WEBVTT - Divorced

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio

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<v Speaker 1>and Aaron Manky. Listener discretion is advised. After a long

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<v Speaker 1>and treacherous journey from her cloistered life in Spain, Princess

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<v Speaker 1>Catherine finally made it safely to English shores. Katherine, the

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<v Speaker 1>daughter of the illustrious Ferdinand and Isabella, was devoutly religious,

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<v Speaker 1>and so as soon as her ship had landed on

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<v Speaker 1>the English coast, she insisted on going immediately to church.

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<v Speaker 1>Though she was only fifteen, Catherine already felt like a woman. Technically,

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<v Speaker 1>she was already married to Arthur, the Prince of Wales,

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<v Speaker 1>heir to the English throne. They had been married by

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<v Speaker 1>proxy the year before, and they had been betrothed since

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<v Speaker 1>she was three, and so the teenager knew how to

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<v Speaker 1>carry herself like a woman, to carry herself as a

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<v Speaker 1>representative of her parents and of her nation. Because she

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<v Speaker 1>was she had never met her husband. Although they had

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<v Speaker 1>exchanged flowery letters in their mutual language Latin, they wrote

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<v Speaker 1>like teenagers, pretending to be adults. Their tutors had handily

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<v Speaker 1>supplied them with phrases, promises of love and devotion and

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<v Speaker 1>the long awaited pleasure of gazing upon one another's faces.

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<v Speaker 1>Even after making it to England, it would still be

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<v Speaker 1>days before Catherine met the man with whom she had

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<v Speaker 1>promised to spend the rest of her life. From the coast,

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<v Speaker 1>Catherine and her party Spanish servants and ladies and ambassadors

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<v Speaker 1>and chaperones, road to Berkshire and then to a bishop's

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<v Speaker 1>house in Dogsmrefield. Even through a full day of sweaty

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<v Speaker 1>travel along roads pock marked with dust and holes, Katherine

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<v Speaker 1>embodied propriety above all else. She wore a long velvet

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<v Speaker 1>gown in the demure Spanish style and to veil over

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<v Speaker 1>her face, and she rode in a carriage with the

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<v Speaker 1>curtains drawn, even when the summer heat forced its way

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<v Speaker 1>through them and made the skin underneath the fabric of

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<v Speaker 1>Catherine's dress prickle with sweat. When they made it to

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<v Speaker 1>the bishop's house, it was already dark, and Catherine's ladies

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<v Speaker 1>politely demurred the bishop's offer of dinner, and they swept

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<v Speaker 1>their princess to bed. But word had already made it

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<v Speaker 1>to the King of England, Henry the Seventh, that his

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<v Speaker 1>future daughter in law had arrived. He rode out immediately

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<v Speaker 1>to inspect the goods as it were, and so he

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<v Speaker 1>was furious when he arrived, only to be told by

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<v Speaker 1>Catherine's chaperone that the princess had had an exhausting travel

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<v Speaker 1>day and that she had retired to her bedroom for

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<v Speaker 1>the night. King Henry the seventh was outraged. Was the

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<v Speaker 1>princess deformed? Was the portrait? They had sent? The cunning

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<v Speaker 1>lie on the part of the Spanish monarchy to trick

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<v Speaker 1>them and make them appear the fool? Were they sending

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<v Speaker 1>his son damaged goods? He was the king, and he

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<v Speaker 1>demanded to see Princess Catherine. After a few moments, Catherine

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<v Speaker 1>and her ladies emerged from her bed chamber. Catherine wore

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<v Speaker 1>a heavy black veil over her face. Henry the seventh

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<v Speaker 1>was sure they were hiding something, and so he strode

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<v Speaker 1>over and, without even a word of introduction, flung the

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<v Speaker 1>veil back. He was surprised, in spite of himself, she

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<v Speaker 1>was exactly as her portrait had presented her, a beautiful

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen year old girl with clear, creamy skin and thick

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<v Speaker 1>red hair. Her blue eyes were bleary but light and intelligent.

