1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:07,880 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. 3 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:13,160 Speaker 2: This is Danishchwart's host of Noble Blood. I am off 4 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 2: taking a brief maternity leave and so this week I 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,480 Speaker 2: am so excited to share one of my absolute favorite 6 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 2: early episodes of the show from the archives, an episode 7 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 2: about Henry the Eighth's first wife, Katherine. Though most people 8 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 2: only associate her with the end of her life and 9 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:34,599 Speaker 2: Henry's attempts to divorce her, this episode focuses mainly on 10 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 2: Catherine's early life, back before she married Henry the Eighth, 11 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 2: when she was trapped in limbo as a bargaining chip 12 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 2: in England after the death of her first husband, I 13 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:46,560 Speaker 2: hope you enjoy. 14 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: After a long and treacherous journey from her cloistered life 15 00:00:55,080 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: in Spain, Princess Catherine finally made it safely to English shores. Catherine, 16 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: the daughter of the illustrious Ferdinand and Isabella, was devoutly religious, 17 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:10,039 Speaker 1: and so as soon as her ship had landed on 18 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 1: the English coast, she insisted on going immediately to church. 19 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:20,399 Speaker 1: Though she was only fifteen, Catherine already felt like a woman. Technically, 20 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: she was already married to Arthur, the Prince of Wales, 21 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: heir to the English throne. They had been married by 22 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: proxy the year before, and they had been betrothed since 23 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: she was three, And so the teenager knew how to 24 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:39,200 Speaker 1: carry herself like a woman, to carry herself as a 25 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: representative of her parents and of her nation. Because she 26 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:47,319 Speaker 1: was she had never met her husband, Although they had 27 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: exchanged flowery letters in their mutual language Latin, they wrote 28 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 1: like teenagers pretending to be adults. Their tutors had handily 29 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: supplied them with phrases, promises of love and devotion, and 30 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: the long awaited pleasure of gazing upon one another's faces. 31 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:09,800 Speaker 1: Even after making it to England, it would still be 32 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: days before Catherine met the man with whom she had 33 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: promised to spend the rest of her life. From the coast, 34 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 1: Catherine and her party, Spanish servants and ladies and ambassadors 35 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:24,639 Speaker 1: and chaperones, rode to Berkshire and then to a bishop's 36 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:29,239 Speaker 1: house in Dogsmurfield. Even through a full day of sweaty 37 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: travel along roads pock marked with dust and holes, Catherine 38 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:39,919 Speaker 1: embodied propriety above all else. She wore a long velvet 39 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: gown in the demure Spanish style and a veil over 40 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: her face, and she rode in a carriage with the 41 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: curtains drawn, even when the summer heat forced its way 42 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: through them and made the skin underneath the fabric of 43 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,919 Speaker 1: Catherine's dress prickle with sweat. When they made it to 44 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: the bishop's house was already dark, and Catherine's ladies politely 45 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: demurred the bishop's offer of dinner, and they swept their 46 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: princess to bed. But word had already made it to 47 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: the King of England, Henry the seventh, that his future 48 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: daughter in law had arrived. He rode out immediately to 49 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: inspect the goods, as it were, and so he was 50 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: furious when he arrived, only to be told by Catherine's 51 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,239 Speaker 1: chaperone that the princess had had an exhausting travel day 52 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: and that she had retired to her bedroom for the night. 53 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: King Henry the seventh was outraged. Was the princess deformed? 