Today in 1528 Cardinal Campeggio, the Papal legate, arrived in Dover in preparation for the special legatine court which would determine the fate of Henry VIII’s marriage to Katherine of Aragon. Henry had put a great deal of hope in the legate, and this court. But this would, of course, be the court that was unable to decide on a divorce, and the king’s Great Matter would drag on for another five years.
Cardinal Campeggio had pleaded with Katherine to retire to a nunnery, but she refused, and at the special court she gave her famous speech directly to Henry, swearing that she had been a true and lawful wife to him, had been a virgin when they married, and then swearing her love for him.
Henry was not pleased with the outcome of the legatine court.
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 109: Divorce in the Middle Ages (The Precedence for Henry’s Divorce)
Episode 47: Tudor Times talks about Katherine of Aragon
From the shop:
Check out the Andalucian Princess Collection for Catherine of Aragon-inspired items.
Featuring: Catherine of Aragon Andalucian Princess Women’s Socks
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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.