Catherine of Aragon

* Current West End portrayal
* Current Broadway portrayal
* Historical

**Catherine of Aragon** (or **Catalina de Aragon**) was the Spanish first wife of Henry VIII who was divorced so that he could marry Anne Boleyn (which is detailed in *No Way*, her solo). Catalina came to England from Spain to marry a prince named Arthur, and married his brother, Henry VIII, when he died, which ended up being the grounds of annulment so Henry could marry Boleyn.

## Appearance:

### Main:

Catherine usually has her hair curled or puffy, with a large spiky crown and gold earrings and eyeshadow. She wears a black, yellow, and gold dress that opens in the front, with puffy yellow sleeves over longer, sheer black sleeves. The dress is worn over a black leotard. She also wears black tights and shoes, and lots of gold chains around her neck.

### Swing:

When portrayed by a swing or alternate, Catherine wears the performance costume of that respective swing, with her hair curled/down and a large spiky crown.

### Historical:

* "***[hair]*** *of a very great length...beautiful and goodly to behold*."
* "... *very healthy and the most beautiful creature in the world, with the greatest gaiety and contentment that ever was*"
* "*ugly and deformed*" **(Likely not true)**
* "... *not handsome, though she ha[s] a very beautiful complexion*"
* "...*not of tall stature, rather small. If not handsome, she is not ugly[;] she is somewhat stout and has always a smile on her face*"

## In History:

Catherine was born near Madrid in Spain, and from an early age she was thought to be a suitable wife for the Prince of Wales, Arthur. At 15, she met Arthur November of 1501, and they married November 10, 1501. The couple moved to a castle on the borders of Wales. Arthur and Catherine both became sick with the sweating sickness, and while Catherine survived, Arthur died April 2, 1502. Catherine was now a widow, and Henry VII was considering marrying her to settle some things after the death of his wife. Eventually, though, he decided to let his son, Henry VIII, marry her. However, the pope had to grant them an exception, as the Bible says that it is forbidden for a man to marry his brother's widow. Catherine was able to marry Henry VIII on the grounds that her marriage to Arthur was never consummated. She married him June 11, 1509, when she was 24 and Henry was 18.

On the 23rd of June, both Henry and Catherine were crowned King and Queen, and England received its new queen well. During the marriage, Catherine was pregnant seven times, but only one of the children, a girl she named Mary, survived. The other six children were stillborn or lived for a very short time after birth. Some historians believe there were various other miscarriages or stillborn children, but these aren't confirmed.

1525 was when Henry fell in love with Anne Boleyn, one of Catherine's ladies-in-waiting. Since Catherine had failed to bear any children besides Mary, Henry assumed the marriage to be cursed and wanted to pursue Anne instead. Henry became obsessed with finding a way to annul his marriage with Catherine, suggesting she retire to a nunnery, to which she replied, "God never called me to a nunnery. I am the King's true and legitimate wife." (Catherine references this many times in SIX as well.) Henry eventually went through a long process with the Church and was able to banish Catherine and marry Anne Boleyn in secret. Catherine moved between many castles and eventually stayed at Kimbolten Castle, where she lived a religious life of repentance- fasting, wearing a sackcloth and leaving her room only to attend Mass. She died January 7, 1536, which prompted Henry and Anne Boleyn to *celebrate* and wear yellow, the color of rejoicing in England (but the color of mourning in Spain). Catherine was adamant in the fact that, despite being divorced by Henry, she was his rightful Queen and the only rightful queen of England.

## In SIX:

Catherine is portrayed as fun and sassy, but bitter about being divorced. Her belief that she's still queen is obviously reflected in the musical, especially in the line in *No Way* where she sings, "You made me your wife, so I'll be queen 'til the end of my life". There also appears to be some anger towards Anne Boleyn on her part, since Henry divorced Catherine for her. (In the Anne Boleyn Interlude, Catherine sings, "The one with the plan ... to steal the man", implying that she blames Anne partly for her divorce. In her solo, *No Way*, she sings that she's not putting up with Henry divorcing her and that she's not naive and won't give in. She also stresses that she did nothing wrong and that Henry had no reason to divorce her besides marrying Anne ("If you could just explain / a single thing I've done to cause you pain / I'll go / No? / You've got nothing to say / I'm not going away"). In *Six*, her ideal happy ending, interestingly enough, is moving into the nunnery and joining a gospel choir. She reprises *No Way* in *Megasix*.

### Portrayal history:

**Original Edinburgh and Cambridge productions**

* Megan Gilbert

**Original Off-West End production:**

* Renée Lamb

**West End productions:**

* Jarnéia Richard-Noel (First and second West End productions)
* Amy Di Bartolomeo (Third West End production)
* Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky (Fourth West End production)

**UK tours:**

* Jarnéia Richard-Noel (First UK tour)
* Lauren Drew (Second and third UK tours)
* Chlöe Hart (Fourth UK tour)

**Broadway productions:**

* Adrianna Hicks (First Broadway production)
* Bre Jackson (First Broadway production)
* Hailee Wright (Second Broadway production)

**North American tours:**

* Adrianna Hicks (First North American tour)
* Khaila Wilcoxon (North American Aragon tour)
* Gerianne Pérez (North American Boleyn tour)

**Bliss Cruise productions:**

* Candace Furbert (First Bliss Cruise production)
* Jade Marvin (Second Bliss Cruise production)
* Melinda Porto (Third Bliss Cruise production)
* Gabbi Mack (Fourth Bliss Cruise production)
* Rae Davenport (Fifth Bliss Cruise production)

**Breakaway Cruise productions:**

* Jasmine Shen (First Breakaway Cruise production)
* Jade Marvin (Second Breakaway Cruise production)
* Lauren Irving (Third Breakaway Cruise production)
* Jade Marvin (Fourth Breakaway Cruise production)

**Australia/New Zealand tours:**

* Chloé Zuel (First AUSNZ tour)
* Phoenix Jackson Mendoza (Second AUSNZ tour)

**South Korean productions:**

* Lee Arum-soul (First South Korean production)
* Son Seung-yeon (First South Korean production)
* Chlöe Hart (First South Korean production)

## Gallery:

*Please see Catherine of Aragon/Gallery.*

## Trivia:

* Catherine of Aragon was Catherine Parr's godmother.
* In the musical, Catherine's "queenspirations" are Beyoncé and Shakira.
* In an Instagram story, Toby Marlow stated that if Six were to be made into a movie, he would like either Jennifer Lopez or Jessie J to play Catherine.
* Catherine of Aragon, even after her divorce from Henry, strongly believed herself to be England's only rightful queen.