54 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: Was the portrait they had sent? Just a cunning lie 55 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: on the part of the Spanish monarchy to trick them 56 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 1: and make them appear the fool were they sending his 57 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: son damaged goods? He was the king and he demanded 58 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: to see Princess Catherine. After a few moments, Catherine and 59 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: her ladies emerged from her bedchamber. Catherine wore a heavy 60 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: black veil over her face. Henry the seventh was sure 61 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: they were hiding something, and so he strode over and, 62 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: without even a word of introduction, flung the veil back. 63 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:17,560 Speaker 1: He was surprised, in spite of himself, she was exactly 64 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,160 Speaker 1: as her portrait had presented her, a beautiful fifteen year 65 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: old girl with clear, creamy skin and thick red hair. 66 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: Her blue eyes were bleary but light and intelligent. Very well, 67 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 1: the king said, and he bid her good night. That 68 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:38,840 Speaker 1: interaction would represent Catherine's tenuous position in England for the 69 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: next thirty five years. The rest of her life. She 70 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,920 Speaker 1: was more symbol than a woman, both a bargaining chip 71 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: and an obstacle. For the rest of Catherine's life, she 72 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 1: would be fighting an increasingly challenging battle to maintain her dignity. 73 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 1: She was a player in an unwinnable game, a hostage 74 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: for of Henry the seventh and then ultimately of Henry 75 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,840 Speaker 1: the Eighth, her brother in law, who first became her 76 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: husband and then became her enemy. I'm Danas Schwartz, and 77 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 1: this is noble blood. Catherine didn't know it, but blood 78 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: had already been shed to pave the way for her 79 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:28,919 Speaker 1: journey to England. In the course of her marriage negotiations, 80 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: back when she was still a toddler crawling on her 81 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: mother's lap, her father had demanded that if their princess 82 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: was to be weed to Arthur, the heir to the 83 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: throne of England, then King Henry the seventh would need 84 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: to kill a prisoner. Not just any prisoner, he would 85 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: need to kill the young Earl of Warwick, a boy 86 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: who had been in isolation in the Tower of London 87 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:55,480 Speaker 1: for nearly fifteen years. The Earl of Warwick, still only 88 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 1: in his early twenties, was the nephew and heir of 89 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: the former King Richard the Third. England's new King, Henry 90 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:07,120 Speaker 1: the seventh, had beat Richard the Third in battle and 91 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: made an advantageous marriage to Elizabeth of York afterward, but 92 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: no one really believed that he had any worthwhile blood 93 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 1: claim to the English throne. Someone like the Earl of 94 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: Warwick did have that blood claim. Sure, the Earl was 95 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: no real threat while he was imprisoned half mad from loneliness, 96 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: but he was still a threat, and Ferdinand of Aragon 97 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,279 Speaker 1: did not want any threats if his daughter was to 98 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:34,600 Speaker 1: come to England. She was an incredibly eligible princess, the 99 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,800 Speaker 1: youngest daughter of a United Spain a Ferdinand of Aragon 100 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: and Isabella of Castile. Catherine's bloodline was impeccable technically on 101 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: her mother's side. She even had a better blood claim 102 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,359 Speaker 1: to the English throne than Henry the Seventh. That was 103 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 1: most of the reason that Henry the seventh wanted her 104 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: for his son. Catherine represented old European royalty everything that 105 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,479 Speaker 1: he aspired for the new House of Tutor to be, 106 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 1: and so King Henry the seventh trumped up charges of 107 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: an escape attempt and had Warwick executed. Princess Catherine would 108 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: be marrying the future King of England. Henry the seventh 109 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: guaranteed it, and so Spain agreed on a dowry of 110 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: two hundred thousand crowns, and when young Prince Arthur turned 111 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: fourteen old enough to consummate a marriage, Catherine was shipped 112 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: to England for a wedding that would make all of 113 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: Europe pay attention. Catherine came to London two days before 114 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 1: her wedding in a gown with bell shaped sleeves and 115 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: a