Catherine of Aragón (1485-1536)

Spanish-born Catherine of Aragón, first queen of Henry VIII of England, and the mother of Mary I (Tudor) of England.

First queen of Henry VIII of England, 1509-33, and mother of Mary I. Catherine had married Henry's elder brother Prince Arthur in 1501 and on his death in 1502 was betrothed to Henry, marrying him on his accession. She failed to produce a male heir and Henry divorced her without papal approval, thus creating the basis for the English Reformation.

Born at Alcalá de Henares, she was the youngest daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. After Prince Arthur's death, Catherine remained in England, virtually penniless, until her marriage to Henry in 1509. Of their six children, only Mary survived infancy. Wanting a male heir, Henry sought an annulment in 1526 when Catherine was too old to bear children. When the pope demanded that the case be referred to him, Henry married Anne Boleyn, afterwards receiving the desired decree of nullity from Thomas Cranmer, the archbishop of Canterbury, in 1533. The Reformation in England followed, and Catherine went into retirement until her death.