Profile of the Day: Catherine of Aragon

Catharine of Aragon

Have you found your connection to royalty? On this day in 1485, Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII, was born in Alcalá de Henares near Madrid, Spain.

The youngest daughter of Spanish monarchs King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella, Catharine was initially married to Henry’s older brother, Prince Albert. However, when the heir to the English throne died of an illness in 1502, Catherine found herself a widow. Shortly after Henry VIII acceded to the throne, he married Catharine.

In 1516, Catherine gave birth to Mary, her only surviving child. In 1533, unhappy that their marriage had produced no surviving male heir, Henry VIII sought to have their marriage annulled. When the pope refused, Henry VIII broke from the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Through his new and self-appointed position, he dissolved his marriage to Catherine and banished her from court.

She died on January 7, 1536 at the age of 50.

Catherine of Aragon is connected to over 98 million people in Geni’s World Family Tree. How are you related?
 

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Image: Wikimedia Commons