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<v Speaker 1>Very well, the king said, and he bid her good night.

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<v Speaker 1>That interaction would represent Catherine's tenuous position in England for

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<v Speaker 1>the next thirty five years. The rest of her life,

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<v Speaker 1>she was more a symbol than a woman, both a

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<v Speaker 1>bargaining chip and an obstacle. For the rest of Catherine's life,

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<v Speaker 1>she would be fighting an increasingly challenging battle to maintain

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<v Speaker 1>her dignity. She was a player in an unwinnable game,

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<v Speaker 1>a hostage first of Henry the Seventh and then ultimately

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<v Speaker 1>of Henry the eight, her brother in law, who first

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<v Speaker 1>became her husband and then became her enemy. I'm Danis Schwartz,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is noble blood. Catherine didn't know it, but

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<v Speaker 1>blood had already been shed to pave the way for

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<v Speaker 1>her journey to England. In the course of her marriage negotiations,

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<v Speaker 1>back when she was still a toddler crawling on her

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<v Speaker 1>mother's lap, her father had demanded that if their princess

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<v Speaker 1>was to be wed to Arthur, the heir to the

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<v Speaker 1>throne of England, and King Henry the Seven, would need

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<v Speaker 1>to kill a prisoner. Not just any prisoner. He would

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<v Speaker 1>need to kill the young Earl of Warwick, a boy

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<v Speaker 1>who had been in isolation in the Tower of London

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<v Speaker 1>for nearly fifteen years. The Earl of Warwick, still only

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<v Speaker 1>in his early twenties, was the nephew and heir of

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<v Speaker 1>the former King Richard the Third. England's new King, Henry

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<v Speaker 1>the seventh, had beat Richard of the Third in battle

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<v Speaker 1>and made an advantageous marriage to Elizabeth of York afterward,

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<v Speaker 1>but no one really believed that he had any worthwhile

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<v Speaker 1>blood claim to the English throne. Someone like the Earl

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<v Speaker 1>of Warwick did have that blood claim. Sure, the Earl

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<v Speaker 1>was no real threat while he was imprisoned half mad

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<v Speaker 1>from loneliness, but he was still a threat, and Ferdinand

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<v Speaker 1>of Arragon did not want any threats if his daughter

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<v Speaker 1>was to come to England. She was an incredibly eligible princess,

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<v Speaker 1>the youngest daughter of a United Spain a Ferdinand of

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<v Speaker 1>Aragon and Isabella of Castie Eel. Catherine's bloodline was impeccable

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<v Speaker 1>technically on her mother's side. She even had a better

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<v Speaker 1>blood claim to the English throne than Henry the seventh.

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<v Speaker 1>That was most of the reason that Henry the seventh

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<v Speaker 1>wanted her for his son. Catherine represented old European royalty

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<v Speaker 1>everything that he aspired for the brand new House of

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<v Speaker 1>Tudor to be, and so King Henry the seventh trumped

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<v Speaker 1>up charges of an escape attempt and had Warwick executed.

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<v Speaker 1>Princess Catherine would be marrying the future King of England.

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<v Speaker 1>Henry the seventh guaranteed it, and so Spain agreed on

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<v Speaker 1>a dowry of two hundred thousand crowns, and when young

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<v Speaker 1>Prince Arthur turned fourteen old enough to consummate a marriage,

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<v Speaker 1>Catherine was shipped to England for a wedding that would

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<v Speaker 1>make all of Europe pay attention. Catherine came to London

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<v Speaker 1>two days before her wedding in a gown with bell

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<v Speaker 1>shaped sleeves and a hooped petticoat that made her as

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<v Speaker 1>wide as she was high. The look was unlike anything

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<v Speaker 1>anyone was wearing in England. It was unmistakably Spanish. Catherine

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<v Speaker 1>also wore a jaunty little cap on her head with

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<v Speaker 1>gold lace to tie it beneath her chin in the

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<v Speaker 1>Venetian style. Escorted by the Lord Mayor of London, Catherine

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<v Speaker 1>came through the city to watch the elaborate pageants that

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<v Speaker 1>people had set up for her, tableaus with sets and

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<v Speaker 1>costumes on the street. In one tableau, a paper Welsh

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<v Speaker 1>dragon and green represented her husband to be Arthur, the

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<v Speaker 1>Prince of Wales. In another tableau, the archangel Gabriel came

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<v Speaker 1>down to a figure meant to represent Catherine, reminding her

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<v Speaker 1>that her chief duty was for the procreation of children.

