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Katharine of Aragon: The queen who changed the course of history
Katharine of Aragon weekend at Peterborough Cathedral: Pictured are actors as Henry VIII and Queen Katharine. Photo: David Lowndes/Peterborough ET
Ahead of the annual service to commemorate her life, Ann Molyneux-Jackson finds out more about Katherine of Aragon, the Spanish princess who became the Queen of England and why she is still remembered here almost 500 years after her death.
THE history of England could have been very different if it wasn’t for Katharine of Aragon, and the fact she was buried in Peterborough Cathedral could well have saved the building from destruction:
IT was a grand affair, suitable for a woman who had once been the Queen of England.
The impressive cortege had made the journey from Kimbolton Castle, where Katharine of Aragon had spent the last few years of her life, to Peterborough Abbey (now the cathedral) for her funeral service and burial.
Katharine was the Spanish princess who became the first of Henry VIII’s six wives, and although usurped in his affections by Anne Boleyn, she still saw herself as the Queen and loved her husband until she died.
The people of Peterborough must have stood and stared at the sight passing before them.
“It was a massive thing the funeral on January 29, 1536,” said Stuart Orme, interpretation manager at Peterborough Museum.
“It was hugely elaborate, there was a massive cortege and the great and the good of the land turned up from miles around.”
The coffin wagon was covered in black velvet, drawn by six horses and accompanied by 50 servants in suits made of black fabric, which was the most expensive at the time, carrying banners and torches.
There were also four golden standards.
The cortege was met by four bishops and six abbots, and 1,000 candles lit up the abbey, where three masses were held as part of the service. Unsurprisingly, Henry VIII did not attend.
Anyone who saw it must have talked about it for years to come.
It was by accident of fate that Katharine was laid to rest in Peterborough Abbey 476 years ago this week.
“Kimbolton Castle was one of those properties she was sent to as part of her retirement after the great divorce from Henry,” said Stuart Orme.
“Peterborough was the nearest great religious place and Henry didn’t want to move her back to London as it would have given the wrong message.”
Each year around the anniversary of her burial, Katharine’s life is commemorated at Peterborough Cathedral with a service by her grave where schoolchildren contribute readings and dances and a procession takes place through the city.
“There is usually a representative from the Spanish Embassy, and the ambassador came one year,” said the Very Rev. Charles Taylor, the Dean of Peterborough.
“He said, ‘we are glad she is here, she is well looked after’ and expressed his gratitude that the tomb is treasured and we honour her memory.”
The service has, in the last couple of years, turned into a much bigger occasion, with several other events taking place around it including, this year, a Tudor living history day, cathedral tower tours, a talk on the life of Henry VIII’s grandmother Margaret Beaufort and a Tudor walk around Peterborough.
Katharine was buried in an elaborate black marble tomb gilded with gold, and although the gold was pilfered by Cromwellian soldiers, the marble tomb survived into the 18th century and was actually dismantled by one of the former deans for the floor of his summer house.
In the late 19th century Katharine Clayton, the wife of one of the canons at the cathedral decided something should be done to restore Katharine’s tomb to its former glory, so she launched a successful appeal for Katharines around the country to donate money towards the project.
“The spelling of the name on the tomb is as much to do with the later Katharine as the former Queen,” said Stuart Orme.
Hundreds of tourists visit Katharine’s grave each year and she remains an incredibly important figure in England’s history.
“She is one of the great figures of history and is of national and regional importance,” said Rev. Taylor.
“Her importance is such that the history of England could have been very different if it hadn’t been for her.
“If she had produced a boy rather than a girl, there would have been no need for the Reformation.
“It is questionable what would have happened.”
Stuart Orme added: “She was married to Henry longer than his other wives put together, and this is often forgotten. She would have remained married to him for the rest of her life if Anne Boleyn hadn’t turned up.
“Henry was desperate for a son to follow him afterwards, but what pushed him into the divorce was that he was so besotted with Anne.
“He had had other mistresses, which was quite normal for the time, but unlike them Anne wouldn’t sleep with him until he put a ring on her finger.
“He was famed for being a bit of a romantic, and I think he fell in love with all of his wives.”
Rev Taylor believes that Peterborough Abbey escaped relatively unscathed after the dissolution of the monastries in November 1539 because Katharine was buried there and likes to think that even as their marriage crumbled Henry had still cared about her and may have still loved her.
“I prescribe to the theory that because Katharine was here, that is why the Cathedral is still here,” he said.
“Henry took the treasure from many of the other abbeys and let them fall into disrepair.
“The historian David Starkey says this is not the case and that Henry was not sentimental, but I don’t agree, I think he was.”
Stuart Orme thinks the cathedral was saved for other reasons than the fact Katharine was there.
“Henry could have had her dug up and buried somewhere else,” he said.
“I think Peterborough Abbey survived because it was politically convenient for him.”
But whatever the reason, Peterborough Cathedral has become a place where Katharine is cherished and remembered.
Katharine: The first of six wives
A Spanish princess by birth, Katharine was betrothed to her future husband, Arthur, the son of Henry VII, when she was just a child.
Aged 15, she was sent across to marry him, and was then left a widow in a foreign country just six months after her wedding.
Katharine eventually became his brother Henry VIII’s wife after Henry VII’s death, and promptly Queen. She was married for 24 years to the King while the other five wives had just 14 years between them.
During the marriage, Katharine endured traumatic stillbirths, lost a son, when he was just 52 days old, and had at least one miscarriage.
