1. CATHERINE
OF ARAGON
Catherine of
Aragon was daughter of
Queen Isabella of
Castile and King
Ferdinand of Aragon,
who was the first wife
of King Henry VIII of
England. Henry's long
effort to divorce
Catherine -- and the
lack of support for his
action from the Pope --
led to the separation of
the Church of England

2. THE END OF A
MARRIAGE the Emperor
With England allied against
Catherine's nephew,
Charles V, and with Henry VIII
desperate for a legitimate male
heir, the marriage of Catherine of
Aragon and Henry VIII, once a
Henry had begun his flirtation
supportive and loving relationship,
with Anne Boleyn sometime in 1526 or
unraveled.
1527. Anne's sister, Mary Boleyn,
had been Henry's mistress, and
Anne had been a lady-in-waiting to
Henry's sister, Mary, when she was
Queen of France, and later a lady-in-
waiting to Catherine of Aragon herself.
Anne resisted Henry's pursuit, refusing
to become his mistress. Henry wanted a

3. CATHERINE’S LAST YEARS
In 1534 and 1535, when Catherine heard
that her daughter Mary was ill, each time
she asked to be able to see her and nurse
her, but Henry refused to allow that.
Catherine did get word out to her supporters to
urge the Pope to excommunicate Henry.
When Catherine's friend Maria de Salinas
heard that Catherine was ill, she asked
permission to see Catherine. Refused, she
forced herself into Catherine's presence
anyway. He left on January 4. On the
night of January 6, Catherine dictated
letters to be sent to Mary and to Henry,
and she died on January 7, in the
arms of her friend Maria.