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<v Speaker 1>A god character then came down and declared, blessed be

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<v Speaker 1>the fruit of your belly, your substance and fruits I

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<v Speaker 1>shall increase and multiply. England was coming out of civil

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<v Speaker 1>war between the Yorks and the Lancasters. The dynasty wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>entirely secure yet, but Henry the Seven and his heir

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<v Speaker 1>Arthur represented a stable future. And now they had this young,

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<v Speaker 1>beautiful Spanish princess who was ready to continue the tutor line.

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<v Speaker 1>When Arthur and Catherine finally met in person, they smiled

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<v Speaker 1>and blushed, still teenagers even as they were play acting adults.

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<v Speaker 1>They tried to converse in Latin, but they found that

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<v Speaker 1>they couldn't quite understand each other. They had been taught

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<v Speaker 1>different pronunciations. A Spanish ambassador assured Arthur that Catherine would

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<v Speaker 1>learn English soon enough. Arthur's little brother, Henry, then just

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<v Speaker 1>ten years old, peeked out at the princess, who had

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<v Speaker 1>arrived from a distant land. He whispered into his brother's

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<v Speaker 1>coat that she was beautiful. Arthur smiled, and he kissed

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<v Speaker 1>Catherine on the cheek. The wedding was a spectacle, with

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<v Speaker 1>Arthur and Catherine both in heavy crowns and in velvet

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<v Speaker 1>robes trimmed with ermine. When they completed their vows, doves

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<v Speaker 1>and rabbits were released outside St. Paul's cathedral. In a

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<v Speaker 1>moment of delicious chaos, a children's choir sang them out

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<v Speaker 1>and into their marriage bed. The Warthur was at this

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<v Speaker 1>point only fifteen years old and have a particularly sickly constitution.

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<v Speaker 1>The morning after his wedding, he strolled out of his

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<v Speaker 1>bed chamber and bodily told his friends to pour him

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<v Speaker 1>an ale. Marriage is thirsty work, he said, poking a

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<v Speaker 1>friend in the ribs. Gentlemen, he announced, when he had

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<v Speaker 1>his mead to hold high. I have spent the night

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<v Speaker 1>in Spain. Catherine privately told her ladies that they hadn't

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<v Speaker 1>done anything but sleep side by side and offer each

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<v Speaker 1>other a chaste kiss good night. The day after the wedding,

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<v Speaker 1>King Henry the seventh sent most of catherine Spanish entourage home,

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<v Speaker 1>leaving Catherine more isolated than she ever been in her

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<v Speaker 1>entire life in a strange country and in bed with

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<v Speaker 1>the stranger King Henry tried to distract her that day.

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<v Speaker 1>He showed her his library, and he let her choose

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<v Speaker 1>a new ring for herself, But Catherine couldn't stop looking

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<v Speaker 1>out the window, looking back towards the land she had

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<v Speaker 1>left and to which he would now never return. Though

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<v Speaker 1>Arthur's health seemed to decline in the weeks following his wedding,

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<v Speaker 1>the pale, weedy boy becoming even paler and weedier, he

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<v Speaker 1>was still the Prince of Wales, and so the newly

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<v Speaker 1>wed couple set off to Ludlow Castle in the Welsh

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<v Speaker 1>Marshes so Arthur could gain some experience in governance. Because

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<v Speaker 1>Arthur's color continued to fade, courtiers joked that the boy

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<v Speaker 1>was just over exerting himself in the marriage bed. When

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<v Speaker 1>both Catherine and Arthur fell sick, with the sweating sickness

