King Henry VIII is known for his six wives. They were divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded – and one survived. However, before he charged down the path of continually trading in wives to hopefully find the “one”, he married his elder brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon, at Greenwich Palace on 11 June 1509. 

Daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, Infanta Catherine married Arthur, Prince of Wales in 1501. The marriage was a strong political match, binding Spain and England together. 

Unfortunately, Arthur died less than a year later, leaving Catherine a widow. She spent over five years in virtual limbo, as Arthur’s father, King Henry VII, was unwilling to lose Catherine’s dowry and the political match. However, she caught Prince Henry’s eye- she was a beautiful and intelligent woman that he had spent half a decade with.

It was a difficult match, largely because it required a papal dispensation- a man could not marry his brother’s widow without one. The dispensation was granted as Catherine swore that her first marriage had not been consummated. 

Less than two months after acceding to the throne, the new King Henry VIII married the widowed Catherine of Aragon. This royal wedding was a private affair at a church just outside of Greenwich Palace on 11 June 1509. 

The couple had further celebrations on 23 June when they were both crowned in a joint coronation at Westminster Abbey. 

Although it seems that Henry VIII was regularly annulling marriages (and worse), Henry and Catherine were married for nearly twenty-five years before he sought to annul it to marry Anne Boleyn.