Catherine of Aragon: Facial Reconstructions & History Documentary

Catherine of Aragon is somewhat of a forgotten figure in the Tudor-sphere. She is often passed over in the drama shows, and thought of as plain or even boring. But she was an incredibly interesting figure in European history. We also don't know exactly what she looked like - there are some disputes regarding portraits of her. Let's check out my recreations as well as learn about her history.

0:00 Introduction
0:42 The History of Catherine of Aragon
11:29 What did Catherine of Aragon Look Like?
14:38 Recreations Reveal

Hello everyone and welcome back
to Royalty Now Studios

where we recreate famous figures
from the past

and talk about their history.

Today's subject is Catherine of Aragon

who lived a fascinating life
between her childhood

as the daughter
of the catholic monarchs in Spain

and her marriages
to two princes of England

including the infamous King Henry VIII.

We'll first explore
her life and her history

and then we'll jump into her portraits

and what she may have looked like.

I'll reveal multiple new recreations
of Katherine at the end.

So, let's go ahead and get started.

Catalina de Aragon
was born in what is now Madrid Spain

on december 16th of 1485.

As a child in Spain
she was called Catalina

but it was later anglicized
in England to Catherine

and that's what i'm going
to use throughout the video.

Now Catherine is born

into this really
high-powered royal family.

She is the youngest daughter

of Ferdinand II of Aragon
and Isabella I of Castile.

Her parents known
as the Catholic Monarchs

and widely considered to be
Spain's greatest monarchs,

They effectively united Spain
with their marriage

and made it on of the most
powerful countries in Europe.

An alliance with Spain would be
massively beneficial to any country.

So, from a young age,
Catherine was considered

this very valuable bargaining chip
on the marriage market of Europe.

In fact she was promised
at only three years old

to the English heir prince Arthur.

Catherine was chosen
as the future queen of England

for a few specific reasons.

First was her sweet nature,
her intelligence

and obviously her great education.

She was essentially
raised to be a queen.

The second is far more interesting

You see, Catherine of Aragon
technically had a stronger claim

to the throne of England
than the king of England himself,

Henry VII.

She was a descendant
of John of Gaunt's second wife

while King Henry VII
was a descendant of his third wife.

Katherine Swynford,

and their children were born
out of wedlock

and barred from succession
to the English throne.

Even though Henry VII
won his throne in battle

being the last English monarch
to do so

the Tudor monarchy was not accepted
by all european kingdoms.

Catherine comes
from the House of Trastámara

and that is one of the most
powerful houses in Europe at the time.

Marriage into this house
means safety for the Tudor dynasty.

Any air that was born
from Catherine and Arthur

would have an indisputable claim
to the English throne.

And finally the partnership
between England and Spain

could quiet this ongoing
French hostility

that the English had been
dealing with for years.

Catherine and Arthur are married
by proxy in 1499

and then officially married in England
in november of 1501

when both were just 15 years old.

Little is known about
their first impressions of each other

but Arthur did write
to his parents-in-law telling them

that he would be a true
and loving husband.

Sadly, the two would only be married
for four short months.

In early 1502, both of them
came down with a quote malign vapor,

the English sweating sickness.

While Catherine recovered,
Arthur did not.

This was a massive blow to everyone.

The master plan that the family had
for an alliance with Spain

was just shattered.

And the ten-year-old quote spare,

the future Henry VIII

was not expecting to be
the next king of England.

Very quickly a shuffling occurs
and young Henry immediately

becomes the new Prince of Wales.

His studies have to pivot
very quickly

from general education to training
to become the next king.

The next question is
what to do with Catherine?

The newly widowed king Henry VII

still needing this spanish alliance

and the dowry that Catherine offered

which, by the way, was one
of the largest ever offered

by a princess of Europe

even began negotiations
to marry Catherine himself.

But queen isabella refused.

She did not want her daughter
to be the wife of an aging king of England
4:14
so then the idea is obviously come up
4:16
with that catherine should just stay in
4:18
england and she should marry the next
4:19
heir to the throne the young henry
4:22
who is only about 12 years old at this
4:24
time
4:25
so on the 25th of june 1503 they were
4:28
betrothed and the plan to keep catherine
4:30
in england was back on for the most part
4:34
but in 1504 catherine's mother queen
4:37
isabella dies
4:39
queen isabella was a strong supporter of
4:41
henry and catherine as a match
4:43
ferdinand her father was not
4:46
ferdinand really wanted his daughter
4:48
back in spain with him and he
4:49
procrastinated paying the rest of the
4:51
dowry
4:52
but it actually wouldn't be easy for
4:54
henry and catherine to marry
4:56
based on the fact that she had once been
4:58
married to his brother they would
4:59
require a special dispensation from the