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Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s First Victim- er, Wife- Dies in Exile
“The most virtuous woman I have ever known and the highest hearted, but too quick to trust that others were like herself, and too slow to do a little ill that much good might come of it.” — Eustace Chapuys
Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII who was married to him longer than his other five spouses put together, died on January 7, 1536, most likely of cancer.
She died in exile, separated from her beloved daughter by the husband who could never bend Catherine to his will, no matter how seemingly subservient she was on the surface. The only reason she lived long enough to die a natural death (unlike two of his wives who displeased Henry VIII) was that she was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, and the aunt of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
During the final days of 1535, 50-year-old Catherine’s health began to fail rapidly. She was living in remote Kimbolton Castle in Cambridgeshire, a drafty and damp outpost dating back to Norman times, far away from all of those she held dear. This was a punishment meted out by Henry VIII for her staunch refusal to…
