History UsefulNotes / CatherineOfAragon

Catherine of Aragon (Castilian: ''Catalina''; also spelled Katherine, 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England from June 1509 until May 1533 as the first of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII's wives, and by far the one with the most illustrious pedigree and more accomplishments.

After her mother's death, Catherine's worth in the royal European marriage market plummeted. Because Isabella was Queen of Castile in her own right, upon her death the throne was inherited by Catherine's sister, Juana. Suddenly, Catherine wasn't a princess of a glorious united Spain, but just her father's small kingdom of Aragon. Henry VII hedged his bets by postponing the marriage, not wanting to chain his son to her if a better option presented itself, but also not wanting to pay back her dowry, either. At this point, she was a pawn between the two kings. Both Henry VII and Ferdinand refused to pay her expenses, believing it was the other's duty. She was utterly mortified when one of her ladies-in-waiting was unable to arrange her own marriage because she couldn't pay her dowry. To make things worse, Catherine was ill represented by the Spanish ambassador. Thus, her father appointed her to the post until he could find a suitable replacement, making her the first female ambassador in European history. She has reported as having been effective, which surprised the courtiers, who expected her to be easily manipulated. The position also afforded her prestige and relevance again.

To her delight, Catherine and Henry VIII married soon after he succeeded to the English throne. The couple were very much in love with each other in these years and many times hopes were raised when she became pregnant. Catherine had seven pregnancies. Unfortunately for the couple, she often miscarried or gave birth to stillborn babies. The only surviving child was their daughter (and fifth pregnancy) [[UsefulNotes/MaryTudor Mary]], born in 1516. Catherine and Henry had a son, Henry Duke of Cornwall, who was their first child. However, the young Duke died at just 52 days old. The second and third pregnancy ended in two miscarried sons, the fourth resulted in a stillborn daughter. The fifth pregnancy resulted in a healthy child, [[UsefulNotes/MaryTudor Mary]]. Catherine was 31 when she gave birth, and Henry VIII was 25. As they were still young, they expected a son would follow. It did, but unfortunately the son Catherine gave birth to as her sixth pregnancy resulted in a stillbirth. The seventh and final pregnancy ended in a miscarried daughter.

Henry was notoriously unfaithful to his wife, keeping many mistresses. However, Catherine didn't mind that her husband was cheating on her, and actually encouraged it, as Catherine was her husband's main priority. Henry treated Catherine with respect... except when he was was annoyed with her father or her powerful nephew UsefulNotes/CharlesV. She ran England as regent while Henry was away fighting the French; in the meantime she defeated the Scottish troops in a battle she personally directed with the Earl of Surrey. It was the last time a British monarch died in battle as James IV of Scotland died of his wounds that day, a major victory for England over Scotland in their then-interminable feuding. Catherine sent Henry James IV's bloody coat. Henry, who hadn't had any successes with the French, was a bit grouchy about that. She also used her considerable influence to promote high-level education for women and give a lot of money from her personal funds to charity.

After decades of marriage, Henry was increasingly dissatisfied by the lack of a legitimate male heir and the groundwork for his Great Matter began to be laid. By the time Catherine became 40, it became unlikely she'd have more children. In 1526, Henry fell in love with[[note]]or "became obsessed with", depending on who you ask[[/note]] one of Catherine's ladies-in-waiting, UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn. Henry became convinced that his marriage to Catherine was unlawful, due to her having been married to his brother first (realising 18 years after their wedding). The pope did not give him the annulment he sought (due to being under the influence of Catherine's nephew). After 7 years of trying to get a divorce, Henry broke away from the Roman Catholic Church entirely and married Anne Boleyn. Catherine and Mary were dealt indignity after indignity when they refused to accept the annulment, as agreeing would have forced Catherine to admit that she had been living with Henry as an unmarried woman (which in her time would have made her quite literally a whore) and would have made Mary illegitimate, who 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 as Queen. Anne was not like Catherine at all; she was gossipy, witty and loved to make jokes. This made Anne unpopular with the English, many other European countries didn't accept that Catherine was no longer the Queen. When the Duke of Suffolk came to deal another blow to her dignity, local people gathered and watched, threateningly holding pitchforks.

