Catherine of Aragon (episode)

## Plot

Catherine of Aragon has arrived in England, and Henry VII wishes for his son, Arthur Tudor, to meet her before the ceremony. They go to meet her, where she and her Spanish servants are staying in lavish tents close by the castle, and the king announces them and informs the servants that Prince Arthur wishes to meet the princess. Her dueña, Dona Elvira, refuses to allow this because the princess has already gone to bed, and the king coyly states that they will visit Catherine in her bedchamber. Catherine's dueña cannot allow this, and has a maid fetch the princess, and the king approves of her appearance, which is beautiful. He greets her in a welcoming manner, and Catherine responds politely. The king then brings Arthur forth, and while the prince and princess seem taken with one another, the scene cuts to the prince's funeral. The king is then seen holding his ten-year-old son, Henry, close to him, as his last remaining heir to the throne.

Over the next few years, Catherine faces money trouble; one situation has her buying fish from the market that is a day old so as she can feed herself and her servants. There is controversy towards her method of payment, as she had received a golden plate as part of her dowry, and now must use it to purchase food. As King Henry reportedly states that his son refuses to marry her, Catherine insists upon remaining in England until such a time as she can become Princess of Wales and King of England, steadfastly standing by the marriage she wants. She proclaims to her closest friend, María de Salinas, that she would rather die than return to Spain as a single woman.

King Henry VII dies in April 1509, seven years after Catherine had remained a widow. The new king goes to see Catherine, joyfully proclaiming that he wishes to marry her, as his dying father wished for the marriage to take place. After their marriage, the pair enjoy a honeymoon where they seem to be very much in love. Catherine becomes pregnant but unfortunately loses the child, only to have a son a year later. However, her son dies after fifty-two days, and both Catherine and Henry are devastated at his loss. Henry informs her that because of their youth (he is nearly twenty and she twenty-five) that they can have more sons. Mutually heartbroken, the pair embraces, and thus ends half the episode.

Fifteen years later, Catherine has only managed to have one surviving child, a daughter, Princess Mary, while her husband, the king, has fallen in love with Anne Boleyn, daughter of a knight, niece of a duke, and one of Catherine's own ladies in waiting. Anne Boleyn is seen speaking to Inez, one of the queen's ladies in waiting, about the Earl of Richmond, the king's bastard son with Bessie Blount, a former mistress. Anne Boleyn then goes over to the king, and they are seen acting very intimately with one another. María de Salinas, newly returned from court after marrying Lord Willoughby (who she had been seen acting affectionately towards before Catherine and Henry were married) is revealed to be a widow. She speaks to Inez, and they discuss Anne, and about how she had been serving at the French court. María, concerned for her friend, asks Inez if the queen knew about Anne Boleyn, to which Inez says the queen never knows about the king's liaisons.

In another scene, Catherine is seen reading Thomas More's *Utopia* with her daughter, Mary. The queen is most affectionate with her daughter, and both are overjoyed when the king joins them; it is hinted they don't spend much time together. The king asks Mary to leave them alone, and he bids her farewell affectionately before coming to the point with his wife. He does not believe that their marriage is lawful, and asks for a divorce, which devastates his wife. María de Salinas goes to see her old friend and informs Inez that Catherine has already written to the pope in Rome and to her nephew, the Holy Roman Emperor for help.

In 1529, court sessions are held to dispute the king's marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Catherine speaks to her husband in open court, and tells him that she has done nothing to offend him in all their years of marriage, and leaves, stating to María de Salinas that the trial has nothing to do with her. The king brokenly states to the court that if he could pick a woman to marry, and if the marriage would be legal, than he would always pick Catherine. Cardinal Wolsey, the king's adviser, is then sent to Catherine to inform her that she is to be sent away from court, and that her daughter is not permitted to be with her, which devastates her further. Cardinal Wolsey is later arrested and dies on his way to the Tower of London in 1531.

Catherine, in exile, is told that Henry has had their marriage annulled (as he has broken with Rome and formed the Church of England) and that he has married Anne. Catherine is moved to More Park, which was once Wolsey's house, and will stay there until she dies. She becomes weaker and weaker, but doesn't have anything evil to say about Anne Boleyn or her daughter Princess Elizabeth, and instead feels sorry for the both of them. Catherine, however, despite her frailty, is able to refuse to permit the Duke of Suffolk, the king's best friend and brother-in-law, from taking away the christening gown that her own son wore before he died. As a result of her refusal to accept Anne Boleyn as queen, Elizabeth as Princess of Wales, and herself as Princess Dowager, María de Salinas is removed from her service.

Catherine dies in January 1536, approximately four months before Anne Boleyn's death, María de Salinas having be restored to her service. She sends a letter to her husband, informing him that through it all, she always loved him, and leaves him their daughter. The letter ends with, "Lastly, mine eyes desire you above all things." The king reads the letter before crumpling it in an unemotional manner and walks towards the camera, leading everyone to believe that, now that he is Supreme Head of the Church, he is a changed man.

## Trivia

* In some early scenes the then 42-year-old Keith Michell plays the 17-year-old Henry, Prince of Wales.

## Quotes

Henry VIII: I can bring a hundred learned men to prove that you are not my wife!

Catherine of Aragon: Bring your hundred learned men! I can bring a thousand learned men from all over Europe to prove that I am you wife, I always have been your wife and I always will be!