Arthur Tudor was 4, and Katherine of Aragon only 3, when the couple were betrothed. It was a dynastic deal put together by their fathers, the kings of England and Spain respectively, who each sought an ally against their opposing alliance of France and Scotland. It had to wait on the two becoming old enough for the church to allow it, but they were eventually married with all due ceremony in St Paul’s Cathedral in London. It was hoped that the couple would soon produce a child, securing the English succession.
Alas, Arthur died of ‘the sweating sickness’ less than five months after the wedding, leaving Katherine widowed and still childless – indeed, she would insist all her life that she never consummated her marriage with Arthur.