After 2 years of ill-treatment and misery, Catherine had become sick. Catherine died aged 50, lonely, miserable and still calling herself the King's one true wife and the Queen of England. Henry did not attend the funeral of his ex-wife, and forbade their daughter Mary from attending. A post-mortem revealed a black spot on Catherine's heart, which led to rumours that Anne had poisoned her predecessor. However, it was most likely a sign of cancer.

Anne and Henry shocked the country when they attended a party wearing yellow (the traditional colour of celebration in England) which was seen as a vulgar insult to Catherine. However, some believe Henry and Anne were throwing a tribute to Catherine (because [[ValuesDissonance in Spain, yellow is the traditional colour of mourning]]). Someone wrote to Anne congratulating her over her victory, as now she could be Queen without Catherine claiming she wasn't. However, Anne replied, "No, I am sorry, not indeed because she is dead, but because her death has been so honourable." Needless to say, Anne and Catherine despised each other. Ironically, her death caused an obstacle for Henry. After Anne miscarried a son, and had left him with only a daughter, Elizabeth, he believed that God was punishing him for leaving Catherine. However, he couldn't remarry Catherine because she was dead. Anne Boleyn, the woman who Henry had once left his beloved wife, mistresses and the Catholic Church to marry, was then beheaded on Tower Hill in the Tower of London after only 3 years of marriage; a very short marriage compared to the 24 years Catherine had with Henry. Sure, the last 7 years of marriage were a bit crazy, but the first 18 years of marriage were actually quite happy. Even if Anne's daughter had success in life, you could say Catherine got the last laugh marriage-wise. She was the longest wife of Henry VIII and popular with the people.

* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask: It is InTheBlood, after all.

Henry was notoriously unfaithful to his wife, keeping many mistresses. However, Catherine didn’t mind that her husband was cheating on her, and actually encouraged it, as Catherine was her husband’s main priority. Henry treated Catherine with respect... except when he was was annoyed with her father or her powerful nephew UsefulNotes/CharlesV. She ran England as regent while Henry was away fighting the French; in the meantime she defeated the Scottish troops in a battle she personally directed with the Earl of Surrey. It was the last time a British monarch died in battle as James IV of Scotland died of his wounds that day, a major victory for England over Scotland in their then-interminable feuding. Catherine sent Henry James IV’s bloody coat. Henry, who hadn't had any successes with the French, was a bit grouchy about that. She also used her considerable influence to promote high-level education for women and give a lot of money from her personal funds to charity.

After decades of marriage, Henry was increasingly dissatisfied by the lack of a legitimate male heir and the groundwork for his Great Matter began to be laid. By the time Catherine became 40, it became unlikely she’d have more children. In 1526, Henry fell in love with[[note]]or "became obsessed with", depending on who you ask[[/note]] one of Catherine's ladies-in-waiting, UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn. Henry became convinced that his marriage to Catherine was unlawful, due to her having been married to his brother first (realising 18 years after their wedding). The pope did not give him the annulment he sought (due to being under the influence of Catherine’s nephew). After 7 years of trying to get a divorce, Henry broke away from the Roman Catholic Church entirely and married Anne Boleyn. Catherine and Mary were dealt indignity after indignity when they refused to accept the annulment, as agreeing would have forced Catherine to admit that she had been living with Henry as an unmarried woman (which in her time would have made her quite literally a whore) and would have made Mary illegitimate, who 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 as Queen. Anne was not like Catherine at all; she was gossipy, witty and loved to make jokes. This made Anne unpopular with the English, many other European countries didn’t accept that Catherine was no longer the Queen. When the Duke of Suffolk came to deal another blow to her dignity, local people gathered and watched, threateningly holding pitchforks.

After 2 years of ill-treatment and misery, Catherine had become sick. Catherine died aged 50, lonely, miserable and still calling herself the King’s one true wife and the Queen of England. Henry did not attend the funeral of his ex-wife, and forbade their daughter Mary from attending. A post-mortem revealed a black spot on Catherine’s heart, which led to rumours that Anne had poisoned her predecessor. However, it was most likely a sign of cancer.

