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This can never be proved with certainty. Catherine claimed that her marriage to Prince Arthur had not been consummated. Papal permission was obtained to allow Arthur's brother Henry (Henry VIII) to marry his brother's widow. It was not until many years later (and no male children) that Henry began to claim that his conscience bothered him... that he had broken the laws of the Church by taking his brothers' wife as his own. Catherine maintained that she was a virgin at the time she married Henry until her death.

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Q: Why was Catherine of aragon's marriage to Arthur not consummated?
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How was Henry's marriage to his first wife illegal?

It wasn't illegal. Henry claimed it was illegal on the grounds that Catherine was first married to his brother. IF they had consummated the marriage it would have made his marriage to Katherine incestuous. But Katherine and Arthur never consummated their marriage , because he was very ill upon them marrying and remained so up to his death. so he was lawfully married. AND was NEVER granted a lawful divorce from Katherine. So his marriage to Anne was invalid. Henry was a tyrant who abused and bullied others into bending the law to fit his will.


Who was Catherine of aragons first husband?

As a child she was betrothed to Henry's older brother, Prince Arthur; they were married in 1501 but Arthur died six months later. Catherine subsequently married Henry on 11 June 1509. http://www.answers.com/catherine%20of%20aragon


What do we see unusual today about Henry's marriage to catherine of aragon?

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 had already married 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). As Catherine had stated she was still a virgin and that her marriage to Arthur had not be consummated, she had special dispensation to marry her husband's brother, Henry VIII.


Why did Henry the VIII want to divorce Catherine of Aragon?

Henry VIII wanted to divorce Catherine because he had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn.Catherine of Aragon - First wife of Henry VIII:The Spanish princess, who had previously been married to Henry's brother Arthur, Catherine of Aragon (1485 - 1536), was unable to provide Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) with a male heir; which he desperately wanted, despite six pregnancies and only one living daughter (Mary). After Henry became enamoured of Anne Boleyn, he decided to divorce Catherine in 1533 and eventually had their marriage annulled. Her health went into decline and she died on 7 January 1536.after 4 or 5 miscarriages and the birth of a daughter, Catherine of Aragon injured herself giving birth. Henry could tell she wasn't able to bore him a son, so he pretty much tore apart the country trying to find someone who could.


Why did Henry VIII marryCatherine of Aragon?

Henry VII had only recently become King of England by defeating Richard III, and was intent on establishing the Tudor Dynasty. Key to this was to win recognition (and therefore legitimacy) from the other royal families on the Continent by arranging a marriage between his oldest son and heir (Arthur) to an eligible princess of a prominent power. In this case, that was Spain. Henry also drove a hard bargain for a substantial dowry to accompany her. Arthur and Catherine were married, but shortly after, Arthur died (popularly attributed to "consumption"). This put the marriage alliance with Spain in jeopardy, but even worse for Henry VII was that it meant that he might have to return the dowry! His solution to both questions was to marry Catherine to his second son, the future Henry VIII. As marriage to the deceased older brother's wife was then considered incestuous, Henry VII successfully petitioned the Pope for dispensation, claiming that, although married to Catherine, Arthur had never consummated the marriage.Years later, when Henry VIII sought to divorce Catherine, his argument to Rome was that Arthur had indeed consummated the marriage before his death, and that Catherine's subsequent re-marriage to Henry was incestuous, and should be annulled.M. Krochmal

Related questions

Why did the pope need to make an exeption for Henry VIII to marry catherin?

The Pope had to give Henry and Catherine a dispensation in order for them to get married because Catherine had been the wife of Henry's brother Arthur. The Pope had to write two of them. The reason behind that was because it was not known wither Catherine and Arthur had consummated their marriage. They were only 15 and he died several months later so the Pope just wanted to cover his bases.


How was Henry's marriage to his first wife illegal?

It wasn't illegal. Henry claimed it was illegal on the grounds that Catherine was first married to his brother. IF they had consummated the marriage it would have made his marriage to Katherine incestuous. But Katherine and Arthur never consummated their marriage , because he was very ill upon them marrying and remained so up to his death. so he was lawfully married. AND was NEVER granted a lawful divorce from Katherine. So his marriage to Anne was invalid. Henry was a tyrant who abused and bullied others into bending the law to fit his will.


Who was Catherine of aragons first husband?

As a child she was betrothed to Henry's older brother, Prince Arthur; they were married in 1501 but Arthur died six months later. Catherine subsequently married Henry on 11 June 1509. http://www.answers.com/catherine%20of%20aragon


What happend before catherine of aragon got married to Henry VIII?

She was married to his brother Arthur who died shortly after getting married. They say the marraige was never consummated.


Catherine of aragons 1st husband?

Prince Arthur of England, Henry VIII's older brother, but then he died and Henry VIII decided to marry her....