hooped petticoat that made her as wide as she 116 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:45,160 Speaker 1: was high. The look was unlike anything anyone was wearing 117 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 1: in England. It was unmistakably Spanish. Catherine also wore a 118 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: jaunty little cap on her head with gold lace to 119 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 1: tie it beneath her chin in the Venetian style. Escorted 120 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,440 Speaker 1: by the Lord Mayor of London, and Catherine came through 121 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 1: the city to watch the elaborate pageants that people had 122 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:09,320 Speaker 1: set up for her, tableaus with sets and costumes on 123 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:13,600 Speaker 1: the street. In one tableau, a paper whilst dragon and 124 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: green represented her husband to be Arthur, the Prince of Wales. 125 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 1: In another tableaux, the archangel Gabriel came down to a 126 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: figure meant to represent Catherine, reminding her that her chief 127 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 1: duty was for the procreation of children. A god character 128 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,520 Speaker 1: then came down and declared, blessed be the fruit of 129 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: your belly, your substance and fruits I shall increase and multiply. 130 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: England was coming out of civil war between the Yorks 131 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:47,480 Speaker 1: and the Lancasters. The dynasty wasn't entirely secure yet, but 132 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:52,080 Speaker 1: Henry the seventh and his heir, Arthur, represented a stable future, 133 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: and now they had this young, beautiful Spanish princess who 134 00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 1: was ready to continue the Tudor line. When Arthur and 135 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 1: Catherine finally met in person, they smiled and blushed, still 136 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 1: teenagers even as they were play acting adults. They tried 137 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:11,240 Speaker 1: to converse in Latin, but they found that they couldn't 138 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,559 Speaker 1: quite understand each other. They had been taught different pronunciations. 139 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 1: A Spanish ambassador assured Arthur that Catherine would learn English 140 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: soon enough. Arthur's little brother, Henry, then just ten years old, 141 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 1: peeked out at the princess who had arrived from a 142 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:31,120 Speaker 1: distant land. He whispered into his brother's coat that she 143 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:35,319 Speaker 1: was beautiful. Arthur smiled, and he kissed Catherine on the cheek. 144 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: The wedding was a spectacle, with Arthur and Catherine both 145 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:43,400 Speaker 1: in heavy crowns and in velvet robes trimmed with ermine. 146 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 1: When they completed their vows, doves and rabbits were released 147 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 1: outside Saint Paul's Cathedral. In a moment of delicious chaos, 148 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:56,080 Speaker 1: a children's choir sang them out and into their marriage bed. 149 00:09:57,200 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 1: The Arthur was at this point only fifteen years old, 150 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 1: and I've a particularly sickly constitution. The morning after his wedding, 151 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,000 Speaker 1: he strolled out of his bed chamber and bodily told 152 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 1: his friends to pour him in ale. Marriage is thirsty work, 153 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:16,880 Speaker 1: he said, poking a friend in the ribs. Gentlemen, he announced, 154 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: when he had his meed to hold high. I have 155 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: spent the night in Spain. Catherine privately told her ladies 156 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 1: that they hadn't done anything but sleep side by side 157 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: and offer each other a chaste kiss good night. The 158 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 1: day after the wedding, King Henry the Seventh sent most 159 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:40,120 Speaker 1: of catherine Spanish entourage home, leaving Catherine more isolated than 160 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: she had ever been in her entire life, in a 161 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: strange country and in bed with a stranger. King Henry 162 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:50,680 Speaker 1: tried to distract her that day. He showed her his library, 163 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:52,840 Speaker 1: and he let her choose a new ring for herself, 164 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:56,880 Speaker 1: but Catherine couldn't stop looking out the window, looking back 165 00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:59,679 Speaker 1: towards the land she had left and to which would 166 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 1: now never return. Though Arthur's health seemed to decline in 167 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,760 Speaker 1: the weeks following his wedding, the pale, weedy boy becoming 168 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 1: even paler and weedier, he was still the Prince of Wales, 169 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:18,880 