Anne and Henry shocked the country when they attended a party wearing yellow (the traditional colour of celebration in England) which was seen as a vulgar insult to Catherine. However, some believe Henry and Anne were throwing a tribute to Catherine (because in Spain yellow is the traditional colour of mourning). Someone wrote to Anne congratulating her over her victory, as now she could be Queen without Catherine claiming she wasn’t. However, Anne replied saying “No, I am sorry, not indeed because she is dead, but because her death has been so honourable.” Needless to say, Anne and Catherine despised each other. Ironically, her death caused an obstacle for Henry. After Anne miscarried a son, and had left him with only a daughter, Elizabeth, he believed that God was punishing him for leaving Catherine. However, he couldn’t remarry Catherine because she was dead. Anne Boleyn, the woman who Henry had once left his beloved wife, mistresses and the Catholic Church to marry, was then beheaded on Tower Hill in the Tower of London after only 3 years of marriage; a very short marriage compared to the 24 years Catherine had with Henry. Sure, the last 7 years of marriage were a bit crazy, but the first 18 years of marriage were actually quite happy. Even if Anne’s daughter had success in life, you could say Catherine got the last laugh marriage wise. She was the longest wife of Henry VIII and popular with the people.

* {{Adaptational Dye Job}}: Most adaptions depict Catherine with black hair. The real Catherine had [[{{Fiery Redhead}} red hair]].

* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: By all accounts, she and Henry were in love when they married and Henry chose her as his bride (and got the Pope to grant them permission for their marriage, as she had been his brother's widow) because he wanted to. Though he took mistresses (the most famous being Bessie Blount, who bore his illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy), their relationship was generally happy before the years set in and he grew more dissatisfied with their lack of surviving sons.

* 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.

* Catherine of Aragon and the rest of Henry's wives are reimagined as pop stars in the musical ''Theatre/{{Six}}''. Catherine's song, "No Way", is styled after Beyonce and Shakira.
* ''Fanfic/{{Handmaid}}'' is a ''Series/TheTudors'' AlternateHistory fic where Catherine (spelled Katherine here) gets the idea of asking Anne Boleyn to serve as her and Henry's handmaid (a concept dating to biblical times where she would essentially bear Henry's children on Catherine's behalf) in order to prevent a divorce and keep Mary legitimate but still give Henry the sons he desires. She trusts Anne to do this because she knows Anne is loyal to her, but what she doesn't know is that's because Anne's in love with ''her''. [[spoiler:She eventually finds out and later reciprocates. She dies around the same time as Henry did.]]

To her delight, Catherine and Henry VIII married soon after he succeeded to the English throne. The couple were very much in love with each other in these years and many times hopes were raised when she became pregnant. Catherine had seven pregnancies. Unfortunately for the couple, she often miscarried or gave birth to stillborn babies. The only surviving child was their daughter (and fifth pregnancy) [[UsefulNotes/MaryTudor Mary]], born in 1516. Catherine and Henry had a son, Henry Duke of Cornwall, who was their first child. However, the young Duke died at just 52 days old. The second and third pregnancy ended in two miscarried sons, the fourth resulted in a stillborn daughter. The fifth pregnancy resulted in a healthy child, [[UsefulNotes/MaryTudor Mary]]. Catherine was 31 when she gave birth, and Henry VIII was 25. As they were still young, they expected a son would follow. It did, but unfortunately the son Catherine gave birth to as her sixth pregnancy resulted in a stillbirth. The seventh and final pregnancy ended in a miscarried son.

Immensely popular amongst the English people, Catherine could have found some consolation in their refusal to accept Anne as queen. When the Duke of Suffolk came to deal another blow to her dignity, local people gathered and watched, threateningly holding pitchforks. She had grown ill with cancer, however, and died in 1536. Ironically, her death caused an obstacle for Henry when he had grown tired of Anne. If he now did away with his second wife, nobody would pressure him to go back to his first wife.

To her delight, Catherine and Henry VIII married soon after he succeeded to the English throne. The couple had affection for each other in these years and many times hopes were raised when she became pregnant. Unfortunately for the couple, she often miscarried or gave birth to children that died soon after. The only surviving child was their daughter [[UsefulNotes/MaryTudor Mary]], born in 1516. Eventually, Henry took mistresses but still treated Catherine with respect... except when he was was annoyed with her father or her powerful nephew UsefulNotes/CharlesV. She ran England while Henry was away fighting the French; in the meantime she defeated the Scottish troops in a battle she personally directed with the Earl of Surrey. It was the last time a British monarch died in battle as James IV of Scotland died of his wounds that day, a major victory for England over Scotland in their then-interminable feuding. Henry, who hadn't had any successes at that scale, was a bit grouchy about that. She also used her considerable influence to promote high-level education for women and give a lot of money from her personal funds to charity.

