Arthur Tudor

Arthur Tudor (Bradgate, Leicestershire; 20 September 1486 – 2 April 1502) was the eldest son of Henry VII of England and his consort Elizabeth of York. Henry chose the name of his eldest son in honor of King Arthur, partly as a symbol of his hopes for the revival of England's greatness, and partly to emphasize the Tudor family's relationship with Wales.

Birth

Enrique VII and Isabel de York, parents of Arturo

In 1485, Enrique Tudor became King of England after defeating Ricardo III in the battle of Bosworth. In order to strengthen his right to the English throne, Enrique resorted to personal genealogists to track his offspring of Cadwaladr and former British kings. The royal historians proclaimed that Enrique was related to King Arturo, and identified Winchester in Hampshire as Camelot. Enrique sent his wife Isabel de York, pregnant, to the priorato of San Swithun (today priororate of the Winchester cathedral) to give A Luz. Arturo, a firstborn of Enrique and Isabel, was born in Winchester on September 19 or 20, 1486, and not only symbolized the union between the house of Tudor and the house of York, but was also considered a “symbol living »from the end of the two roses war. In the opinion of his contemporaries, Arturo was the great hope of the newly established House of Tudor. He was Duke of Cornwall since his birth and the titles of Prince of Wales were granted and Count of Chester on November 29, 1489.

TRANSFER OF THE COURT

His baptism took place in Winchester's cathedral, officiated by the Bishop of Worcester, John Alcock. Arturo's godparents were John de Vere, XIII Count of Oxford, Thomas Stanley, I Count of Derby and William Fitzalan, Count of Arundel, his aunt Cecilia of York and his maternal grandmother Isabel Woodville, who had him in arms during the ceremony.

It is not known if Arturo was a robust child when he was born. Francis Bacon wrote that Arturo was premature, born in the eighth month, but that he was "strong and capable." On the alleged weakness that afflicted Arturo since his birth, historians have opinions found. Philipa Jones argues that when his marriage was negotiated with Catalina de Aragón, in case of such weakness, Isabel I of Castilla and Fernando II of Aragon, parents of Catalina, would have been informed.

The oldest portrait of Arturo that has reached to this day, painted in his adolescence, shows him with the red hair of the tudor, small eyes and nose of Puente Alto.

Childhood

Arturo moved to Westminster in November 1489, so that the ceremony of his appointment as Prince of Wales coincided with the birth of the next son of the royal couple. Isabel got in childbirth during the ceremony and the day of San Andrés gave birth to a daughter, Margarita Tudor. The next day the Parliament formally appointed Arturo Prince of Wales.

As heir to the throne, Arturo received a careful education. His tutors were John Rede and the blind poet Bernard André (who, in his unfinished Biography of Enrique VII, said Arturo was familiar with the best Latin and Greek authors). Arturo was studious, reflective and reserved. Thomas Linacre (or Lynaker) was also his teacher during his adolescence.

Enrique chose Gruffydd Ap Rhys Ap Thomas, son of Rhys Ap Thomas, one of Wales' most powerful men after the death of Jasper Tudor in 1495, to serve and accompany the young prince. Arturo was nine years old, and Gruffydd was 17, although they soon became friends.

Gruffydd and Prince Arturo were very united, and in fact it was rumored that they both maintained a homosexual relationship: at one point the rumor ran that he had seen Gruffydd go out late lately at night from the prince's room. However, his parents always considered him false.

Marriage with Catalina de Aragón

Henry VII planned to marry Arthur to a daughter of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, in order to forge an Anglo-Spanish alliance against France, and the youngest of the Spanish princesses was chosen, Catherine of Aragon. The treaty of Medina del Campo (March 27, 1489) established that Arthur and Catherine would marry as soon as they reached the canonical age, and set the bride's dowry at 200,000 crowns. Arthur had not yet reached the age of consent, so which required a papal dispensation, issued in February 1497, which allowed the engagement of the young people on August 25, 1497. Two years later the marriage by proxy took place, in which Arthur expressed his happiness at the wedding., since "he felt a deep and sincere love for the princess."

Catherine arrived in England in the autumn of 1501. On November 4, the couple met for the first time in Dogmersfield, Hampshire. The young people discovered that having learned different pronunciations of Latin, they were unable to communicate. Five days later, on November 9, 1501, Catherine arrived in London, and on the 14th of that same month the wedding ceremony took place in St. Paul's Cathedral, celebrated by William Warham, Bishop of London.

Death

After residing at Tickenhill Palace for a month, Arthur and Catherine made their home at Ludlow Castle in Wales. Arthur had been growing weaker since their wedding, and although Catherine was reluctant to accompany him, he King Henry VII forced her to join her husband. Arthur found it easy to rule Wales, as the border had calmed down after several centuries of war. In March 1502, Arthur and Catherine were stricken with an unknown illness, "an evil vapor from the air." Catherine recovered, but Arthur died on April 2, 1502, when he was 15 years and six months old.

It has been speculated that this disease could be the mysterious English sweat, tuberculosis ("consumption"), Black Death or influenza. In 2002 Arthur's tomb was opened, but experts were unable to determine the exact cause. of his death: a genetic disease that also affected Arthur's nephew, Edward VI of England, is being investigated as a possible cause.

On April 8, requiem masses were celebrated in St. Paul's Cathedral and in all the parishes of London. On April 23, Arthur's embalmed body was moved to the parish church of Ludlow, where it was watched by many nobles and knights. On April 25, the body traveled down the River Severn to Worcester Cathedral, where it was buried. As tradition dictated, Catalina did not attend the funeral, and neither did the parents of the deceased, who were very affected by his death.

Legacy

Shortly after Arthur's death, the idea arose to betroth the widow Catherine to the new heir, Henry. Both Henry VII and the Catholic Monarchs agreed to carry out this marriage, and the Pope issued a dispensation to make it possible. The wedding took place on June 11, 1509. Henry and Catherine had six children: three boys who died before three months of age, a girl who was stillborn and another who lived only a week. The couple's only surviving child was Princess Mary, born in 1516.

Years after the wedding, King Henry VIII tried to annul his marriage to marry Anne Boleyn, alleging incest because Catherine was his brother's wife. For this reason, the question of whether Arthur and Catherine's marriage had been consummated had an important subsequent effect on the history of Britain. Catalina claimed that the marriage was never consummated. However, there were witnesses who maintained the opposite according to the prince's comments, although it is not known if these words were true.

Ancestors

In fiction

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