scroll to top
Stuck on your essay?
Get ideas from this essay and see how your work stacks up
Word Count: 2,396
Spain and England had a history of poor diplomatic relations and it was common in the Fifteenth Century for members of a royal family to marry off a daughter or son to a child from another royal family to establish an alliance between those two countries Catherine of Aragon was the youngest child of King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castille who almost immediately began looking for a political match for her When she was three years old she was engaged to Arthur the son of Henry VII of England Arthur was not even quite two at the time When Catherine was almost sixteen in 1501 she made the journey to England When she and Arthur were married on November 14 1501 in old St Pauls Cathedral London Catherine was escorted by Arthurs younger brother Henry Following the ceremony the young couple moved to Ludlow Castle on the Welsh border Less than six months later Arthur died possibly of the sweating sickness Historians speculate that the history of England would have changed drastically if Arthur had lived a year longer Catherine was now a widow and still young enough to marry again so on June 25 1503 she was formally engaged to the kings second son Henry now Prince of Wales The marriage however didnt take place during Henry VIIs lifetime Henry made use of the presence of the unmarried princess in England to extort new conditions and especially to secure the marriage of his daughter Marry to the archduke Charles V By 1505 when Henry was old enough to wed Henry VII wasnt as keen on a Spanish alliance and young Henry was forced to reject the engagement Catherines future was uncertain for the next four years When Henry VII died in 1509 on one of the new young kings actions was to marry Catherine She was finally crowned Queen of England in a joint coronation ceremony with her husband Henry VIII
@Kibin is a lifesaver for my essay right now!!
- Sandra Slivka, student @ UC Berkeley
Wow, this is the best essay help I've ever received!
- Camvu Pham, student @ U of M
If I'd known about @Kibin in college, I would have gotten much more sleep
- Jen Soust, alumni @ UCLA