Catherine Of Aragon Biography In Film Historiography

She first married Prince Arthur, the son of Henry VII of England, in 1501Events Alexander becomes King of Poland. Births May 6 Pope Marcellus II November 25 The Confucian scholar Yi Hwang (Toegye) of Joseon Mary Boleyn, later mistress to both Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England. approximate date). Pedro de Mendoza, c. As Prince of WalesThe eldest son of the reigning monarch of Great Britain is traditionally invested with the title of Prince of Wales . This tradition began in 1301, when King Edward I of England, having completed the Norman conquest of Wales, gave the title to his heir, P, Arthur was sent to Ludlow CastleLudlow Castle is a large, now ruined castle which dominates the town of Ludlow in Shropshire, England. It stands on a high point overlooking the river Teme. The castle was first constructed in the 12th century by a Norman marcher lord, and was held by the on the borders of WalesFor alternate meanings, see Wales (disambiguation Wales ( Welsh: Cymru pronounced /"k@mrI/ SAMPA, km IPA, 'Kumree' approximate pronunciation) is one of the four nations comprising the United Kingdom (the other three being England, Scotland and Northern Ir, to preside over the Council of Wales, and Catherine accompanied him. A few months later, both of them fell prey to an infection which was sweeping the area. Catherine herself nearly died; she recovered to find herself a widow. Catherine testified that, because of the couple's youth, the marriage had not been consummateAs a verb, consummate means to bring something to its completion, such as a transaction, concept, plan or action. Marriages are said to be consummated when the act of sexual intercourse has taken place after the ceremony. In some theologies or societies,d; Pope Julius IIJulius II ne Giuliano della Rovere ( December 5, 1443 February 21, 1513), was pope from 1503 to 1513. He was the son of a brother of Sixtus IV. By his uncle, who took him under his special charge, he was educated among the Franciscans, and latterly sent t then issued a dispensation, so that Catherine could become betrothed to Arthur's younger brother, the future Henry VIII. The marriage did not take place until after Henry VIII ascended the throne in 1509Events February 2 Battle of Diu took place near Diu, India. April 22 Henry VIII becomes King of England on the death of his father, Henry VII. April 27 Pope Julius II places Venice under interdict. May 14 Battle of Agnadello French forces defeat the Venet, the marriage on June 11, followed by the coronation on June 24, 1509. Both as Princess of Wales and as Queen, Catherine was extremely popular with the people. She governed the nation as Regent while Henry invaded France in 1513.

Henry VIII supposedly married Catherine of Aragon at his father's dying wish and was happily-enough married to her, although not faithful, for 18 years, until he became seriously worried about getting a male heir to his throne as she approached menopause. Her first child was stillborn in 1510. Prince Henry was born in 1511 but died after 52 days. Catherine then had a miscarriage, followed by another short-lived son. On February 18, 1516 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London, she gave birth to a daughter named Mary (later Queen Mary I of England). There was another miscarriage in 1518. A male heir was essential to Henry. The Tudor dynasty was new, and its legitimacy might still be tested. No queen had ever ruled England successfully in her own right. The disasters of civil war were still fresh in living memory.

In 1520, Catherine's nephew Charles V paid a state visit to England, and the Queen urged the policy of gaining his alliance rather than that of France. Immediately after his departure, May 31, 1520, she accompanied the king to France on the celebrated visit to Francis I, remembered (from the splendors of the occasion) as the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Within two years, however, war was declared against France and the Emperor once again made welcome in England, where plans were afoot to betroth him to Henry and Catherine's daughter Princess Mary.

Henry was keeping a succession of mistresses. Catherine was not in physical condition to undergo further pregnancies. The marriage was further soured by trouble made by Catherine's father, Ferdinand, over payments of her dowry and by a shift of allegiance on the part of Ferdinand, who signed a treaty with the French, to Henry's fury. Because of the lack of heirs, Henry began to believe that his marriage was cursed and sought confirmation from two verses of the biblical Book of Leviticus, which said that, if a man marries his brother's wife, the couple will be childless. He chose to believe that Catherine had lied when she said her marriage to Arthur had not been consummated, therefore making their marriage wrong in the eyes of God. He therefore asked Pope Clement VII to annul his marriage in 1527. The Pope stalled on the issue for seven years without making a final judgement, partially because allowing an annulment would be admitting that the Church had been in error for allowing a special dispensation for marriage in the first place, and partially because he was a virtual prisoner of Catherine's nephew Charles V, who had conquered Rome. Henry separated from Catherine in July 1531, and secretly married one of Catherine's former ladies-in-waiting (and sister of one of his former mistresses), Anne Boleyn in January 1533, a bigomous marriage. Henry finally had Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, annul the marriage himself on May 23, 1533. To forstall an appeal to Rome, which Catherine would have almost certainly won, he had Parliament pass the Act of Supremacy, repudiating Papal jurisdiction in England, making the king the head of the English church, and beginning the English reformation.