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<v Speaker 1>drenching their clothes, leaving them delirious with fever, people stopped

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<v Speaker 1>making jokes. On April three, Confessor woke King Henry the

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<v Speaker 1>Seventh in the middle of the night in his palace

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<v Speaker 1>in Surrey. The King, still bleary eyed, just stared at

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<v Speaker 1>his confessor, who recited, stuttering, if we receive good things

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<v Speaker 1>at the hand of God, why may we not endure

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<v Speaker 1>evil things. The King didn't respond, and so the confessor

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<v Speaker 1>lowered his eyes, and he was forced to continue. Your

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<v Speaker 1>dearest son, he said, hath departed to God. Arthur, Prince

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<v Speaker 1>of Wales and heir to the English throne, was dead.

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<v Speaker 1>When Catherine recovered from the sweating sickness, she woke to

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<v Speaker 1>a new life as a widow alone in a foreign land.

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<v Speaker 1>She had been married for only six months. As tradition dictated,

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<v Speaker 1>Catherine did not attend her husband's funeral. Shrouded in black

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<v Speaker 1>in heavy veils, she returned to London to see what

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<v Speaker 1>her future wouldn't tail. Catherine's father, King Ferdinand, demanded that

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<v Speaker 1>England repay her dowry. It was negotiation tactic to frighten

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<v Speaker 1>Henry the seventh into agreeing to a new betrothal to

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<v Speaker 1>his next son, the new heir Henry. There were a

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<v Speaker 1>few obstacles that would prevent Catherine from becoming engaged to

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<v Speaker 1>the very young Henry Tudor. First, that Catherine was over

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<v Speaker 1>five years older than him. The new widow was sixteen.

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<v Speaker 1>The young prince was eleven, but that age difference wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>matter much as Henry aged by the time he was

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<v Speaker 1>fourteen able to consummate a marriage. It wouldn't raise too

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<v Speaker 1>many eyebrows for him to be going to bed with

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<v Speaker 1>an older woman. But the much bigger barrier was the Bible,

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<v Speaker 1>which forbade a man to marry his brother's widow. To

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<v Speaker 1>be fair, the Bible wasn't entirely clear on the matter.

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<v Speaker 1>Leviticus explicitly forbade marriage between a man and his brother's wife,

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<v Speaker 1>declaring outright that such a union would be cursed with childlessness.

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<v Speaker 1>But then again, in Deuteronomy, it's basically encouraged for a

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<v Speaker 1>man to marry his brother's widow. If the couple was childless,

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<v Speaker 1>it's painted as an act of charity. But that religious

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<v Speaker 1>complication could be brushed aside if the marriage between Catherine

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<v Speaker 1>and Arthur was never consummated. Impatient with the hemming and

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<v Speaker 1>hawing of advisers and ambassadors, King Henry the seventh summoned

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<v Speaker 1>Katherine and explicitly asked her if she and Arthur had

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<v Speaker 1>slept together. Catherine shook her head. She and Arthur had

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<v Speaker 1>laid together for six nights, but never as a man

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<v Speaker 1>and wife. There Henry the seventh said, do you see simple,

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<v Speaker 1>we shall keep the dowry and Henry shall Mary Spain.

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<v Speaker 1>So it was agreed the marriage was set to take

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<v Speaker 1>place in fifteen o five, when Prince Henry was fourteen

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<v Speaker 1>years old. Spain would send a delegation to the Pope

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<v Speaker 1>for special dispensation in order to settle any lingering doubts

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<v Speaker 1>about the marriage's legality, and so Catherine and Henry were

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<v Speaker 1>formally betrothed in a ceremony in which Catherine wore white,

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<v Speaker 1>looking as virginal as she possibly could, with her hair

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<v Speaker 1>unbound in loose waves down past her shoulder to signify

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<v Speaker 1>her purity. But until Henry turned fourteen, Katherine remained in England,

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<v Speaker 1>not quite a guest but not quite a member of

