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Catherine of Aragon, Part II

© Ellen McDaniel-Weissler

Until Henry VIII began to seriously research the possibility of annulment of his union with Catherine of Aragon in order to seek the male heir he needed, the marriage of Henry and Catherine seems to have been a happy one. They had a great deal in common, both loving music and dancing, both well educated and pious. Henry sought Catherine's counsel in a great many matters political and moral, and the early years of their marriage read like an extended honeymoon - dancing and feasting together, taking part in the masques which were so beloved in the court revels of the day, hunting and hawking tirelessly, worshipping and traveling together on the annual progresses necessary for the cleaning of the palaces and for giving the people the opportunity to see their rulers. The one source of friction between them seems to have been Henry's fear that Catherine was attempting to advocate for Spain in all diplomatic matters with England, while Henry vacillated between alliances with his wife's home country and France.

Henry joined forces with the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and his father-in-law Ferdinand of Spain in October of 1511 in a Holy League against the schismatic Louis XII of France. In 1512 Pope Julius stripped Louis XII of his titles and bestowed his kingdom upon Henry, and in 1513 Henry, Ferdinand and Maximilian went to war with France in order to defeat Louis and take over his kingdom. Unfortunately for Henry's dreams of martial prowess, he won only one major victory, the Battle of the Spurs, through which he conquered the cities of Thérouanne and Tournai. Meanwhile, taking advantage of Henry's absence on the continent, the ever-ready Scots declared war on England, despite the fact that James IV of Scotland was married to Henry's sister Margaret. Acting as Queen Regnant in Henry's absence, Queen Catherine sent an army under Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, across the border to face the Scots. James IV was defeated and killed at the Battle of Flodden on 9 September, and Catherine sent James' blood-stained coat to Henry as a token of the victory.

Flushed with success at this English double triumph, Henry was aggrieved to find that his allies Ferdinand and Maximilian had secretly negotiated a treaty with Louis in February of 1514, thus ending their participation in the French campaign and leaving Henry to fight on by himself. Unable to defeat France on his own, Henry was forced to negotiate a treaty as well. Since Pope Julius had died in March of 1513 and Louis had made peace with his successor, Pope Leo X, there was no longer any premise for going to war against France. The Anglo-French peace treaty was signed in August of 1514, wherein the English retained the city of Tournai and Louis married Henry's younger sister, Mary.

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