Catherine of Aragon, << AR uh `gon` or AR uh guhn >> (1485-1536), was the first wife of King Henry VIII of England. She was the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. At the age of 15, she became the wife of Arthur, Prince of Wales, the oldest son of King Henry VII of England. Arthur died five months later. In 1509, Catherine married Arthur’s younger brother, Henry VIII.
Of the six children born to Catherine, only Mary lived. She later became Queen Mary I. Henry, however, wanted a male heir and was enchanted by Anne Boleyn, a lady in Catherine’s court. He separated from Catherine in 1531 and married Anne in 1533. Henry broke with the Roman Catholic Church when it refused to annul (cancel) his marriage to Catherine. Although she never saw Henry after 1531, Catherine remained loyal to him and to the Catholic faith until she died on Jan. 7, 1536. She was born on Dec. 16, 1485, near Madrid, Spain.