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<v Speaker 1>the royal family either. She was given a minimal household

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<v Speaker 1>and an allowance, but not much else. But then Catherine's

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<v Speaker 1>mother died in Spain, the illustrious Isabella of Castile. That

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<v Speaker 1>would be devastating under any circumstance, but with her mother's death,

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<v Speaker 1>Catherine lost her dynastic importance. Technically, Castile went to Catherine's

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<v Speaker 1>older sister Juana. But everyone knew that Juana was volatile,

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<v Speaker 1>verging on unhinged, and so the real power was Juana's husband,

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<v Speaker 1>Philip the Hansom, the son of the Holy Roman Emperor.

0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:22.400
<v Speaker 1>But all that just meant that with Isabella dead, Catherine

0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:26.040
<v Speaker 1>was no longer a princess of a United Spain. She

0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:29.280
<v Speaker 1>was instead just the princess now of the smaller, less

0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:35.120
<v Speaker 1>important region of Argon. Her father's kingdom. Henry Tudor was

0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:37.880
<v Speaker 1>going to be the King of England some day. He

0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:46.800
<v Speaker 1>could probably find a much better marriage. Abruptly, King Henry

0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:51.480
<v Speaker 1>the Seventh stopped Catherine's allowance. The king began treating her

0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:55.760
<v Speaker 1>with cruel disdain when he didn't outright ignore her. Catherine

0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:59.200
<v Speaker 1>wasn't sent back to Spain, of course, not that would

0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:02.640
<v Speaker 1>mean having to give back her dowry, but Catherine was

0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:07.280
<v Speaker 1>kept more like a hostage, temporarily kept safe and confined

0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:10.920
<v Speaker 1>until a better marriage match for Henry Tudor could be made.

0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:15.480
<v Speaker 1>Henry's fourteenth birthday came and went, and there was no

0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:20.360
<v Speaker 1>mention of any upcoming wedding. Catherine became aware, with the

0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:24.120
<v Speaker 1>sinking feeling that there may be no wedding coming at all.

0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:28.720
<v Speaker 1>She didn't know that King Henry the seventh had already

0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.880
<v Speaker 1>brought his son to the Bishop of Winchester to have

0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:36.120
<v Speaker 1>him formally revoke the promise of betrothal. He made the

0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:38.880
<v Speaker 1>two kept it a secret in case Henry would need

0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:43.920
<v Speaker 1>to marry Catherine after all. All the while, Catherine's circumstances

0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:47.320
<v Speaker 1>became more and more desperate. From the house she had

0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:50.560
<v Speaker 1>been staying at in London. Catherine was brought to court

0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:52.840
<v Speaker 1>so that the King could save on the cost of

0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:56.440
<v Speaker 1>maintaining a separate household for her. But living in court

0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:59.240
<v Speaker 1>meant that she was in a constant fish bowl of

0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:04.720
<v Speaker 1>gossip and speculation and pity. With no allowance, Catherine had

0:17:04.760 --> 0:17:07.840
<v Speaker 1>no way to pay her staff or pay the dowries

0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.520
<v Speaker 1>of her loyal ladies in waiting, who had come with

0:17:10.560 --> 0:17:13.000
<v Speaker 1>her all the way from Spain in the hopes that

0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:15.679
<v Speaker 1>they would be making an advantageous marriage while they were

0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:19.560
<v Speaker 1>in England. Now Catherine was in the humiliating position of

0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:22.280
<v Speaker 1>having to tell them that there were no dowries available.

0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:26.760
<v Speaker 1>Her servants were working for nothing but loyalty. The few

0:17:26.840 --> 0:17:29.920
<v Speaker 1>gowns that Catherine had brought with her from Spain were

0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:33.520
<v Speaker 1>growing thin and threadbare. An inches too short on the

0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:37.480
<v Speaker 1>growing teenage girl. She was heavily in debt to London

0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:40.879
<v Speaker 1>merchants for the few necessities that she couldn't borrow or

0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:46.119
<v Speaker 1>construct from her meager belongings. Catherine continued to send frantic

0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:50.040
<v Speaker 1>letters to her father, begging him for some financial support,

0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:55.240
<v Speaker 1>but Ferdinand refused. Catherine was under the supervision of King

0:17:55.280 --> 0:18:00.399
<v Speaker 1>Henry the Seventh and her upkeep was his responsibility. It

0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:07.160
<v Speaker 1>was four torturous years of limbo, confusion, loneliness, and humiliation.

