Katherine of Aragon was the first wife of Henry VIII and mother of Mary Tudor, the one who was divorced in favor of the younger Anne Boleyn. However, she was so much more than the discarded wife. There are several key moments in her life that I would call bad ass.
First, it might help to have a bit of background of this important but often forgotten woman. Katherine was the daughter of King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castille. Ferdinand and Isabella are perhaps best known as the patrons who funded Christopher Columbus’ journey to the Americas. Isabella was a bad ass in her own right, and Katherine was certainly her mother’s daughter. She journeyed to England as a teenager to marry Arthur, Henry VIII’s older brother, and heir to the English throne. Shortly after their wedding, Arthur became ill and died. Claiming that the marriage was never consummated, Katherine became ambassador to England for her father in hopes that she would marry Arthur’s younger brother, Henry who was now heir. Henry and Katherine married and had what was regarded to be a happy marriage even though she was six years his senior. They had numerous children, but only one survived to adulthood, Mary, who would later become Mary I also known as Bloody Mary.
This union also seemed to be built upon respect. When he left for France on a military campaign, Henry named Katherine regent, empowering her to act as ruler and make decisions that would impact England. During this time, Scotland decided to invade England. Katherine ordered troops to the north of England to defend the country. While incredibly pregnant, she rode to the front in full armor in order to address the troops before the Battle of Flodden Field. Addressing the troops in this manner was not unusual for a king, but considering her condition and gender, it was irregular for her to do so. After the English victory, Katherine sent Henry news of the battle with a piece of the bloodied coat of King James IV of Scotland, killed in the battle, to use as a banner at the siege of Tournai.
One of the greatest tests of Katherine would come during the proceedings to invalidate her marriage to Henry VIII. Henry sought to annul his marriage to Katherine in order to marry Anne Boleyn. She was called to testify before the ecclesiastical court that had been convened to answer the question of whether or not Henry and Katherine’s marriage was in violation of the biblical law in Leviticus forbidding a man to marry his brother’s widow. Katherine was steadfast in her conviction that the marriage to Henry was legal and binding because her previous marriage had not been consummated. In an act of total defiance, she refused to acknowledge the authority of the court as the Pope was not presiding over it. She left the court and refused all future summons to testify.
Had Katherine agreed to step aside, her life would have been so much easier. Instead, Katherine defied Henry at every turn. She was banished from the English court and sent to live in Ludlow Castle in Wales. Henry eventually broke from the Catholic Church and the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer declared the marriage invalid and that Henry was free to marry Anne Boleyn. Katherine still refused to relinquish her title as Queen, signing her name with this title until her death. Upon her death bed, Katherine wrote Henry a heartbreaking letter declaring her love for him as his true and only wife and her dying wish to look upon his face one last time.
Katherine was a woman of great strength and determination. While others asked her to accept the will of the King, she unrelentingly stood by her conviction and beliefs. She would die alone, forbidden to see her daughter, and all but forgotten by the love of her life. Her refusal to accept the will of the King and recognize his marriage to
Anne, her new position of Queen of England, and the infant Elizabeth's
place in royal succession above her own daughter Mary was a treasonable
offense. The punishment for treason for women at this time was to be burned at the stake. This makes her a bad ass woman of history.
For further reading:
Catherine of Aragon by Garrett Mattingly – My favorite biography of Katherine.
The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory – This is a historical fiction about Katherine’s life in England.
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