Katherine of Aragon (The Tudors)

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Queen Katherine of Aragon

The Tudors
Name	Queen Katherine of Aragon
Historical basis	Catherine of Aragon
Portrayed by	Maria Doyle Kennedy (2007- )
First appearance	"Episode 1"
Last appearance	"Episode 17"
Spouses	Henry VIII of England (dissolved by her death) Prince Arthur (dissolved by his death)
Children	Mary Tudor (daughter) Five unnamed children (miscarried or stillborn)
Family	Ferdinand V(father, deceased) Isabella I (mother, deceased)) Emperor Charles of Spain and The Holy Roman Empire (nephew)
Allies	Emperor Charles of Spain and The Holy Roman Empire Ambassador Mendoza
Enemies	Anne Boleyn

Queen Katherine of Aragon^[1] is a fictional character on the Showtime television series The Tudors. Based on the historical Catherine of Aragon, she is portrayed by Maria Doyle Kennedy.

The daughter of Ferdinand V and Isabella I of Spain, Katherine is married to King Henry VIII of England, with whom she has a daughter, Mary Tudor. She has previously lost three sons and two daughters by miscarriage; Henry soon convinces himself that this is a punishment from God. Seeking to divorce Katherine to hopefully produce a male heir with courtier Anne Boleyn, Henry argues that Katherine's previous marriage to his brother Arthur — dissolved by Arthur's death and annulled by the Church as unconsummated — had actually been consummated and was thus valid. This would effectively nullify his marriage to Katherine.

Katherine's nephew is Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Henry's rival and on-again, off-again ally. Katherine seeks Charles' aid in her attempts to thwart Henry's machinations against her.

[edit] Notes and references

^ As established by the series credits and character list on the official website, the character's name is spelled Katherine with a "K" in contrast to the English language spelling "Catherine" usually used for the actual historical figure. This can be argued to be more historically accurate, as the real figure signed her name with a K.