After decades of marriage, Henry was increasingly dissatisfied by the lack of a legitimate male heir and the groundwork for his Great Matter began to be laid. In 1526, Henry fell in love with[[note]]or "became obsessed with", depending on who you ask[[/note]] one of Catherine's ladies-in-waiting, the dazzling UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn. Henry became convinced that his marriage to Catherine was unlawful, due to her having been married to his brother first (or at least, such was his public argument). When the pope did not give him the annulment he sought, he broke away from the Roman Catholic Church entirely and married Anne Boleyn. Catherine and Mary were dealt indignity after indignity when they refused to accept the annulment, as agreeing would have forced Catherine to admit that she had been living with Henry as an unmarried woman (which in her time would have made her quite literally a whore) and would have thrown doubt on the legitimacy of Mary, who stayed loyal to her mother and was therefore forbidden from seeing her.

->''"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!"''
-->--'''Catherine of Aragon'''

->''"Did I not tell you that whenever you argue with the Queen she is sure to have the upper hand?! I see that one fine morning you will succumb to her reasoning and cast me off!"''
-->--'''Anne Boleyn'''

Catherine of Aragon (Castilian: Catalina; also spelled Katherine, 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England from June 1509 until May 1533 as the first of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII's wives, and by far the one with the most illustrious pedigree and more accomplishments.

* MamaBear: Very much so.
* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: She got along with her husband... at first.
* PoliticallyActivePrincess: Briefly at her father's behalf in the English court.

Her parents, [[RulingCouple Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon]], were famous throughout Europe as the rulers of a united Spain and the conquerors of the Moor. The English King Henry VII was happy to have Catherine 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 Isabella refused point-blank, knowing it would trap her daughter in a short reign and a long widowhood.

Catherine of Aragon (Castilian: Catalina; also spelled Katherine, 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England from June 1509 until May 1533 as the first of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII’s wives, and by far the one with the most illustrious pedigree and more accomplishments.

* In a Case #11 of ''VideoGame/CriminalCaseTravelInTime'', due to disturbances in time and history, Catherine of Aragon is the victim of a gruesome murder in 1515, before she gets the chance to have her daughter Mary. Henry and Anne Boleyn are suspects in the murder, both with motives (Henry suspected her of having an affair with a French envoy; Anne was deeply offended by Catherine’s accusations of her seducing Henry, which held no truth at the time). In the end, it turned out that the killer was [[spoiler: a commoner named Agnes Manners. The French envoy (who Catherine was suspected of having an affair with) was actually negotiating peace between England and France with Catherine. Agnes, who had lost her two sons in the war against the French, saw this as a betrayal, and bashed in Catherine’s head with a mace]].
* Catherine of Aragon and the rest of Henry's wives are reimagined as pop stars in the musical ''Theatre/{{Six}}''. Catherine's song, "No Way," is styled after Beyonce and Shakira.

Her parents, [[RulingCouple 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 Catherine 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 Isabella refused point-blank, knowing it would trap her daughter in a short reign and a long widowhood.

After her mother's death, Catherine's worth in the royal European marriage market plummeted. Because Isabella was Queen of Castile in her own right, upon her death the throne was inherited by Catherine's sister, Juana. Suddenly, Catherine wasn't a princess of a glorious united Spain, but just her father's small kingdom of Aragon. Henry VII hedged his bets by postponing the marriage, not wanting to chain his son to her if a better option presented itself, but also not wanting to pay back her dowry, either. At this point, she was a pawn between the two kings. Both Henry VII and Ferdinand refused to pay her expenses, believing it was the other's duty. She was utterly mortified when one of her ladies-in-waiting was unable to arrange her own marriage because she couldn't pay her dowry.

Furthermore, Catherine was ill represented by the Spanish ambassador, to the point where her father finally appointed her to the post until he could find a suitable replacement, making her the first female ambassador in European history. She has reported as having been effective, which surprised the courtiers, who expected her to be easily manipulated. The position afforded her some prestige and relevance at court again, as more than just Dowager Princess of Wales.

