In retrospect this Spanish princess could be seen as unlucky. She came to England in her teens to marry Prince Arthur, who was expected to be the next King of England. She didn’t have much choice in the matter having been betrothed to him since the age of 3! Her first bit of bad luck was that Arthur, her husband of only a few months, died, leaving her to marry his brother Henry. And that was the second bit of bad luck since he became Henry VIII, a monarch whose little problem with monogamy led to the establishment of the Church of England. Which links nicely into the news that Peterborough Cathedral will be holding a Katharine of Aragon festival this coming weekend. Why here? Well, after her marriage was dissolved (or not, depending on your view of divorce at the time) she lived out her life in Kimbolton Castle and is buried in Peterborough Cathedral.
The Festival includes worship, fun Tudor activities for children and historical events for adults and runs for three days from Friday the 27th. Download the programme here or find out more about this and other activities at the Peterborough Cathedral website.