Was Katherine of Aragon really a virgin when she married Henry Tudor VIII?

Answer 1

Prince Arthur of Wales (1486 - 1502) the first son of Henry VII, the first Tudor king, and Elizabeth of York, and Henry VIII's (1491 - 1547) older brother, died on 2 April 1502 at the age of 15. It is not completely clear what he died of, but it may have been consumption (TB). He was already married to Princess Catherine of Aragon (1485 - 1536) on 14 November 1501 - so they were married for only 5 months, but after he died, Catherine eventually became betrothed to Henry (they did not get married until 1509).

Catherine had sworn that she was still a virgin after Arthur died, which was also confirmed by her lady companion, because the 15 year old Arthur had been weak and unwell throughout their marriage and unable to consummate the marriage. Arthur himself had made some jokes with his attendants which hinted that he HAD consummated the marriage, but this could have been just bravado on his part.

As Catherine was considered to be a virgin, she had dispensation to marry her husband's brother, Henry. However, later, when Henry was trying every trick in the book to divorce Catherine, he laid great emphasis upon the fact that she was his brother's widow, and that he was being punished by God for marrying her, which was the reason for the number of miscarriages and stillbirths Catherine had suffered. Out of six pregnancies, they only had one surviving child, Mary. Doubt was therefore cast upon her virginity at the time of their marriage. Catherine continued to affirm that she had been a virgin, and went into court to fight for her honour, saying that the king knew the truth of it.

As Catherine of Aragon was a very religious, honourable and gracious lady, it is easier to believe her evidence