Today in 1536 Catherine of Aragon was laid to rest in Peterborough Cathedral. She was buried as a Princess Dowager, rather than a Queen, and while she had wanted to be laid to rest in the chapel of the order of the Observant Friars, but because Henry VIII had already dissolved it, that wasn’t possible.Â
Today is also the day that Anne Boleyn miscarried a son. This is the infamous incident which has become the stuff of myth and legend. Was it a deformed fetus? Likely not, as we don’t hear anything about that until 50 years later – you’d think the Imperial Ambassador would have mentioned it if it was rumor. Did she scream at Henry that she miscarried because of Jane Seymour?
This was probably just a tragic, but normal pregnancy that ended at about 15 weeks pregnant. It took on additional meaning because it also happened to help seal Anne’s fate.
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 69: Supplemental – Chat with James Boulton on Katherine of Aragon
Episode 47: Tudor Times talks about Katherine of Aragon
From the shop:
Valentine’s Day collection
Featuring: Katherine of Aragon signature necklace
Ps. All products are made on-demand and can take a few weeks to ship.
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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.