0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:14.720
<v Speaker 1>But then there was one bright spot. In January of

0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:18.600
<v Speaker 1>fifteen o six, Catherine's sister Juana and her husband Philip

0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:21.800
<v Speaker 1>were sailing from the Low Countries to Spain when they

0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:24.520
<v Speaker 1>were shipwrecked off the coast of England, and the pair

0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:28.439
<v Speaker 1>were coming to visit the English court. Catherine had not

0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:31.440
<v Speaker 1>seen her sister for ten years, and she was thrilled

0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:34.919
<v Speaker 1>at the prospect of her union. When Juana and Philip

0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:38.119
<v Speaker 1>arrived at court, Catherine was surprised to see that she

0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:41.639
<v Speaker 1>was invited to sit at the top table. Catherine was

0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:44.520
<v Speaker 1>treated with a kindness that was now so unfamiliar to

0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:47.640
<v Speaker 1>her that it made her uneasy. King Henry the Seventh

0:18:47.680 --> 0:18:50.760
<v Speaker 1>clearly did not want Juan and Philip to see how

0:18:50.800 --> 0:18:54.800
<v Speaker 1>poorly their kin was being treated. But Catherine didn't mind.

0:18:55.280 --> 0:18:57.960
<v Speaker 1>She was seeing her sister again, and when she got

0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:00.280
<v Speaker 1>her alone, she could beg Juan at to in a

0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:03.320
<v Speaker 1>good word for her with King Henry. Maybe if Juanna

0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:07.400
<v Speaker 1>asked him, Henry would finally set the marriage between Catherine

0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:11.760
<v Speaker 1>and the Prince. When their meeting finally came, Catherine was

0:19:11.840 --> 0:19:14.840
<v Speaker 1>only permitted half an hour of a lone time with Juanna.

0:19:15.600 --> 0:19:18.800
<v Speaker 1>Before Catherine even had a moment to ask Juana for help,

0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:22.800
<v Speaker 1>Juanna began in a panic, telling her sister how miserable

0:19:22.880 --> 0:19:26.000
<v Speaker 1>she was with Philip and his philandering, how she knew

0:19:26.000 --> 0:19:27.560
<v Speaker 1>that he was cheating on her, but how she was

0:19:27.600 --> 0:19:30.000
<v Speaker 1>too madly in love with him to confront him about it,

0:19:30.680 --> 0:19:34.200
<v Speaker 1>and before she knew it, the meeting was over. Catherine

0:19:34.200 --> 0:19:36.359
<v Speaker 1>had never had a chance to ask her for help.

0:19:37.520 --> 0:19:41.000
<v Speaker 1>But while the two women were speaking, Philip was meeting

0:19:41.000 --> 0:19:44.320
<v Speaker 1>with King Henry the seventh and secretly trying to arrange

0:19:44.359 --> 0:19:48.480
<v Speaker 1>negotiations for his and Juanna's daughter Eleanor to be the

0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:52.080
<v Speaker 1>one to marry Prince Henry. The visit that was supposed

0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:56.920
<v Speaker 1>to be Catherine's salvation was actually a betrayal. Catherine never

0:19:56.960 --> 0:20:00.119
<v Speaker 1>saw her sister again, and just six months after at

0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:03.480
<v Speaker 1>the meeting in England, Philip died, only twenty eight years old.

0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:07.720
<v Speaker 1>They say that his death left Wana unhinged, that she

0:20:07.880 --> 0:20:10.840
<v Speaker 1>refused to let him be buried, and that she kept

0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:15.440
<v Speaker 1>his corpse in an open coffin, continually kissing and embracing

0:20:15.720 --> 0:20:19.320
<v Speaker 1>the decaying body of her former husband until it was

0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:25.720
<v Speaker 1>pulled away while she sobbed. Catherine had no allies left.

