History UsefulNotes / CatherineOfAragon

To Catherine’s delight, Henry VIII married her soon after he succeeded to the throne. Both had a great affection for each other in these years and many times hopes were raised when Catherine became pregnant. Unfortunately for the royal couple, she often miscarried or gave birth to children that died soon after. The only surviving child was their daughter Mary, born in 1516.

* Catherine is the protagonist of the Starz series ''Series/TheSpanishPrincess'', a sequel to ''Series/TheWhiteQueen'' and ''Series/TheWhitePrincess'' and adapted from the Philippa Gregory novel ''The Constant Princess''. Charlotte Hope plays Catherine -- and for once, does so as the redhead Catherine actually was.

* Catherine is the protagonist of the Starz series ''Series/TheSpanishPrincess'', a sequel to ''Series/TheWhiteQueen'' and ''Series/TheWhitePrincess'' and adapted from the Philippa Gregory novel ''The Constant Princess''. Charlotte Hope plays Catherine.

* Catherine is the protagonist of the Starz series ''TheSpanishPrincess'', a sequel to ''TheWhiteQueen'' and ''TheWhitePrincess'' and adapted from the Philippa Gregory novel ''The Constant Princess''. Charlotte Hope plays Catherine.

* The ''My Story'' series - fictional diaries of the friends of notable historical figures - has a book ''My Tudor Queen''. It's written from the perspective of a girl called Eva, niece of the Spanish ambassador, who is a lady-in-waiting to Catherine as she goes to England to marry Arthur. The sequel ''Anne Boleyn & Me'' follows Eva's daughter Ellie as she becomes a lady-in-waiting to Anne.

Unlike how she's nearly always depicted in modern drama, the real Catherine had alabaster skin, pale blue eyes, and bright red hair that faded to a dull yellowish grey as she got older.[[note]]Sources that seem to think red hair ugly or a sign of low class tend to call her "auburn", "golden-haired", or other such nonsense. We have her portraits; she was a true redhead.[[/note]] She likely inherited her colouring from her great-grandmother Katherine of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt.

%%!!Tropes associated with Catherine of Aragon as protrayed in fiction:

* Maria Doyle Kennedy in the Creator/{{Showtime}} 2007 television series, ''Series/TheTudors'' opposite Creator/JonathanRhysMeyers as Henry VIII.

* Joanne Whalley in ''Series/WolfHall''.

Catherine and her daughter were dealt indignity after indignity when they refused to accept the annulment. Agreeing to it, would have made her admit that she had been living with Henry as an unmarried woman and would have thrown doubt on the legitimacy of her daughter. Mary stayed loyal to her mother and was therefore forbidden from seeing her.

The first of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII’s wives and by far the one with the most illustrious pedigree. Her parents, Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, were famous throughout Europe as the heirs to great lineages, the conquerors of the Moors and the rulers of a united Spain. The English King Henry VII was happy to have her marry his oldest son Arthur, which gave the fledgling Tudor dynasty a boost in prestige and legitimacy. To their disappointment, Arthur died not long after the wedding and Catherine was hastily betrothed to Henry’s last surviving son, who was named after his father. There was a suggestion that Henry VII marry Catherine himself, after his wife died, but Queen Isabella refused point-blank, knowing it would trap her daughter in a short reign as Queen and a long widowhood.

* Joanne Whalley in ''Series/WolfHall''.

->'' I care not a straw for your Doctors! For every Doctor and Lawyer that upholds your case I could find a thousand that would find our marriage good and valid!''.

!!Tropes associated with Catherine of Aragon include:

