[1]. The Pope, Clement VII, who was the only authority to grant him that request, was against that idea and [More]

The Differences in the Wives of Henry VIII

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Raised as the second son, or "spare", Henry Tudor, Duke of York was never intended to be King of England. When his older brother Arthur, Prince of Wales died unexpectedly in 1502 Henry was thrust into the spotlight as heir to the throne of England. His training began immediately and Henry despised the fact that his father controlled everything around him. He went from being raised with his sisters to being separated from the world. When there were discussions by Henry VII [More]

Katherine of Aragon: First Wife of Henry VIII

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When we think of Henry VIII we often think of his sixth wives - the end of his first marriage was quite controversial and took many years to achieve...that's the marriage we are looking at today. Katherine of Aragon and whether or not the marriage between Arthur, Prince of Wales and his bride was consummated. We'll also look at what happened during her marriage with Henry and how she never allowed Henry to have the upper-hand. In her mind, she was his true wife and queen. I [More]

The Relationship Between Mary and Elizabeth Tudor

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Princess Mary Tudor was the apple of her father's eye for many years prior Anne Boleyn returning to England. Freshly back from her duties in France, Anne was unlike most women and Henry VIII noticed. We don't know the exact date that Henry noticed Anne but once he did it changed the course of English history. After Katherine of Aragon's last unsuccessful pregnancy Henry began to consider that he would never have a male heir. He believed the fact that he had  married hi [More]

Katherine of Aragon’s Ladies at the Beginning

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Even though Katherine of Aragon had a large household at the beginning of her reign as queen consort, her ladies-in-waiting only numbered eight.¹ These women would be the most important ladies in the qu een's immediate circle. Each of them came from an important family at the Tudor court and each of them were known as beauties in their own right. These women's charms and talents were shown off frequently while their main role was dancing, singing and conversation - al [More]

The Plight of Katherine of Aragon (21 June 1529)

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The first wife of Henry VIII, Katherine of Aragon, was also the longest in that position. In the end they were married over two decades before Henry married his ill-fated second wife Anne Boleyn. It was on the 21st of June 1529 that Katherine of Aragon "had her day in court" and made quite the scene. Katherine, the Queen, gave the speech of her life, on her knees, before Henry VIII and the rest of those present at the hearing. She has been quoted as saying: “Sir, [More]

Book Review: Fall of the House of Queens

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Fall of the House of Queens is a newly released piece of fiction by author, Shelly Talcott about the court of Henry VIII and the king's relationship with his six queens. The story is written in the first person through the eyes of the King's fool, William Somers. The only other book I have read written from the perspective of Somers was, The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George. Who was William Somers? Somers was a fool at Henry VIII’s court from June 1535 an [More]