Speaker 1: and so the newlywed couple set off to Ludlow Castle 170 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:22,560 Speaker 1: in the Welsh Marshes so Arthur could gain some experience 171 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:28,400 Speaker 1: in governance. As Arthur's color continued to fade, courtiers joked 172 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 1: that the boy was just over exerting himself in the 173 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:34,720 Speaker 1: marriage bed. When both Catherine and Arthur fell sick, with 174 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: the sweating sickness drenching their clothes, leaving them delirious with fever, 175 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:45,959 Speaker 1: people stopped making jokes. On April third, a confessor woke 176 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: King Henry the seventh in the middle of the night 177 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:53,240 Speaker 1: in his palace in Surrey. The king, still bleary eyed, 178 00:11:53,679 --> 00:11:58,679 Speaker 1: just stared at his confessor, who recited, stuttering, if we 179 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: receive good things at the hand of God, why may 180 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 1: we not endure evil things. The King didn't respond, and 181 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:10,760 Speaker 1: so the confessor lowered his eyes and he was forced 182 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 1: to continue. Your dearest son, he said, hath departed to God. Arthur, 183 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:24,199 Speaker 1: Prince of Wales and heir to the English throne, was dead. 184 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:29,200 Speaker 1: When Catherine recovered from this wedding sickness, she woke to 185 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:32,680 Speaker 1: a new life as a widow alone in a foreign land. 186 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 1: She had been married for only six months. As tradition dictated, 187 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:47,480 Speaker 1: Catherine did not attend her husband's funeral. Shrouded in black 188 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: in heavy veils, she returned to London to see what 189 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: her future would entail. Catherine's father, King Ferdinand, demanded that 190 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:02,240 Speaker 1: England repay her dowry. It was ociation tactic to frighten 191 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: Henry the seventh into agreeing to a new betrothal to 192 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 1: his next son, the new Heir Henry. There were a 193 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: few obstacles that would prevent Catherine from becoming engaged to 194 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:18,400 Speaker 1: the very young Henry Tudor. First, that Catherine was over 195 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:21,839 Speaker 1: five years older than him. The new widow was sixteen, 196 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,080 Speaker 1: the young prince was eleven, But that age difference wouldn't 197 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:28,560 Speaker 1: matter much, as Henry aged by the time he was 198 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:31,720 Speaker 1: fourteen able to consummate a marriage. It wouldn't raise too 199 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:33,720 Speaker 1: many eyebrows for him to be going to bed with 200 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 1: an older woman. But the much bigger barrier was the Bible, 201 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 1: which forbade a man to marry his brother's widow. To 202 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 1: be fair, the Bible wasn't entirely clear on the matter. 203 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:50,559 Speaker 1: Leviticus explicitly forbade marriage between a man and his brother's wife, 204 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:55,559 Speaker 1: declaring outright that such a union would be cursed with childlessness. 205 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:59,560 Speaker 1: But then again, in Deuteronomy it basically encouraged for a 206 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: man to make Mary his brother's widow if the couple 207 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:05,880 Speaker 1: was childless. It's painted as an act of charity. But 208 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,760 Speaker 1: that religious complication could be brushed aside if the marriage 209 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:14,640 Speaker 1: between Catherine and Arthur was never consummated. Impatient with the 210 00:14:14,679 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: hemming and hawing of advisers ambassadors, King Henry the seventh 211 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 1: summoned Katherine and explicitly asked her if she and Arthur 212 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 1: had slept together. Catherine shook her head. She and Arthur 213 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 1: had laid together for six nights, but never as a 214 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:36,320 Speaker 1: man and wife. There Henry the seventh said, do you 215 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 1: see simple, We shall keep the dowry and Henry shall 216 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:44,960 Speaker 1: marry Spain. So it was agreed the marriage was set 217 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 1: to take place in fifteen o five, when Prince Henry 218 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:52,560 Speaker 1: was fourteen years old. Spain would send a delegation to 219 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,600 Speaker 1: the pope for special dispensation in order to settle any 220 00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:01,120 Speaker 1: lingering doubts about the marriage's legality, and so Catherine and 221 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:05,560 Speaker 1: Henry were formally betrothed in a ceremony, in which Catherine 222 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:09,520 