Today in 1511 Katherine of Aragon gave birth to a son, Henry, Duke of Cornwall. It had been less than two years since Katherine and Henry VIII had been married, and this was an auspicious beginning to the reign. London was filled with celebrations – bonfires, jousts, and cannons firing. He was christened a few days after his birth, in Richmond. The French king, Louis XII, was a godfather. Margaret of Austria was a godmother. Henry VIII made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of our Lady of Walsingham, an ancient shrine for mothers, to give thanks for the safe delivery. And little Henry was put under the care of four rockers who made sure that any time he cried he was put right back to sleep.
Of course, little Henry Duke of Cornwall wouldn’t survive to adulthood. He only lived for 52 days, and no one knows quite why he died, though this wasn’t an unlikely turn of events. Katherine and Henry were devastated, although at the time no one knew how hard it would be for Henry to have a son.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested links:
Episode 47: Tudor Times talks about Katherine of Aragon
From the shop:
The Andalucian Princess Collection
Featuring: Catherine of Aragon Andalucian Princess Weekend Travel Bag
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.