Her only surviving child was Mary, the future Mary I of England, and Henry VIII was left disappointed at the lack of male heir. Meanwhile, Henry had fallen in love with his mistress, Anne Boleyn, and began appealing to the Pope to allow his marriage to be annulled. The Pope refused, and Katharine herself was adamant that she would not agree to it either.
By rejecting the Pope’s authority and naming himself as the head of the church in England, Henry changed the course of English history. Henry had his and Katharine’s marriage declared invalid in 1533 and she was stripped, at least in Henry’s eyes, of the title of Queen.
She maintained she was still his wife and the Queen until she died even though he had by this point married Anne Boleyn.
On January 7, 1536, three years after Henry married Anne Boleyn, Katharine died at Kimbolton Castle. The most likely cause of her death was cancer.
Service to commemorate Katherine - more Katharine of Aragon festival details
THE annual service commemorating the life of Katharine of Aragon will be held at Peterborough Cathedral on Friday (January 27) at 10.30am, with children from schools across the local area taking part, along with historical musicians Hautbois leading the procession through the city.
There will be a service of Sung Vespers – sung evening prayer – with music from the era of Katharine of Aragon, at 5pm.
A Tudor History Day is taking place at Peterborough Cathedral on Saturday (January 28) from 10am to 3pm.
The day will be packed with activities for history fans of all ages and will include some Tudor dancing and music.
Visitors can also get involved with Tudor crafts and make a visit to the apothecary’s surgery.
There’s even a chance to meet Katharine and Henry VIII.
Reach the highest parts of the Cathedral interior and its roof with a guided Tower Tour, taking place at 10am and 2pm.
The tours bring a unique perspective on the building’s history and architecture but the climbing, the height and the narrow staircases make them unsuitable for children under ten or anyone suffering from certain health conditions. The tours can only be run if weather permits and tickets cost £10 per person.
The Cathedral’s famous gravedigger Old Scarlett will be taking children on a tour with a difference at 10am and 2pm.
Suitable for children aged five and above and accompanied by an adult, the tours are packed with stories of Cathedral life in the 16th century. Tickets cost £3 per adult and £2 per child.
For more details or to reserve your tickets, call Amber on 01733 355300.
Find out more about Henry VIII’s grandmother Lady Margaret Beaufort at a talk given by Stuart Orme at Peterborough Cathedral at 7.30pm on Saturday.
She had local connections having been born at Bletso Castle in Bedfordshire and later living at Collyweston near Stamford.
“She was close to Henry VIII and was the regent when he came to the throne until he was 18,” said Stuart.
“She ran the country and died a few months later.
Her fascinating life also included four marriages, involvement in the Wars of the Roses and the founding of two Cambridge colleges.
“She was also close friends with Robert Kirkton, an abbot of Peterborough in the early Tudor period who was responsible for quite a lot of the building projects around Peterborough Cathedral including Kirkton’s Gateway, which leads to the Deanery and the Cathedral Prectinct, which was in part a tribute to her,” Stuart added.
Tickets cost £5 or £3 for concessions and are available from Peterborough Visitor Destination Centre or call 01733 452336.
Discover the city’s hidden secrets and strong Tudor connections during a Tudor Walk Around Peterborough on Sunday (January, 29) at 2pm with Stuart Orme as the guide.
Tickets cost £5 or £3 concessions, and are available from Peterborough Visitor Destination Centre or call 01733 452336.
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Wednesday 22 February 2012
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There are 3 comments to this article
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The Anne Boleyn Files
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 01:46 PMI admire Catherine of Aragon greatly but I do not believe that England would have remained Catholic "had she remained Queen with progeny" and if Henry had not fallen for Anne Boleyn. Henry was already considering remarriage before Anne came along and Catherine's last pregnancy was in 1518, 8 years before the King even met Anne. Catherine would not have had any more children and Henry would have found a way to replace her. Reformist ideas were coming into England and although Anne obviously influenced the King and appointed reformist clergy etc. the New Religion would have taken hold as more and more influential nobles were affected. Anne Boleyn was not a "Norfolk dimwit", she was highly intelligent and highly educated. Her father was a Renaissance man, not unlike Thomas More, and believed in giving all his children a top notch humanist education. Anne was precocious and clever enough to be given a place at Margaret of Austria's court, a court where only the very elite were given places, and she then went on to serve Queen Claude at the sophisticated French Court, The fact that she could discuss religion, astronomy, music, literature etc. with the highly intelligent Henry VIII, and also help him plan renovations to buildings etc. shows her intelligence. Surely we can admire Catherine of Aragon without attacking Anne Boleyn. Both were women of faith and women who were charitable and giving. Also, yes a pomegranate, but yellow was not the mourning colour of Spain.
annwithnoe
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 12:09 PMWhen this anniversary was celebrated in 2010, the roads nearby were closed for a procession. Does anyone know if that will happen again this year?
swineshead
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 11:12 AMIt would be great to see the Spanish Ambassador there. She was the first ever female ambassador of any nation, a huge position at the time and a mark of the respect in which she was held. Her divorce and death changed history in other ways. Had she remained Queen with progeny, there would have been no Armada and Britain would have remained Catholic. How times could have changed had not Henry fallen for a Norfolk dimwit. In times when everyone and everything seems deserving of a prayer, there is still time to think of Katharine, her piety and goodness. Wear something yellow, a mourning colour of Spain and don't forget to take her a pomegranate.
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