Catherine of Aragon continues to fascinate readers 500 years after she became Henry VIII's first queen. Having lost her first husband, Henry's elder brother Prince Arthur, she endured years
of ill health and penury, to make a dazzling second match in Henry VIII. There is no doubt that she was Henry's true love, compatible with him in every respect and, for years, she presided
over a majestic court as the personification of his ideal woman. When it became clear that she could no longer bear children, however, the king’s attention turned elsewhere, and his once
chivalric devotion became resentment. Catherine’s final years were spent in lonely isolation, but she never gave up her vision: she was devoted to her faith, her husband, and to England, and
was prepared to be martyred for them. The fidelity of this remarkable woman never wavered.
