Catherine of Aragon

Catherine was the daughter of the powerful couple Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon, whose own marriage had united Spain.

 Having King Ferdinand as an ally against the French was extremely useful for England.

Princess Catherine was well-educated and politically astute, and a good match for Henry. Although short in stature, she seems to have had a steely determination that later – some historians argue - bordered on a self-destructive stubbornness.

On 23 June 1509, Henry led the now 23-year-old Catherine from the Tower of London to Westminster Abbey for their coronation, which took place the following day. 

It was a grand affair: the king's passage was lined with tapestries and laid with fine cloth Following the ceremony, there was a grand banquet in Westminster Hall. 

As Catherine wrote to her father, "our time is spent in continuous festival".

He married Catherine of Aragon six weeks later. Over the next 15 years, Henry fought three wars with France.

Henry was an active king ruling over a prosperous realm in those years, and a leader in the English Renaissance. 

He lorded over a festive court while hunting, jousting, writing and playing music.

Henry issued a book-length attack on Martin Luther’s church reforms that earned him the title “Defender of the Faith” from Pope Leo X (a somewhat ironic title, given his eventual break with Roman Catholicism).