Speaker 1: wore white, looking as virginal as she possibly could, with 223 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,200 Speaker 1: her hair unbound in loose waves down past her shoulder 224 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 1: to signify her purity. But until Henry turned fourteen, Catherine 225 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:23,080 Speaker 1: remained in England, not quite a guest but not quite 226 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 1: a member of the royal family either. She was given 227 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 1: a minimal household and an allowance, but not much else. 228 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:34,880 Speaker 1: But then Catherine's mother died in Spain, the illustrious Isabella 229 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 1: of Castile. That would be devastating under any circumstance, but 230 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: with her mother's death, Catherine lost her dynastic importance. Technically, 231 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:48,520 Speaker 1: Castile went to Catherine's older sister, Juana, but everyone knew 232 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:52,280 Speaker 1: that Juana was volatile, verging on unhinged, and so the 233 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,880 Speaker 1: real power was Swana's husband, Philip the Hansom, the son 234 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 1: of the Holy Roman Emperor. But all that just meant 235 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 1: that with Isabella dead, Katherine was no longer a princess 236 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: of a United Spain. She was instead just the princess 237 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: now of the smaller, less important region of Argonne, her 238 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:16,280 Speaker 1: father's kingdom. Henry Tudor was going to be the King 239 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 1: of England someday he could probably find a much better marriage. Abruptly, 240 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 1: King Henry the seventh stopped Catherine's allowance. The King began 241 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 1: treating her with cool disdain when he didn't outright ignore her. 242 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:39,240 Speaker 1: Catherine wasn't sent back to Spain, of course, not that 243 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:42,880 Speaker 1: would mean having to give back her dowry, but Catherine 244 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: was kept more like a hostage, temporarily kept safe and 245 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 1: confined until a better marriage match for Henry Tudor could 246 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: be made. Henry's fourteenth birthday came and went, and there 247 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 1: was no mention of any upcoming wedding. Catherine became aware 248 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: with the sinking feeling that there may be no wedding 249 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 1: coming at all. She didn't know that King Henry the 250 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 1: seventh had already brought his son to the Bishop of 251 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:15,040 Speaker 1: Winchester to have him formally revoke the promise of betrothal. 252 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:18,440 Speaker 1: He made the two kept it a secret in case 253 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:22,520 Speaker 1: Henry would need to marry Catherine after all. All the while, 254 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 1: Catherine's circumstances became more and more desperate from the house 255 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,280 Speaker 1: she had been staying at in London. Catherine was brought 256 00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:32,679 Speaker 1: to court so that the king could save on the 257 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 1: cost of maintaining a separate household for her, but living 258 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:38,879 Speaker 1: in court meant that she was in a constant fish 259 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:44,040 Speaker 1: bowl of gossip and speculation and pity. With no allowance, 260 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:47,400 Speaker 1: Catherine had no way to pay her staff or pay 261 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:50,400 Speaker 1: the dowries of her loyal ladies in waiting, who had 262 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:52,919 Speaker 1: come with her all the way from Spain in the 263 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:55,720 Speaker 1: hopes that they would be making an advantageous marriage while 264 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,119 Speaker 1: they were in England. Now Catherine was in the humiliating 265 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 1: position of to tell them that there were no dowries available. 266 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: Her servants were working for nothing but loyalty. The few 267 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:10,240 Speaker 1: gowns that Catherine had brought with her from Spain were 268 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:13,840 Speaker 1: growing thin and threadbare, and inches too short on the 269 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:17,760 Speaker 1: growing teenage girl. She was heavily in debt to London 270 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:21,240 Speaker 1: merchants for the few necessities that she couldn't borrow or 271 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:26,440 Speaker 1: construct from her meager belongings. Catherine continued to send frantic 272 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:30,360 Speaker 1: letters to her father, begging him for some financial support, 273 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:35,560 Speaker 1: but Ferdinand refused. Catherine was under the supervision of King 274 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:40,800 Speaker 1: Henry the seventh, and her upkeep was his responsibility. It 275 