I recently visited Peterborough Cathedral to pay homage to Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first queen, who was interred there after she died at age 50, soon after Henry married Anne Boleyn. It was inexpressibly sad.
Katherine is the main subject of my most recent Real History Mystery, a soon-to-be free gift to the public as a Christmas present because it incorporates Tudor Advent, Christmas, New Year and birthing customs. I did not set out to write a Christmas book but did choose to set it in the halcyon days at the beginning of Henry VIII's reign, when he appeared to be the perfect Renaissance prince and much in love with his equally impressive Queen Katherine, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Katherine was in her third trimester of pregnancy during Advent the year after their marriage and gave birth to Prince Henry on January 1, 1511. Nicola Machiavelli, the protagonist in my mystery series, is present for Advent and Prince Henry's birth, solves the mystery soon after, and returns to Italy before the tragic death of the little prince 51 days later. Like my other mysteries, Cannon Conspiracy averages more than 4 stars on Amazon after more than 530 views in total (38 for Cannon Conspiracy) and will be available free between December 14 and 19, 2024 as an e-book with Renaissance art you can enlarge, using the link at maryannphilip.com or through my Amazon author page. The title references an actual conspiracy against Henry's throne that fizzled during that early period, but in my story comes close to success. In the Afterword I delineate fiction from fact and identify when I take sides in historical disputes.
Having studied her I have tremendous respect for Katherine, which is why her treatment after death so saddened me. Henry gave her a regal funeral and tomb in the cathedral closest to the manor house where she was essentially imprisoned. This angered both Anne's followers because it honored Katherine, and Katherine's many followers—she was a popular queen—because her obsequies were only befitting a princess. Henry did not attend nor did he permit her daughter Mary to do so. Oliver Cromwell's followers later destroyed Katherine's tomb along with the stained glass and icons in Peterborough Cathedral. The tomb was not replaced until the 19th century, when a call went out to all the Katherines in England to donate a penny towards a new coverstone for Queen Katherine's remains. It was duly bought and installed, but it is modest and the inscription is very hard to read.
When I entered the cathedral I followed the wall to the right and first found a cartoonish sign showing visitors where Mary Queen of Scots was temporarily interred before her son James VI of Scotland/James I of England moved her remains to Westminster Abbey. I would have missed Queen Katherine's place of interment on the opposite side of the altar entirely had I not looked carefully, and recognized her portrait and symbols.
As you can see, there is a needlepoint portrait of her above her coverstone, about the size of a standard sheet of notebook paper. Though the needlepoint is impeccably done it only vaguely resembles her most famous portrait. Beneath it at floor level are dishes containing glass objects I finally recognized as pomegranates, her family symbol. Because the gold letters are also at floor level with an iron rail and sunlight behind them I honestly did not notice them until I went back to my pictures to prepare this blog.
It is almost as if Peterborough Cathedral wants to forget she is there. The enthusiastic and polite docent I chatted with was much more eager to show me the thirteenth century baptismal font than to discuss Queen Katherine and her treatment after death.
The irony is that Katherine of Aragon was directly responsible for the existence of the Church of England, owner of Peterborough Cathedral, because Henry VIII created it in order to divorce her. If the Church of England is ambivalent about her because she and her daughter Mary were ardent Catholics, why the large sign for Mary Queen of Scots' temporary place of interment? I hope that Katherine's more subtle treatment is out of respect—a feeling that after such a tumultuous life, she should be allowed to rest in peace.
Whatever the case, she was a great queen. It seemed very sad to me that her remains are not given more prominence.
But did she die of a broken heart? The answer to this question supports a minority view I took in Cannon Conspiracy that accounts for all her miscarriages and those of Henry's subsequent queens, the early deaths of all Henry's children except Elizabeth, Mary I's gynecological issues (a false pregnancy and swelling) and early death at 42, supposedly from a tumor, Henry's wound that would not heal, and his descent into something akin to madness before his death at age 54. A paper by an English female gynecologist, written within the last twenty years, points to all these facts and others as evidence of syphilis, which was then rampant. So were prostitutes around all the royal castles, according to historian Tracy Borman. Teenage Henry disappeared from public view for several months soon after his brother died, allegedly to learn kingship from his father. My theory is that the old king was actually hiding the rash sometimes present during first stage syphilis because Henry was the only male heir and the kingdom needed him to make a good marriage and produce heirs himself. He would have been secretly treated with mercury and those early symptoms would have disappeared because they always do. But syphilis remains dormant, sometimes for decades, until in its final stage it attacks multiple parts of the body at whim. It also produces congenital syphilis in infants, who have shortened life expectancies because it passed to them through their mothers' blood. Elizabeth may have escaped because it passes from wound to wound, Anne was quickly pregnant, and Henry may not have had a genital sore (common in syphilis) when that happened. By custom they would have avoided intercourse during pregnancy, but after Elizabeth's birth Anne would have been healing and very vulnerable. Her subsequent three miscarriages are what doomed her, at least in my opinion.
Katherine's heart was removed from her body after her death—a common practice then—and doctors were astonished to discover what appeared to be a black tumor on it, something they had never seen before. We now know that syphilis creates tumor-like infection sites called "gommas" or "gummas" in its final stage. They can occur internally or externally and can be black. (As I write this you can see a picture of a black one by Googling "image " with "syphilis" "gumma" and "Merck." If you are squeamish, I suggest you take my word for it.)
But did Katherine die of a broken heart? I think she did, and Henry was the cause of it. Whether it was a tumor or a gumma that contributed, her husband rejected her and declared their daughter a bastard to marry a younger woman. He also chose to disregard the judgment of the papal legate that she won and to split from her chosen Church. As deeply religious as she was, she probably believed Henry would go to Hell for that sin, if not the others. She was relegated to a house deep in the countryside that was not fit for a queen and her daughter was not permitted to visit her when her health failed.
Wouldn't that break your heart?