Catherine and Anne: rival queens

Catherine of Aragon
daughter and sister of reigning queens.
Public domain

Catherine of Aragon

Catherine was born in December 1485, the fifth child and fourth daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. In March 1489 at the age of three she was betrothed to Henry VII’s son Prince Arthur at Medina del Campo in what Henry regarded as a diplomatic coup for his still insecure dynasty. 

Isabella had received little formal education but she made sure that her daughters learned Latin, and this was the language with which Catherine first communicated with Arthur. Her daughters were also taught music, dancing, needlework, falconry, horse-riding and hunting. She was later to sew her husband’s shirts, and continued to do so after her marriage broke up - much to the fury of Anne Boleyn. Surprisingly, no attempt was made to teach her English, and when she did learn to speak it, it was with a strong Spanish accent.

Catherine at the age of 11
by Juan de Flandres,
showing the red hair she had
inherited from Isabella
Public domain

In May 1501 she finally set off from the Alhambra for England. She and her future husband were both 13. She did not reach Plymouth until October. She and Arthur were married in St Paul’s Cathedral on 14 November. The wedding night is the most disputed in English history. Was the marriage consummated? 

After the wedding she accompanied Arthur to Ludlow Castle, the border fortress that was the temporary home of the Prince of Wales. On 2 April 1502 the prince died. Catherine returned to London and settled into Durham House on the Thames. As a childless widow, her position was vulnerable. Far from ordering her back to Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella wanted her to marry again and they set their sights on Arthur’s brother, Henry, now the heir to the throne, and six years younger than Catherine.

Legally, Catherine was Princess Dowager of Wales. But was she? Her ‘lady mistress’, Doña Elvira insisted that she was still a virgin. Ferdinand and Isabella took the claim seriously, but there was no way of verifying it. In 1503 it was agreed that Catherine should marry Henry, and both the English and Spanish sides agreed that a papal dispensation was needed. The wording of the dispensation allowed for the fact that the marriage had 'perhaps' been consummated.

Over the next few years Catherine was often ill and depressed and she was short of money while Henry VII and Ferdinand squabbled over her dowry. In 1505 on the eve of his 14th birthday, Prince Henry denounced the marriage treaty. This was a diplomatic ploy in order to extract more of the dowry from Ferdinand.  

Catherine as queen

Then just when her fortunes were at their lowest ebb, Henry VII died on 21 April 1509. On 11 June Catherine married Henry VIII.

Catherine's badge as queen,
the crowned pomegranite

Advocate of Spain: When a queen married, she was faced with a potential conflict of loyalties. Her marriage had been arranged by her parents for diplomatic reasons and she was expected to further the interests of her native country. But as queen, she also owed loyalty to her new country and it was often a difficult balancing act to reconcile the two.

Catherine was always fervently pro-Spanish and at first she furthered the interests of her father, Ferdinand. This meant supporting Henry's war against France. When he left for France in June 1513 she became ‘Regent and Governess of England, Wales and Ireland’. This meant that she could raise armies, appoint sheriffs, approve church appointments and control the nation’s finances.  But she was dismayed when her father backed out of the war and signed a peace treaty with France. After this her loyalty was to England.

Margaret of Austria

The Hof van Savoye
Margaret's palace at Mechelen
where Anne Boleyn served as fille d'honneur.
Public domain

Margaret is best known in Britain because in 1513 the 12-year-old Anne Boleyn became one of her maids of honour. What is less well known is that she was one of the most successful rulers of the early sixteenth century. One of the best English-language sources for Margaret is Sarah Gristwood's Game of Queens (Oneworld, 2016) on which much of this post is blamed.

She was born in 1480, the only daughter of Duchess Mary, the heiress of the Duchy of Burgundy, and her husband, Maximilian of Habsburg (which is why she is known as Margaret of Austria). She was named after her English step-grandmother, Margaret of York, the sister of Edward IV. Her mother died after a riding accident in 1482, leaving her to Margaret's guardianship. Her brother, Philip, became sovereign of the Low Countries, with Maximilian acting as regent.

Margaret's brother, Philip of
Habsburg, called 'the Handsome'
though why is not clear from this portrait.
Kunsthistorisches Museum
Public domain

Queen in waiting

The Duchy of Burgundy and France had long been enemies, but in 1482 Maximilian signed a peace treaty with Louis XI. By its terms, Margaret was to marry Louis' 13-year-old son Charles. In 1483 at the age of 3 she travelled to France. Two months later, on 30 August, Louis XI died and Charles became King Charles VIII.  However, Margaret was only nominally the Queen of France, because she was still a small child and the marriage was unconsummated. The real power lay with Charles’s sister, the regent Anne de Beaujeu (also known as Anne of France).

Anne de Beaujeu,
'Madame la Grande',
a powerful female role model
for Margaret
Public domain

At the French court Margaret learned the courtly arts of painting and drawing, dancing and music. She learned to write French verse. She was to take these accomplishments back with her to the Netherlands.

Margaret as future Queen of France.
Public domain

At a very young age, therefore, Margaret had experienced two powerful women: Margaret of York and Anne of Beaujeu. She also had the memory of her mother, Mary of Burgundy. But at the age of 11 she experienced her own powerlessness when her marriage to Charles VIII was annulled. Anne de Beaujeu had her eyes on the Duchy of Brittany and its 12-year-old, heiress, Duchess Anne, for her brother. But quarrels over Margaret's dowry meant that she was kept in France for another two years, living in conditions of near poverty. She returned to her father in 1493 but never forgot her humiliation.

Isabella: reigning queen and queen consort

Isabella of Castile
Public domain

Isabella of Castile (1451-1504) was the most remarkable ruler (not just woman ruler!) of her age. Contemporaries recognised her significance. Here are two contemporary quotations from Giles Tremlett's biography. (All subsequent quotations are also taken from Tremlett.)

The queen of Spain, called Isabella, has had no equal on this earth for 500 years.

The queen … is the greatest of all the feminine sex; she not only emulates men, but in spirit, prudence, and strength – not exactly a feminine quality – she matches the great heroes. 

This historian of Spain, Hugh Thomas states: ‘No woman in history has exceeded her achievement.’ 

The marriage of Isabella to Ferdinand of Aragon is often inaccurately described as the union of two crowns. In fact, they were the separate rulers of two realms and the only common institution was the Inquisition. Spain did not become a unified country until the accession of their grandson, Carlos I (Emperor Charles V) to the throne of Aragon. This also made him the de facto ruler of Castile, which he governed as nominal co-regent for his imprisoned mother Juana.