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Some readers
may question why I have decided to include Katherine of Aragon in
this blog series on prominent Queen Mothers, possibly because she
never actually lived to see her only-surviving child, Mary, ascend
to the throne. Some may also believe that as Katherine and Mary
were separated for much of Mary’s youth, which occurred during the
break-up of the parents’ marriage and the rise of Anne Boleyn at
court, it must simply be impossible for a mother to have any effect
upon her young daughter. However, in recent years, research into
Mary I’s childhood has unearthed some fascinating evidence which
suggests that she was actually highly influenced by her mother, and
continued to be for years after her death. In this blog, we shall
discover the ways in which Katherine meticulously planned her
daughter’s education from a young age and how this close
relationship between mother and daughter stayed with Mary and
influenced the way in which she ruled when she ascended to the
throne in 1553.
Katherine, a Spanish princess who married Henry VIII in 1509,
proved to be both popular with the English public and a competent
Queen Consort, especially when she became regent during Henry’s
campaign in France in 1512. Contemporary accounts note that the
King and Queen lived quite contently during the first decade or so
of their marriage. Although the first few years as Queen were
successful for Katherine from a political standpoint, her personal
life was not so lucky. Katherine experienced six pregnancies
where she miscarried and suffered stillborn births, leaving only
one surviving child; Mary (b. 1516).
Katherine may have been aware of the possibility that she may not
give birth to a son and heir, and so focused on the upbringing of
her only daughter. Having had a comprehensive education led by her
own mother, Isabella of Castile, which many contemporaries such as
Erasmus praised her for, Katherine was conscious of the benefits of
giving her daughter a complete education. Although Mary’s education
had elements to them that were typical for female members of the
royal family at the time, such as learning the importance of
preserving chastity, morals and the role of becoming a potential
queen consort, the princess also gained an education in areas that
were unconventional for a female at the time. After
becoming involved in a circle of leading European humanists,
Katherine felt it beneficial for her daughter to learn skills that
were more suited to male heirs to the throne. An example of this is
when under the tutoring of Juan Luis Vives, Mary became skilled at
writing Latin quickly, rather than neatly. This was believed to be
a talent that the sons of Kings were expected to hone in order to
develop their administration skills before they succeeded the
throne, and not something that a royal princess would be expected
to do. Although Mary was not confirmed as Henry VIII’s successor,
Katherine clearly saw this as an opportunity to educate Mary as a
potential heir and possibly make a point to Henry that their
daughter had the same capabilities to rule as any male.
When the Chamberlain and Chief Justice of South Wales, Sir Rhys ap
Thomas, died in 1525 Henry VIII was in need of a form of royal
representation in the Welsh Marches and he found this in his nine
year-old daughter. This position was traditionally filled by the
heir to the throne (The Prince of Wales), and although Henry may
have refused to acknowledge his daughter as ‘heir-presumptive’ in
the last hope that Katherine may still produce a son, Katherine
certainly did not doubt her daughter’s new position. Although Mary
may never have received the title of ‘Princess of Wales’, and
therefore confirmed her position as Henry’s heir, Katherine and the
people of the Welsh Marches most certainly did see this
nine-year-old girl as their future Queen Regnant. Katherine may
have been sad to have been separated from her only daughter, but
she supported Mary’s new position and requested that her tutors
wrote to the King and Queen at least once a month in order to give
them updates of Mary’s progress with her education.
Mary was recalled to court from her position in the Welsh Marches
in 1528, marking the beginning of the break-up of her parents’
marriage. With this in mind, we must dismiss any arguments of
twentieth century Tudor historians who claimed that Katherine was
bereft of political skill, weak and submissive to those of higher
authority during this time. Throughout Henry’s pursue for a
divorce from his wife of over twenty years, Katherine was a symbol
of defiance and determination, who strove to preserve her daughter
and her marriage’s legitimacy. Mary, being in her teens at this
point, was fully aware of the consequences that would occur and go
against her if her parents’ divorce were to go through, and with
this in mind she most certainly learned from her mother’s defiance
during this time. Just as her mother defended her innocence and
legitimacy, Mary displayed the same characteristics throughout the
1530s. Even with encouragement (and then force) from Henry VIII and
Cromwell, Mary never refrained from referring to herself as
‘princess’. In one candid letter to her own father she stated that
she would on no occasion recognise her parents’ divorce and never
refer to herself as the inferior title of ‘The Lady Mary’.
(It was only after the implementation of the Treasons Act, and
the consequential deaths of the likes of John Fisher and Thomas
More who stood firmly against Henry’s separation from the Roman
Catholic Church, that Mary reluctantly had to sign away her title
of ‘princess’ and her legitimacy in order to protect
herself.)