0:20:26.240 --> 0:20:28.960
<v Speaker 1>She was deeply in debt from supplying her staff with

0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:32.440
<v Speaker 1>clothing and food, left without even enough money to buy

0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:37.120
<v Speaker 1>herself a new nightgown. She was pawning her possessions, her

0:20:37.200 --> 0:20:40.960
<v Speaker 1>last relics of home, one by one, in order to

0:20:41.000 --> 0:20:44.760
<v Speaker 1>maintain a semblance of the proper appearance required for her station.

0:20:48.840 --> 0:20:52.040
<v Speaker 1>Prince Henry, who had once been a cherubic ten year old,

0:20:52.400 --> 0:20:55.840
<v Speaker 1>had grown into a young man. But when Henry showed

0:20:55.920 --> 0:20:59.480
<v Speaker 1>even a fraction of affection towards Catherine, a woman he

0:20:59.520 --> 0:21:02.480
<v Speaker 1>had known for almost all of his formative years, the

0:21:02.600 --> 0:21:07.040
<v Speaker 1>king forced them apart and then banished Catherine to Fulham.

0:21:07.080 --> 0:21:10.400
<v Speaker 1>Affection would have no place in the negotiations of who

0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:14.760
<v Speaker 1>an heir would marry. Catherine, now an old maid at

0:21:14.800 --> 0:21:18.719
<v Speaker 1>twenty one years old, returned to court only for the

0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:24.560
<v Speaker 1>tournaments of Prince Henry's sixteenth birthday celebrations. The two exchanged

0:21:24.760 --> 0:21:28.800
<v Speaker 1>shy smiles and flirtatious glances, but they knew enough not

0:21:28.960 --> 0:21:32.800
<v Speaker 1>to make their affections public. But then a stroke of

0:21:32.880 --> 0:21:38.359
<v Speaker 1>luck for Catherine, her captor, Henry the Seventh, died of tuberculosis,

0:21:39.080 --> 0:21:43.040
<v Speaker 1>and Prince Henry became Henry the Eighth. It seemed a

0:21:43.080 --> 0:21:47.040
<v Speaker 1>foregone conclusion who the golden new teenage king would be

0:21:47.119 --> 0:21:50.879
<v Speaker 1>choosing for his new bride. He had seen Catherine of

0:21:51.000 --> 0:21:54.760
<v Speaker 1>Arragon from back when she was a beautiful girl. He

0:21:54.840 --> 0:21:58.439
<v Speaker 1>had seen her grow through hardship and suffering into a

0:21:58.480 --> 0:22:02.879
<v Speaker 1>beautiful young woman. She was his first crush, the face

0:22:02.960 --> 0:22:06.359
<v Speaker 1>he always pictured when he imagined his queen, and he

0:22:06.560 --> 0:22:10.320
<v Speaker 1>was the king. Now Henry the Eighth was her savior

0:22:10.760 --> 0:22:14.840
<v Speaker 1>her night in shining armor, King Henry the Eighth was

0:22:14.880 --> 0:22:24.720
<v Speaker 1>in charge, and he would marry whoever he wanted. That's

0:22:24.760 --> 0:22:28.320
<v Speaker 1>the story of how Catherine of Arragon married King Henry

0:22:28.320 --> 0:22:31.680
<v Speaker 1>the Eighth. But keep listening. After a brief sponsor break

0:22:32.080 --> 0:22:45.679
<v Speaker 1>to hear about how their story ended. They were married

0:22:45.760 --> 0:22:48.920
<v Speaker 1>for twenty four years, but what had once been alight

0:22:49.040 --> 0:22:54.600
<v Speaker 1>with youth and promise eventually became sour and hard. One

0:22:54.680 --> 0:23:00.800
<v Speaker 1>miscarriage became two became seven. Although Catherine bore a daughter, Mary,

0:23:01.400 --> 0:23:05.000
<v Speaker 1>there was no legitimate tudor son, no one to carry

0:23:05.000 --> 0:23:08.359
<v Speaker 1>on the precarious dynasty that had been the reason for

0:23:08.480 --> 0:23:11.560
<v Speaker 1>securing Catherine of Arragon in marriage in the first place.