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:47,400 Speaker 1: was four torturous years of limbo, confusion, loneliness, and humiliation, 276 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:55,040 Speaker 1: but then there was one bright spot. In January of 277 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:58,920 Speaker 1: fifteen o six, Catherine's sister Juana and her husband Philip 278 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:02,119 Speaker 1: were sailing from the Low Countries to Spain when they 279 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:04,840 Speaker 1: were shipwrecked off the coast of England, and the pair 280 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:08,760 Speaker 1: were coming to visit the English court. Catherine had not 281 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 1: seen her sister for ten years, and she was thrilled 282 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:15,240 Speaker 1: at the prospect of her union. When Juana and Philip 283 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:18,520 Speaker 1: arrived at court, Catherine was surprised to see that she 284 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:21,960 Speaker 1: was invited to sit at the top table. Catherine was 285 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,840 Speaker 1: treated with a kindness that was now so unfamiliar to 286 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:27,920 Speaker 1: her that it made her uneasy. King Henry the seventh 287 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,080 Speaker 1: clearly did not want Juana and Philip to see how 288 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 1: poorly their kin was being treated, but Catherine didn't mind. 289 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:38,199 Speaker 1: She was seeing her sister again, and when she got 290 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:40,600 Speaker 1: her alone, she could beg Juana to put in a 291 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:43,680 Speaker 1: good word for her with King Henry. Maybe, if Juana 292 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,680 Speaker 1: asked him, Henry would finally set the marriage between Catherine 293 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 1: and the Prince. When their meeting finally came, Catherine was 294 00:19:52,119 --> 00:19:55,159 Speaker 1: only permitted half an hour of alone time with Juana. 295 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:59,120 Speaker 1: Before Catherine even had a moment to ask Juana for help. 296 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:03,160 Speaker 1: Juana again in a panic, telling her sister how miserable 297 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:06,320 Speaker 1: she was with Philip and his philandering, how she knew 298 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:07,879 Speaker 1: that he was cheating on her, but how she was 299 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:10,320 Speaker 1: too madly in love with him to confront him about it, 300 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:14,520 Speaker 1: and before she knew it, the meeting was over. Catherine 301 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:16,640 Speaker 1: had never had a chance to ask her for help. 302 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: But while the two women were speaking, Philip was meeting 303 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:24,639 Speaker 1: with King Henry the Seventh and secretly trying to arrange 304 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 1: negotiations for his Juana's daughter Eleanor to be the one 305 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:32,520 Speaker 1: to marry Prince Henry. The visit that was supposed to 306 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:37,520 Speaker 1: be Catherine's salvation was actually a betrayal. Catherine never saw 307 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:40,800 Speaker 1: her sister again, and just six months after the meeting 308 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:44,680 Speaker 1: in England, Philip died, only twenty eight years old. They 309 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:48,800 Speaker 1: say that his death Leftuana unhinged, that she refused to 310 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:51,719 Speaker 1: let him be buried, and that she kept his corpse 311 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:56,720 Speaker 1: in an open coffin, continually kissing and embracing the decaying 312 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,399 Speaker 1: body of her former husband until it was poled away 313 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:06,879 Speaker 1: while she sobbed. Catherine had no allies left. She was 314 00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:10,320 Speaker 1: deeply in debt from supplying her staff with clothing and food, 315 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:14,120 Speaker 1: left without even enough money to buy herself a new nightgown. 316 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,800 Speaker 1: She was pawning her possessions, her last relics of home, 317 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,679 Speaker 1: one by one, in order to maintain a semblance of 318 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:30,160 Speaker 1: the proper appearance required for her station. Prince Henry, who 319 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,280 Speaker 1: had once been a cherubic ten year old, had grown 320 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,560 Speaker 1: into a young man. But when Henry showed even a 321 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:40,280 Speaker 1: fraction of affection towards Catherine, a woman he had known 322 00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:43,639 Speaker 1: for almost all of his formative years, the king forced 323 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 1: them apart and then banished Catherine to Fulham. Affection would 324 00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:51,200 Speaker 1: have no place in the negotiations of who an heir 325 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 1: would marry. Catherine, now an old maid at twenty one 326 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,639 Speaker 1: years old, returned to court only for the tournaments of 327 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:05,960 