What do we see unusual today about Henry's marriage to catherine of aragon?

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 had already married 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). As Catherine had stated she was still a virgin and that her marriage to Arthur had not be consummated, she had special dispensation to marry her husband's brother, Henry VIII.


Why did King Henry VIII break away from the Catholic Church in 1533?

I think Henry broke from the catholic church in 1536 not in 1533; however in any event, Henry broke from the church so that he could innul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. The Catholic church would not agree that Henry's marriage to Catherine warranted innulement whereas Henry insisted it did because he did not want to be married to Catherine anymore (since she could not produce a male heir) and since Henry wanted to marry Anne Bolelyn. ALSO the grounds that he wanted to divorce Catherine was because she was married to his brother Arthur but Henry married her so that she wasn't a young widow... she claimed that they never consummated the marriage (sex).


How many of Henry VIII's wives were divorced?

Technically Henry's marriages were annulled, not divorced. In total, Henry annulled four of his marriages, including those to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, the two wives he beheaded. Henry's first marriage, to Catherine of Aragon, was annulled as she was technically married to his brother Arthur before his death. Catherine always claimed the marriage wasn't consummated. Henry's second marriage, to Anne Boleyn, was also annulled, or dissolved, just a few days before her execution on charges of adultery, treason and incest. Henry's fourth marriage to Anne of Cleves, a German noblewoman, was annulled just a few months after it happened as it was never consummated. Anne of Cleves accepted the title of the Kind's Beloved Sister with the annulment. The fourth marriage that Henry had annulled was his fifth marriage, that to Catherine Howard. This marriage was annulled due to Howard's own admonitions of behaviour not fitting to that of a Queen of England, and she was executed a few months later.


Why Henry VIII was angry with the pope and the Catholic Church?

King Henry VIII was angry with the pope as the papacy had not granted the Monarch a divore from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Henry requested a divorce after reading the old testament , due to 'Leviticus' stating that if a man shall marry his brothers wife that they shall remain childless.(Catherine was married for a short period to Henry's brother, Arthur , who died shortly after the marriage) Although Catherine claimed that the marriage had not been consummated, Henrhy still insisted that the marriage was illegitimate. Although Henry requested a divorce on these grounds, the papacy declined. In 1529, Henry joined forces with the houses of commons and created the 'Reformation Parliament'


Why did Henry the VIII want to divorce Catherine of Aragon?

Henry VIII wanted to divorce Catherine because he had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn.Catherine of Aragon - First wife of Henry VIII:The Spanish princess, who had previously been married to Henry's brother Arthur, Catherine of Aragon (1485 - 1536), was unable to provide Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) with a male heir; which he desperately wanted, despite six pregnancies and only one living daughter (Mary). After Henry became enamoured of Anne Boleyn, he decided to divorce Catherine in 1533 and eventually had their marriage annulled. Her health went into decline and she died on 7 January 1536.after 4 or 5 miscarriages and the birth of a daughter, Catherine of Aragon injured herself giving birth. Henry could tell she wasn't able to bore him a son, so he pretty much tore apart the country trying to find someone who could.


Who was Arthur Tudor Prince Wales supposed to marry?

Henry VII's eldest son - Arthur, Prince of Wales - was originally married to Katherine of Aragon. When Arthur died, Henry VII (a notorious tightwad) did not want to return the dowry - so Katherine was married for a second time to Arthur's kid brother, Henry VIII. Katherine always claimed that her first marriage had never been consummated.


Why did Henry the 8th open the chuch of England?

Henry VIII was an ardent catholic, so much so that he wrote a treatise titled Assertio Septem Sacramentorum (Defence of the Seven Sacraments), which defended the sacramental nature of marriage and the supremacy of the Pope and opposed the ideas of Martin Luther. In return the Pope bestowed upon him the title Fidei defensor (Defender of the Faith).At the time Henry VIII was married to Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his elder brother Arthur. In order for the Henry to marry his brother's widow, a papal dispensation from the Pope was normally required to overrule the impediment of affinity because as told in the book of Leviticus "If a brother is to marry the wife of a brother they will remain childless". Catherine swore that her marriage to Prince Arthur had not been consummated. But a papl Bull was obtained just to be safe.Despite several attempts Catherine had been unable to bear Henry a son (two had died shortly after birth). As Henry got older this became more and more important to him and he sought a quick solution to the problem.Henry and his ministers wanted the pope to annul the marriage on the grounds that it was invalid as Catherine had previously been married to his brother and the marriage had in fact been consummated. The Pope, however, was being held hostage by Catherine's nephew, Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, and was in no position to acquiesce to Henry's request. Eventually, Henry, determined to produce an heir to the throne, broke with Rome, and declared himself head of the Catholic Church in England. He then gave Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, the power to annul the marriage.