0:23:12.320 --> 0:23:15.359
<v Speaker 1>Most people know the story from then how Henry became

0:23:15.400 --> 0:23:19.359
<v Speaker 1>besotted with Anne Boleyn and attempted to force Catherine into

0:23:19.359 --> 0:23:22.840
<v Speaker 1>a divorce, claiming that since she had been married to

0:23:22.920 --> 0:23:26.320
<v Speaker 1>his brother, their marriage was never legitimate to begin with.

0:23:27.320 --> 0:23:30.359
<v Speaker 1>Catherine could have agreed, She could have bit her tongue

0:23:30.600 --> 0:23:33.680
<v Speaker 1>and allowed the marriage to be annulled, to just agree

0:23:33.720 --> 0:23:36.800
<v Speaker 1>with whatever Henry said and let herself settle into a

0:23:36.840 --> 0:23:41.440
<v Speaker 1>position of well loved sister of the king. But Catherine

0:23:41.440 --> 0:23:45.639
<v Speaker 1>never wavered from her story. Her wedding with Arthur was

0:23:45.720 --> 0:23:50.240
<v Speaker 1>never consummated, her marriage with Henry was true, and her

0:23:50.320 --> 0:23:55.960
<v Speaker 1>daughter Mary was legitimate. Catherine's devout Catholic faith would never

0:23:56.040 --> 0:24:01.320
<v Speaker 1>allow her to agree to a divorce, and so prideful stubborn,

0:24:01.600 --> 0:24:06.479
<v Speaker 1>righteous Katherine once again became a hostage in England. She

0:24:06.600 --> 0:24:10.239
<v Speaker 1>was moved from palace to palace, each one bleaker and

0:24:10.320 --> 0:24:14.520
<v Speaker 1>colder and more isolated than the last. More and more

0:24:14.560 --> 0:24:17.480
<v Speaker 1>of her servants and friends were stripped away from her.

0:24:18.160 --> 0:24:22.080
<v Speaker 1>She was forbidden from seeing her daughter Mary, though Katherine

0:24:22.200 --> 0:24:25.440
<v Speaker 1>pled for her and Mary begged to see her mother,

0:24:26.359 --> 0:24:28.720
<v Speaker 1>they would be allowed to see each other. Henry said

0:24:29.160 --> 0:24:32.560
<v Speaker 1>only if Catherine agreed for the marriage to be annulled.

0:24:33.400 --> 0:24:38.800
<v Speaker 1>She refused. Catherine of Arragon died, maintaining that she was

0:24:38.880 --> 0:24:42.879
<v Speaker 1>the rightful Queen of England and Henry the eighth only

0:24:43.000 --> 0:24:52.840
<v Speaker 1>true wife. Noble Blood is a production of I Heart

0:24:52.920 --> 0:24:56.199
<v Speaker 1>Radio and Aaron Mankey. The show was written and hosted

0:24:56.200 --> 0:24:59.800
<v Speaker 1>by Dana Schwartz and produced by Aaron Mankey, Matt Frederick,

0:25:00.080 --> 0:25:04.080
<v Speaker 1>Alex Williams, and Trevor Young. Noble Blood is on social

0:25:04.080 --> 0:25:06.960
<v Speaker 1>media at Noble Blood Tales, and you can learn more

0:25:06.960 --> 0:25:09.920
<v Speaker 1>about the show over at Noble Blood Tales dot com.

0:25:10.000 --> 0:25:12.679
<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the I

0:25:12.800 --> 0:25:16.240
<v Speaker 1>heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

0:25:16.280 --> 0:25:18.680
<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows. M