* AdiposeRex: Averted. Though Henry is known for this, he was still athletic during their marriage and considered a very handsome young man.
* ArrangedMarriage: Both her marriages were arranged. She also happily had her daughter betrothed to Charles V, as she thought this the best for England, her family and Mary herself.
* AssInAmbassador: Averted in two ways. Firstly, Catherine acted as ambassador after Arthur's death to Henry VII's court, when she behaved with dignity. Secondly, when Henry VIII tried to get rid of her, the Spanish ambassadors were great support to her.
* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: Only two wives of Henry VIII were crowned. Catherine's coronation was far more accepted and celebrated than that of Anne Boleyn.
* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: How much better her life would have been if she had given birth to a surviving son.
* BettyAndVeronica: The Betty to Anne Boleyn's Veronica.
* BilingualBonus: Catherine spoke Spanish, English with an accent, Latin and French as well.
* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Maybe even more than other princesses, the children of Isabella of Castile came to view the world this way. For a daughter of the Reconquista, it must have been baffling to have to deal with the religious questioning of the early reformation.
* BringIt: Though covered in a cloth of humility, Catherine's speech to Henry at the legatine court was very much this.
* CorruptChurch: Catherine was very devoted to the church, but its many abuses had lowered its prestige considerably in the early sixteenth century. This made it easier for Henry to break away from Rome and her.
* CultureClash: Though Catherine did her best to adapt to English customs, there was a degree of that when she first came to England. It helped that her Spanish relatives ruled the Netherlands as well, which were the natural ally of England. Spain was not yet the enemy it would become in the second half of the century and the English people were charmed by the Spanish princess.
* DancesAndBalls: When first meeting Prince Arthur, Catherine danced with her own entourage as the way she had learned to dance was different from his. She did participate at Henry's court, yet stopped dancing as she grew older.
* DoomedMoralVictor
* DyingAlone: Luckily averted. Though forbidden to visit her, her great friend Maria de Salinas stormed into Kimbolton Castle when she heard Catherine was dying and stayed with her until the end.
* EnemyMine: Though she had been Cardinal Wolsey's competition when it came to influence over Henry VIII, they started to plot together against mutual enemy Anne Boleyn not long before his final downfall and death.
* ExtremeDoormat: Averted. Though Catherine had accepted Henry's infidelities with dignity, she refused to give in when he wanted their marriage to be declared invalid.
* EveryonesBabySister: Double subversion. Catherine was the youngest child of her parents. However, by the time she faced being cast aside by Henry VIII, her only surviving sibling had been declared insane and had been locked up for two decades. However, her nephew Charles V took up the role as her supporter. Henry's repudiation of his aunt was an insult to him, but there also seemed to have been a genuine bond of affection between Catherine and him.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: And face hardship with dignity too. Catherine was famous for this.
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Averted. After Catherine left Spain, the only sibling she met again was her sister Joanna. She and her husband's ship stranded in England in 1506. Joanna already showed signs of mental instability at that time and Catherine was concerned for her well-being. As well she might have been, as Joanna would be declared insane and locked up for decades afterwards.
* GorgeousPeriodDress
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: What the English viewed her as. Like her mother, she was a blonde.
* HeirClubForMen: An interesting case, as her husband very much believed in this, but she was less convinced. Her mother had been a highly successful ruler, who had raised the prestige of Castile to unknown heights. Added to this, there were several women who acted as regents successfully during Catherine's lifetime, including the sister and the mother of a king of France, her sister-in-law, her niece, as well as herself. It was therefore not a weird idea for Catherine to have Mary succeed Henry.
* HundredPercentAdorationRating: Catherine was adored by the English and greatly respected throughout the courts of Europe. Even the French King never really declared against the validity of her marriage, despite him being embroiled in a life-long rivalry against her nephew Charles V.
** Her mother Isabella was seen like this as well, at least in the Christian world. Her father had too much of a reputation as a sly fox for this.
* LoveRuinsTheRealm: It also ruined Catherine's world.
* TheMistress: Henry had several. Though she protested at the beginning of the marriage, she came to accept it later on. Never would she have thought to be cast aside for one of them, though.
* NiceHat
* OffWithHisHead: Averted. Though Henry is known for doing that to his wives, this did not happen to Catherine. Partly this might have been due to the greater respect she was held him by both him and others and was above reproach. Important was also that such a blow to Charles V's dignity, would have caused him to attack England. Unlike Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, she had not been born an English subject and had powerful connections.
* PoliticallyActivePrincess: As Princess of Aragon (and Dowager Princess of Wales), she acted as the Spanish Ambassador to England.
* RevengeByProxy: Henry tended to take petty revenge on Catherine if he felt betrayed by her relatives.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Catherine ruled as regent when Henry campaigned in France. The English victory over the Scots at Flodden, was won during her rule as regent and with help from her preparations. She was also known for her needlework, interest in learning and charity.
* StandardRoyalCourt: While she was Queen, the English court was not as deadly and decadent as it would become later during Henry's reign. His affairs were much more discrete than Francis I of France's, for instance.
* UnwantedSpouse: Though she was married to Henry longer than all his other wives combined, he moved heaven and earth to get rid of her in the end.
* YourCheatingHeart: Henry.