It was during this time that Henry refused to allow Katherine and
Mary to see each other. Even when Mary became very ill in February
1535, Henry denied Katherine to visit her daughter and professed
his ex-wife to be a “proud, stubborn woman of high courage”.
Reflecting upon her strong political following, Henry also stated:
“If she took it into her head to take her daughter’s part, she
could quite easily take the field, muster a great army, and wage
against me a war as fierce as any her mother Isabella ever wages in
Spain”. We can only imagine what would have happened if Katherine
had gone ahead with such an idea…
During Katherine and Mary’s separation both remained in contact
with Eustace Chapuys, the Imperial Ambassador and their close
confident. He acted as a go-between for the mother and daughter
with their extended family members in Europe, most prominently
Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and Katherine’s nephew. Mary
learnt from her mother that some of her strongest supporters were
those not in England, but in other areas of Europe, and she used
these connections to her benefit both before and after she gained
the throne in 1553.
On 7th January 1536 Katherine of Aragon died at
Kimbolton Castle. Owing to Henry VIII’s demands, she had not seen
her daughter in four years at the time of her death. Mary was
naturally devastated and Charles V wrote to his wife fearing that
Mary would “die of grief”. Katherine was buried as a princess
dowager and not as a Queen, much to the objection of her daughter
and loyal supporters, and Henry refused to allow Mary to attend the
funeral at Peterborough Cathedral. However, Katherine’s death did
not mark the end of her influence upon her young daughter. Although
Mary’s position at court and her relationship with her father
seemed to improve somewhat during the late 1530s, the memory of her
mother did not fade.
Skip forward to 1553 and the imminent death of Mary’s half-brother,
King Edward VI. Whilst the Duke of Northumberland was grooming Lady
Jane Grey to succeed to the throne after the King’s death,
albeit against the terms of Henry VIII’s last will and the
Succession Act of 1544, Mary on the other hand was reinforcing her
legitimacy and promoting her position as the true heir in order to
gain followers and rightly take the throne from Northumberland’s
hands. Mary and her band of loyal followers believed strongly in
the validity of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon’s marriage,
therefore rejecting any right that Jane had to the throne. Mary’s
success in gaining the throne against the odds in 1553 was from a
number of factors, but the memory of her mother, Katherine’s
popularity with the public and her legitimacy were notable factors
in this fight for the throne.
During Mary’s short reign, Katherine’s influence continued in some
ways. Mary used her Spanish ancestry from her mother’s side to
forge alliances with the Habsburgs and sort out a Spanish marriage
to Charles V’s son, Philip, who became King of Spain in 1556.
Having learned the importance of political alliances between
countries from her education and time at court from a young age,
Mary now understood, that by being a female ruler of a small
Kingdom, making an alliance with a leading European power was
essential.
Although we cannot say whether the events that took place in Mary’s
reign were at all influenced by the memory of her mother, we can be
sure that the Queen continued to stress the validity of her
parents’ marriage and her legitimacy to anyone who may have doubted
her position. Some may argue that Mary was ‘too Spanish’ in her
ways, her dress and her alliances, especially as she seemed to
favour the company and advice of the Spanish ambassador and her
husband rather than her English courtiers. Yet we cannot say this
was solely down to Katherine’s influence.
What must be admired is the loyalty that Katherine and Mary shared
for one another, and how this alliance continued even years
after she had passed away. Upon her death, Mary had requested that
“some honourable tombs or decent memory” be made for her and her
mother in order for them to be buried near each other, but sadly
this dying request was ignored. One cannot doubt that such a
request would be made by Mary if she did not have a dear connection
with her mother.
Overall, it must be argued that Katherine played a key part in
Mary’s education and upbringing, in order to prepare her daughter
for the possibility of succeeding to the throne. During the last
years of her life, it may have seemed unlikely to Katherine that
Mary would ever succeed to the throne, most notably because of
Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn and the news of the new Queen’s
pregnancies. And yet Katherine’s princely education plan and the
upbringing of her daughter did not go to waste when Mary rallied
for the throne in 1553 and illustrated her capabilities as a Queen
Regnant and legitimate monarch. Katherine was most certainly a
defiant woman, who fought for her cause and did not allow her
husband to simply bully her to submit to his will. She battled to
preserve her innocence, the legitimacy of her marriage and her
daughter’s position in line to the throne. Katherine may have not
been able to witness her child’s accession or coronation like other
Queen Mothers in this blog series, but she certainly prepared her
daughter for the crown and influenced her more than we may have
first thought.
Photo credit: lisby1 via photopin cc]]>
Lovely article, she’s such an amazing women!