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King Henry VIII ascended the British throne in at the age of eighteen. At a time when the health of a country was directly reflected in the health of the king he was an ideal monarch. He was tall and fit for the time, a handsome an imposing figure that ruled by force of character as much as by politicking.

Katherine of Aragorn, his first wife was in fact the wife of his elder brother Arthur. Katherine and Arthur were betrothed when they were three and not quite two years old to cement a political alliance between Spain and England. They married in 1501 when she was sixteen years old and moved to Ludlow castle on the Welsh borders. Arthur died of a "sweating sickness" less than six months later.

When Arthur died it left all the parties in a quandary. The alliance still needed to be cemented, the new heir apparent needed a wife, King Henry VII wanted to keep Katherine's dowry, and now that Katherine was Arthur's widow what exactly did her role become? Henry VII betrothed his remaining son to Katherine, saying that it would be legal for them to marry, as the first marriage had not been consummated, and in the process pocketing the dowry.

By the time Prince Henry came of age to marry in 1505 the king had changed his mind about the marriage, Spain not seeming such a vital ally. The betrothal was canceled and Katherine lived in limbo.

In 1509 King Henry VII died and one of the first acts of his son King Henry VIII was to marry Katherine of Aragorn, a lady he had after all known for eight years. She was now twenty-four and he eighteen.

Henry was a devoted husband and the marriage was happy. All that was needed to complete his happiness was a male her. Katherine produced a stillborn daughter in 1510, a live boy on 1 January 1511, who survived only fifty-two days, a miscarriage, a further short-lived son, and then in February 1516 a daughter, Mary, who lived. There followed more pregnancies and miscarriages. Henry although devoted to Katherine was known for his roving eye and had produced a healthy son by at least one of his mistresses.

By 1526 Katherine was forty-two and thought too old to conceive. At the time Henry's eye was caught by one of her maids, Anne Boleyn. Anne was a relative of one of the powerful families in the realm at that time, the Howards, and it was probably by their advice that she did not fall immediately for his charms, but denied him passage to her bed. Indeed Anne's older sister Mary had already been Henry's mistress and born him a son. Henry became

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