The first of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII’s wives and by far the one with the most illustrious pedigree. Her parents w Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, were famous throughout Europe as the heirs to great linages, the conquerors of the Moors and the rulers of a united Spain. The English King Henry VII was happy to have her marry his oldest son Arthur, which gave the fledgling Tudor dynasty a boost in prestige and legitimacy. To their disappointment, Arthur died not long after the wedding and Catherine was hastily betrothed to Henry’s last surviving son, who was named after his father. There was a suggestion that Henry VII marry Catherine himself, after his wife died, but Queen Isabella refused point-blank, knowing it would trap her daughter in a short reign as Queen and a long widowhood.

The first of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII’s wives and by far the one with the most illustrious pedigree. Her parents, Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, were famous throughout Europe as the heirs to great linages, the conquerors of the Moors and the rulers of a united Spain. The English King Henry VII was happy to have her marry his oldest son Arthur, which gave the fledgling Tudor dynasty a boost in prestige and legitimacy.

To their disappointment, Arthur died not long after the wedding and Catherine was hastily betrothed to Henry’s last surviving son, who was named after his father. After the death of her mother, Isabella of Castile, the wedding was postponed for years. To Catherine’s delight, Henry VIII married her soon after he succeeded to the throne. Both had a great affection for each other in these years and many times hopes were raised when Catherine became pregnant. Unfortunately for the royal couple, she often miscarried or gave birth to children that died soon after. The only surviving child was their daughter Mary, born in 1516.

* Her mother Isabella was seen like this as well, at least in the Christian world. Her father had too much of a reputation as a sly fox for this.

* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Maybe even more than other princesses, the children of Isabella of Castile came to view the world this way. For a daughter of the reqonquista, it must have been baffling to have to deal with the religious questioning of the early reformation.

* HeirClubForMen: An interesting case, as her husband very much believed in this, but she was less convinced. Her mother had been a highly successful ruler, who had raised the prestige of Castile to unknown heights. It was therefore not a weird idea for Catherine to have Mary succeed Henry.

* StandardRoyalCourt: While she was Queen, the English court was not as deadly and decadent as it would become later during Henry's reign. His affairs were much more descrite than Francis I of France's, for instance.

* HeirClubForMen: An interesting case, as her husband very much believed in this, but she was less convinced. Her mother had been a highly successful queen-regent, who had raised the prestige of Castile to unknown heights. It was therefore not a weird idea for Catherine to have Mary succeed Henry.

Catherine and her daughter, were dealt indignity after indignity when they refused to accept the annulment. Agreeing to it, would have made her admit that she had been living with Henry as an unmarried woman and would have thrown doubt on the legitimacy of her daughter. Mary stayed loyal to her mother and was therefore forbidden from seeing her.

Immensely popular amongst the English people, Catherine could have found some consolation in their refusal to accept Anne Boleyn as queen. When the Duke of Suffolk came to deal another blow to Catherine’s dignity, local people gathered and watched threateningly, holding pitchforks.

* AssInAmbassador: Averted in two ways. Firstly, Catherine acted as ambassador after Arthur's death and Henry VII's court, when she behaved with dignity. Secondly, when Henry VIII tried to get rid of her, the Spanish ambassadors were great support to her.

* StandardRoyalCourt: While she was Queen, the English court was not as deadly and decadent as it would become later during Henry's reign. His affairs were much more descreet than Francis I of France's, for instance.

* DancesAndBalls: When first meeting Prince Arthur, Catherine dance with her own entourage as the way she had learned to dance was different from his. She did participate at Henry's court, yet stopped dancing as she grew older.

The first of UsefulNotes/ HenryVIII’s wives and by far the one with the most illustrious pedigree. Her parents, Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, were famous throughout Europe as the heirs to great linages, the conquerors of the Moors and the rulers of a united Spain. The English King Henry VII was happy to have her marry his oldest son Arthur, which gave the fledgling Tudor dynasty a boost in prestige and legitimacy.