To Catherine's delight, Henry VIII married her soon after he succeeded to the throne. Both had affection for each other in these years and many times hopes were raised when she became pregnant. Unfortunately for the couple, she often miscarried or gave birth to children that died soon after. The only surviving child was their daughter [[UsefulNotes/MaryTudor Mary]], born in 1516. Eventually, he often mistresses during their marriage, but treated Catherine with respect throughout most of it. She did suffer his displeasure whenever he was annoyed with her father Ferdinand and then her powerful nephew UsefulNotes/CharlesV.

Catherine often ran England while Henry was away fighting the French, promoting education for women and defeating the Scottish troops in a battle she personally directed with the Earl of Surrey. It was the last battle in which the monarch of a British kingdom died, as the Scottish King James IV died of his battle wounds that day, a major victory for England over Scotland in their then-interminable feuding. Henry, who hadn't had any successes at that scale, was a bit grouchy about that one.

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 her dignity, local people gathered and watched, threateningly holding pitchforks. She had grown ill with cancer, however, and died in 1536. Ironically, her death caused an obstacle for Henry when he had grown tired of Anne Boleyn. If he now did away with his second wife, nobody would pressure him to go back to his first wife.

* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask: It is InTheBlood.

* Frances Cuka in the 1972 film ''Henry VIII and His Six Wives''. Keith Michell reprised his role as Henry VIII from ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII''.

* Assumpta Serna in the 2003 ITV two-part television drama, ''Henry VIII'' which starred Creator/RayWinstone in the title role.

* María Ballesteros in movie Mad Love (2001
* Creator/MariaDoyleKennedy in the Creator/{{Showtime}} 2007 television series, ''Series/TheTudors'' opposite Creator/JonathanRhysMeyers as Henry VIII.
* Ana Torrent in the 2007 film ''Film/TheOtherBoleynGirl'', with Creator/EricBana as Henry VIII.

* 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''. Creator/CharlotteHope plays Catherine -- and for once, does so as the redhead Catherine actually was.

* ''Fanfic/{{Handmaid}}'' is a ''Series/TheTudors'' AlternateHistory fic where Catherine (spelled Katherine here) gets the idea of asking Anne Boleyn to serve as her and Henry's handmaid (a concept dating to biblical times where she would essentially bear Henry's children on Catherine's behalf) in order to prevent a divorce and keep Mary legitimate but still give Henry the sons he desires. She trusts Anne to do this because she knows Anne is loyal to her, but what she doesn't know is that's because Anne's in love with ''her''. [[spoiler:She eventually finds out and later reciprocates. She dies around the same time as Henry did.]]
* Catherine of Aragon and the rest of Henry's wives are reimagined as pop stars in the musical ''Theatre/{{Six}}''. Catherine's song, "No Way," is styled after Beyonce and Shakira.

In 1526, Henry fell seriously in love with[[note]]or "became obsessed with", depending on who you ask[[/note]] one of Catherine's ladies-in-waiting, the dazzling UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn. Spurred on by her and her allies, he became convinced that his marriage to Catherine was unlawful, due to her having been married to his brother first. When the pope did not give him the annulment he sought, he broke away from the Roman Catholic Church entirely and married Anne Boleyn. Catherine and Mary were dealt indignity after indignity when they refused to accept the annulment, as agreeing would have forced Catherine to admit that she had been living with Henry as an unmarried woman (which in her time would have made her quite literally a whore) and would have thrown doubt on the legitimacy of Mary, who stayed loyal to her mother and was therefore forbidden from seeing her.

Unlike how she is nearly always depicted in modern drama, the real Catherine was quite beautiful as a young woman with alabaster skin, pale blue eyes, and lovely long bright red hair.[[note]]Sources that seem to think red hair ugly or tend to call her "auburn", "golden-haired", etc. 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.

* PoliticallyActivePrincess: Briefly in her father's behalf in the EnglishCourt.

Catherine of Aragon (Castilian: Catalina; also spelled Katherine, 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England from June 1509 until May 1533 as 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.