Catherine refused to acknowledge the divorce and took the issue to the law, but she lost and was forced to leave the Royal Court. She was separated from her daughter (who was declared illegitimate) and was sent to live in remote castles and in humble conditions, in the hope that she would surrender to the inevitable; but she never accepted the divorce and signed her last letter, "Catherine the Queen". By this time, she was aware that Henry's marriage to Anne was turning sour, and she had not ceased to hope that he might one day return to her.

2 In film

Catherine was first portrayed on the silver screen in 1911 by Violet Vanburgh in a production of William Shakespeare's play "Henry VIII." Nine years later, German actress, Hedwig Pauly-Winterstein, played Catherine in the film "Anna Boleyn." Later, actress Rosalie Crutchley played Catherine in "The Sword and the Rose" an acount of Mary Tudor's romance with the duke of Suffolk in 1515. Crutchley later played Henry's sixth queen Catherine Parr in " The Six Wives of Henry VIII."

It was not until 1969, in Hal B. Wallis's acclaimed movie " Anne of the Thousand Days" that Catherine appeared again. This time she was played by Greek actress, Irene Papas. A year later, in a 90 minute television drama produced by the BBC, British actress, Annette Crosbie, played the most historically-accurate version of Catherine in a piece simply entitled "Catherine of Aragon" as part one in the channels " The Six Wives of Henry VIII" series. The drama began on the night Catherine arrived in England and followed through until her early marriage to Henry VIII. The drama then re-commenced almost a decade later, with Henry's moves to get a divorce in order to marry Anne Boleyn. The play, which co-starred Australian actor Keith Michell as Henry VIII, Dame Dorothy Tutin as Anne Boleyn and Patrick Troughton as the duke of Norfolk, then chronicled Catherine's life until her death in January 1536. Two years later esteemed actress, Claire Bloom, played Catherine in another adaptation of Shakespeare's play.

In 1973, in the movie "Henry VIII and his Six Wives," Frances Cuka played Catherine and Keith Michell reprised his role as Henry VIII. A scene was incorporated between Ms. Cuka and Charlotte Rampling (playing Anne Boleyn) to show their quiet, glacial enmity.

It was not until 2001 that Catherine again appeared on the screen. This time it was in Dr. David Starkey's documentary series on Henry's queens. She was portrayed by Annabelle Dowler, with Julia Marsen as Anne Boleyn.

In 2003 Catherine appeared twice on British television. In January, Spanish actress Yolanda Vasquez made a brief appearance in the wildly-inaccurate "The Other Boleyn Girl," opposite Jared Harris as Henry VIII and Natascha McElhone as Mary Boleyn. In October, the ITV 2-part television drama, "Henry VIII" starred Ray Winstone in the title role and Assumpta Serna as Queen Catherine. Part 1 chronicled the king's life from the birth of his bastard son, Henry Fitzroy until the execution of Anne Boleyn (played by Helena Bonham-Carter) in 1536. David Suchet co-starred as Cardinal Wolsey.

3 Historiography

For centuries, Catherine has been revered by many as a saint-like figure. She became a symbolic representation of the wronged woman and for years she has been presented in an extremely favourable light.

This view was first challenged in 1860 by historian G.A. Bergenroth. He had seen inside the Spanish royal archives, and believed that the universal praise of Catherine of Aragon needed "to be more or less lowered." Bergenroth's research formed the basis of the work of modern British historian, Dr. David Starkey, whose recent book, "Six Wives" gives a full account of Catherine's talent for intrigue and less-than-perfect cultural awareness. Joanna Denny also takes a firmer line with Catherine than historians of previous generations. Having said that, Catherine still has her ardent admirers; chief amongst them being historian, Alison Weir, author of "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" and "Henry VIII: King and Court". Weir, however, makes no mention of Bergenroth's findings. Catherine was savagely criticised in Joanna Denny's 2004 biography of Anne Boleyn. Catherine is described by Denny as "arrogant, stubborn, even bloody-minded".

4 External links

See http://tudorhistory.org/aragon/ for a good overview of Catherine's life, accompanied by an excellent portrait gallery

See http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/aragon.html for a more in-depth look at Catherine's life and times

See http://tudorhistory.org/humor/ and go to Tales from the Tudor Rose Bar for a humourous look at the Tudor Royal Family

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English queen consorts 1485 births 1536 deaths

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