Divorce beheading death in childbirth exile. . The women who married henry viii are best known for the way their lives ended. Yet these 6 queens also possessed seductive guile & extraordinary political skill in the face of dangerous court intrigues.
@galveston
Probably a correct assumption, but I agree that Catherine was aware she was up against a political buzzsaw. Other royal marriages involving kings taking the wives of their dead brothers were quite common, so Henry had no case. Leviticus actually says that men should not take the wives of their brothers who are still alive. Deuteronomy backs this up by speaking of the obligation that men have to take care of (even marrying) the wives of their dead brothers.
@telamon2011 cont–if Arthur were sickly as a child, the Spanish ambassadors would have discouraged the marriage; there exists a letter to a certain duchess from one of Catherine’s people that pretty much admits Catherine and Arthur had sex. No one wanted to jeopardize a possible marriage to Henry, so they encouraged her to keep quiet. The thing is, the English didn’t care that the marriage was consummated before her infertility; that’s why there were 2 dispensations. It was so hypocritical.
@telamon2011 Reading David Starkey’s book on the wives, and the letters he discovered, I agree that it’s almost certain that the marriage to Arthur was consummated. There’s no historical basis for the myth that he was too sick. The Spanish ambassadors wrote letters home about how impressed they were with him. I love Catherine, but it’s almost certain she lied. She wanted to protect Mary from being proclaimed a bastard, and who can blame her? It was considered a great shame.
@Varney86 Same here….
@Varney86 Dentists back then weren’t that good…..
here is the problem…Catherine was 16, Henry was 11-12, Arthur was 14.
The actor playing Henry looks 11-12,
The actor playing Arthur looks 14-15,
The actress playing Catherine looks 35
@telamon2011 I always thought it was the “sweating sickness”. Catherine caught it at the same time as Arthur, but survived. Anne Boleyn also survived the disease and suffered similar problems.
Given the fact that her mother and sister were quite fertile, I have often wondered as to whether the near starvation in which Catherine was kept by Henry VII may have later contributed to her pregnancy problems.
If her confessor said that Catherine had consummated her marriage to Arthur, then one has to assume that she did. Her lady in waiting said that she had not for the obvious purpose of not jeopardizing the marriage to Henry. Years later, Catherine would deny consummating her marriage to Arthur, but what about the confessor? Was Catherine fabricating so as to preserve her status as Queen and that of her daughter as heiress to the throne? (And I say this as a staunch fan of Catherine!)
@haroof you are a mean asshole
@Indigos8rboi did you not pay attention? she was expecting twins.
@chykim1 i agree
starting to see where henry viii got his assholesm from..his damn father! lol…
Someone needs braces!
@Varney86 The Empress Josephine had rotten teeth, and the teeth of French people today tend to be very bad indeed. That’s how it goes.
Her Teeth Are Alittle Messed Up But Shes Ok
@Varney86 and her wrinkles? how old is she ?
Well they did not have orthodontia back then.
KOA: Warrior
AB: Politician
JS: Diplomat
AOC: Friend
KH: Slut
CP: Academic
@Varney86 Its more realistic. Most people had bad teeth, and they couldnt do anything about it. Even royalty.
ahh, why is it always the women who suffer 
@haroof At that time there was no America so your ancestors had horrible teeth too
Is it just me or this actor really doesn’t look like he’s 17?
C’mon, they should had that on mind.
O.K., shooting isn’t so cheap, but…although, I love this series and I keep watch it here, on your chanell, @1andonlyhistorylover! I’m so thankful to you because of taking some time to upload this 
@MelinaPendulum Well she shouldn’t have to if you view this situation in terms of modern expectations but at the time, a king was expected to produce a male heir to his throne, preferably two sons(an heir & a spare crudely put). Female children to a king were considered ‘useless’ as they were not considered ‘fit’ to rule. Henry became obsessed with having a male child after 15 or so years, that AND the fact he met A.Boleyn & fell in love/lust & wanted out of his marriage to KOA.
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February 20th, 2012 at 10:51 pm
@galveston
Of course, this remains speculative, and it really depends upon the young person. Some fifteen year olds were not ready for sex at this time, while others were. (Case in point: Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, gave birth to him when she was fourteen!) On the other hand, Lady Jane Grey at nearly sixteen was complaining that she was not ready for intercourse when she was forcibly married to Guildford Dudley. Of course, boys were probably more ready at younger ages!