Catherine (of Aragon)

Timeline

1. 1501St Paul's Cathedral, London · EnglandIn August 1501 Catherine sailed from A Coruña to England, first meeting Arthur on 4 November at Dogmersfield in Hampshire; a grand wedding was held on 14 November at St Paul's Cathedral, cementing the alliance between England and Castile-Aragon and bringing half of a 200,000-ducat dowry.
2. 1501–1502Ludlow · Welsh MarchesAfter the wedding Catherine accompanied Arthur to Ludlow on the Welsh Marches to carry out the duties of the heir to the throne; on 2 April 1502 Arthur died suddenly of suspected "sweating sickness," ending a marriage of only about five months. Catherine was widowed at just 16, and whether the marriage had been consummated later became the focus of disputes over the legality of her remarriage.
3. 1502–1506London · EnglandAfter Arthur's death Catherine remained in England and was betrothed to Henry, son of Henry VII (later Henry VIII); between 1503 and 1506 Ferdinand and Henry VII repeatedly quarreled over the return of the dowry, and the wedding was postponed again and again. Catherine lived in straitened circumstances but upheld the dignity of the Spanish royal house.
4. 1507–1508London · EnglandIn 1507 her father Ferdinand appointed Catherine as Aragon's ambassador to England, making her the first known female ambassador in European history; in this post she negotiated on behalf of Spanish interests and continued to press for the marriage to Henry and the resolution of the dowry question.
5. 1509–1510Greenwich · EnglandHenry VII died in April 1509; the 17-year-old Henry VIII succeeded him and married Catherine at Greenwich on 11 June (by papal dispensation), and the two were jointly crowned at Westminster on 24 June. In 1510 she became pregnant for the first time but the child died in infancy, beginning many years of seeking an heir.