Speaker 1: Prince Henry's sixteenth birthday celebrations. The two exchanged shy smiles 328 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:09,560 Speaker 1: and flirtatious glances, but they knew enough not to make 329 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:15,080 Speaker 1: their affections public. But then a struggle of luck for Catherine, 330 00:22:15,119 --> 00:22:19,960 Speaker 1: her captor, Henry the Seventh, died of tuberculosis, and Prince 331 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,640 Speaker 1: Henry became Henry the Eighth. It seemed a foregone conclusion 332 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:28,119 Speaker 1: who the golden new teenage king would be choosing for 333 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 1: his new bride. He had seen Catherine of Arragon from 334 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 1: back when she was a beautiful girl. He had seen 335 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:39,960 Speaker 1: her grow through hardship and suffering into a beautiful young woman. 336 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: She was his first crush, the face he always pictured 337 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,320 Speaker 1: when he imagined his queen, and he was the king. 338 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 1: Now Henry the Eighth was her savior, her night in 339 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:56,320 Speaker 1: shining armor. King Henry the Eighth was in charge, and 340 00:22:56,400 --> 00:23:06,040 Speaker 1: he would marry whoever he wanted. That's the story of 341 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,760 Speaker 1: how Catherine of Aragon married King Henry the Eighth. But 342 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:13,000 Speaker 1: keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear about 343 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:27,560 Speaker 1: how their story ended. They were married for twenty four years, 344 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:30,680 Speaker 1: but what had once been alight with youth and promise 345 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:37,679 Speaker 1: eventually became sour and hard. One miscarriage became two became seven. 346 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 1: Although Catherine bore a daughter, Mary, there was no legitimate 347 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 1: tutor son, no one to carry on the precarious dynasty 348 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,400 Speaker 1: that had been the reason for securing Catherine of Aragon 349 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 1: in marriage in the first place. Most people know the 350 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:57,240 Speaker 1: story from then how Henry became besotted with Anne Boleyn 351 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 1: and attempted to force Catherine into a divorce, claiming that 352 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 1: since she had been married to his brother, the marriage 353 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:08,800 Speaker 1: was never legitimate to begin with. Catherine could have agreed, 354 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 1: She could have bit her tongue and allowed the marriage 355 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:15,320 Speaker 1: to be annulled, to just agree with whatever Henry said 356 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:18,959 Speaker 1: and let herself settle into a position of well loved 357 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: sister of the king. But Katherine never wavered from her story. 358 00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:28,240 Speaker 1: Her wedding with Arthur was never consummated, her marriage with 359 00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:34,040 Speaker 1: Henry was true, and her daughter Mary was legitimate. Catherine's 360 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:37,480 Speaker 1: devout Catholic faith would never allow her to agree to 361 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:44,040 Speaker 1: a divorce, and so prideful, stubborn, righteous Catherine once again 362 00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:48,119 Speaker 1: became a hostage in England. She was moved from pallace 363 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:52,160 Speaker 1: to palace, each one bleaker and colder and more isolated 364 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,919 Speaker 1: than the last. More and more of her servants and 365 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,639 Speaker 1: friends were stripped away from her. She was forbidden from 366 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,800 Speaker 1: se her daughter Mary, though Katherine pled for her and 367 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:07,479 Speaker 1: Mary begged to see her mother. They would be allowed 368 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: to see each other, Henry said only if Katherine agreed 369 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:16,399 Speaker 1: for the marriage to be annulled. She refused. Katherine of 370 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:20,199 Speaker 1: Aragon died, maintaining that she was the rightful Queen of 371 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:32,639 Speaker 1: England and Henry the Eighth's only true wife. Noble Blood 372 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:36,440 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild from 373 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:40,560 Speaker 1: Aaron Manke. Noble Blood is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, 374 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,920 Speaker 1: with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, 375 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:49,199 Speaker 1: Courtney Sender, Amy Hit and Julia Milaney. The show is 376 00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:54,680 Speaker 1: edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising producerrima Ill 377 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 1: Kayli and executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. 378 00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:05,960 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 379 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.