Arthur, Prince of Wales

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Arthur, Prince of Wales; Credit: Wikipedia

The first child of King Henry VII of England, the first Tudor monarch, and Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV, niece of King Richard III,  and sister of King Edward V, was born purposefully in Winchester, England, once the capital of the Kingdom of Wessex, on September 20, 1486.  The name Arthur was chosen in hopes that he would bring a new Arthurian age to the new Tudor dynasty.

Arthur was christened on September 24, 1486, at Winchester Cathedral. His godparents were:

Arthur had six siblings:

Henry VII’s family: At left, Henry VII, with Arthur, Prince of Wales behind him, then Henry (later Henry VIII), and Edmund, who did not survive early childhood. To the right is Elizabeth of York, with Margaret, then Elizabeth who didn’t survive childhood, Mary, and Katherine, who died shortly after her birth; Credit – Wikipedia

Arthur had an education befitting the heir to the throne and a household for him was set up in Ludlow Castle near the Welsh border when he was six years old. His early education covered the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, which he learned very quickly. In 1491,  John Rede, former Headmaster of Winchester College, became his tutor, followed by the blind poet Bernard André in 1496, and then Thomas Linacre in 1501.

When Arthur was very young, his father began negotiations for him to marry Catherine of Aragon, the youngest child of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. The Treaty of Medina del Campo, ratified by Spain in 1489 and by England in 1490, contained the marriage contract between Catherine and Arthur. Catherine left Spain in 1501, never to return, and on November 14, 1501, the two 15-year-olds, Catherine and Arthur, were married at the Old St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Catherine was escorted to the cathedral by the 10-year-old Henry, Duke of York, who would eventually become her second husband.

Catherine of Aragon, circa 1502; Credit – Wikipedia

After the marriage, the couple lived at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire, England near the Welsh border, where, as Prince of Wales, Arthur presided over the Council of Wales and the Marches.  It is doubtful that the marriage was consummated, and this question later became vitally important when King Henry VIII sought to annul his marriage to Catherine.  Arthur and Catherine became ill within months of the marriage, probably because of the sweating sickness.  Catherine survived, but she was left a widow as Arthur did not survive. 15-year-old Arthur died on April 2, 1502, and was buried in Worcester Cathedral. Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth were naturally distraught at the death of their eldest son. Their second son succeeded his father as King Henry VIII in 1509, leaving us to ask the question, “What if Arthur had become king?”

Tomb of Arthur, Prince of Wales; Credit – www.geograph.org.uk

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