After the death of her mother, Isabella of Castile, Catherine's worth in the royal European marriage market plummeted. Because Isabella was Queen of Castile in her own right, upon her death the throne was inherited by Catherine's sister, Queen Juana. Suddenly, Catherine wasn't the Princess of a glorious united Spain, but just her father's small kingdom of Aragon. Henry VII hedged his bets by postponing the marriage, not wanting to chain his son to Catherine if a better option presented itself, but also not wanting to pay back Catherine's dowry, either.

Catherine at this point was a pawn between the two kings. Both Henry VII and Ferdinand of Aragon refused to pay her expenses, believing it was the other's duty. She was utterly mortified when one of her ladies-in-waiting was unable to arrange a marriage because Catherine couldn't pay her dowry. She was ill represented by the Spanish ambassador, to the point where her father finally appointed her to the post until he could find a suitable replacement, making Catherine of Aragon the first female ambassador in European history. The position afforded her some prestige and relevance at court again, as more than just Dowager Princess of Wales.

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 [[UsefulNotes/MaryTudor Mary]], born in 1516.

Henry strayed often during the marriage, but treated Catherine with respect throughout most of it. She did suffer his displeasure whenever he was annoyed with her father Ferdinand and then her powerful nephew Charles V.

In 1526, Henry fell seriously in love with[[note]]or "became obsessed with", depending on who you ask[[/note]] one of Catherine’s ladies-in-waiting, the dazzling UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn. Spurred on by her and her allies, he became convinced that his marriage to Catherine was unlawful, due to her having been married to his brother first. When the pope did not give him the annulment he sought, he broke away from the Roman Catholic Church entirely and married Anne Boleyn.

Catherine and her daughter were dealt indignity after indignity when they refused to accept the annulment. Agreeing would have forced her to admit that she had been living with Henry as an unmarried woman (which in her time would have made her quite literally a whore) 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.

She had grown ill, however, and died in 1536. Ironically, her death removed an obstacle for Henry when he had grown tired of Anne Boleyn. If he now did away with his second wife, nobody would pressure him to go back to his first.

Unlike how she's nearly always depicted in modern drama, the real Catherine was quite beautiful as a young woman, with alabaster skin, pale blue eyes, and lovely long bright red hair.[[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 portrayed in fiction:

* María Ballesteros in movie Mad Love (2001)

* Catherine of Aragon (along with Henry VIII's other wives) are reimagined as pop stars in the musical theatre ''Theatre/{{Six}}''.

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

* 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.

* ''Fanfic/{{Handmaid}}'' is a ''Series/TheTudors'' AlternateHistory fic where Catherine (spelled Katherine here) gets the idea of asking Anne Boleyn to serve as her and Henry's handmaid (a concept dating to biblical times where she would essentially bear Henry's children on Catherine's behalf) in order to prevent a divorce and keep Mary legitimate but still give Henry the sons he desires. She trusts Anne to do this because she knows Anne is loyal to her, but what she doesn't know is that's because Anne's in love with ''her''. [[spoiler:She eventually finds out and later reciprocates. She dies around the same time as Henry did.]]

* Appears in Jean Plaidy's ''Daughters of Spain'', the last book in a trilogy about Isabella of Castile.

* In a Case #11 of ''VideoGame/CriminalCaseTravelInTime'', due to disturbances in time and history, Catherine of Aragon is the victim of a gruesome murder in 1515, before she gets the chance to have her daughter Mary. Henry and Anne Boleyn are suspects in the murder, both with motives (Henry suspected her of having an affair with a French envoy; Anne was deeply offended by Catherine’s accusations of her seducing Henry, which held no truth at the time). In the end, it turned out that the killer was [[spoiler: a commoner named Agnes Manners, who murdered Catherine. The French envoy (who Catherine was suspected of having an affair with) was actually negotiating peace between England and France with Catherine. Agnes, who had lost her two sons in the war against the French, saw this as a betrayal, and bashed in Catherine’s head with a mace]].

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/catherine_aragon.jpg]]

In 1526, Henry fell seriously in love with one of Catherine’s ladies-in-waiting, the dazzling UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn. Spurred on by her and her allies, he became convinced that his marriage to Catherine was unlawful, due to her having been married to his brother first. When the pope did not give him the annulment he sought, he broke away from the Roman Catholic Church entirely and married Anne Boleyn.