Editing Arthur, Prince of Wales (section)

== Infancy ==
[[File:Family-of-Henry-VII.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|The family of [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]], depicted on an illuminated page.]]
[[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] became [[King of England]] upon defeating [[Richard III]] at the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]] in 1485. In an effort to strengthen the [[House of Tudor|Tudor]] claim to the throne, Henry decided on naming his firstborn son "Arthur" and having him born in Winchester – where the Legend of [[King Arthur]] originated – in order to emphasise the Welsh origin of the Tudors.<ref>Lauren Rose Browne, 'Elizabeth of York: Tudor Trophy Wife', Aidan Norrie, ''Tudor and Stuart Consorts: Power, Influence, and Dynasty'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), p. 28.</ref> On this occasion, [[Camelot]] was identified as present-day [[Winchester]],{{sfn|Wagner|Schmid|2011|p=1104}} and his wife, [[Elizabeth of York]], was sent to Saint Swithun's Priory (today [[Winchester Cathedral Priory]]) to give birth.{{sfn|Wheeler|Kindrick|Salda|2000|p=377}} Born at Saint Swithun's<ref name="odnb">{{cite ODNB | url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/705 | title=Arthur, prince of Wales (1486–1502) | year=2004 | access-date=7 October 2013 | author=Horrox, Rosemary | doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/705 }} {{subscription required}}</ref> on the night of 19/20 September 1486 at about 1 am,{{sfn|Gunn|Monckton|2009|p=1}} Arthur was Henry and Elizabeth's eldest child.{{sfn|Weir|2008a|p=151}}

Arthur's birth was anticipated by French and Italian [[Renaissance humanism|humanists]] eager for the start of a "Virgilian golden age".{{sfn|Gunn|Monckton|2009|p=1}} Sir [[Francis Bacon]] wrote that although the Prince was born one month premature, he was "strong and able".{{sfn|Fuller|1840|p=6}} Young Arthur was viewed as "a living symbol" of not only the union between the House of Lancaster and the [[House of York]], to which his mother belonged as the daughter of [[Edward IV]], but also of the end of the [[Wars of the Roses]].{{sfn|Wagner|Schmid|2011|p=1104}} In the opinion of contemporaries, Arthur was the great hope of the newly established House of Tudor.{{sfn|Gunn|Monckton|2009|p=1}}

Arthur became [[Duke of Cornwall]] at birth.{{sfn|Weir|2008a|p=151}} Four days after his birth, he was baptised at [[Winchester Cathedral]] by the [[Bishop of Worcester]], [[John Alcock (bishop)|John Alcock]], which was immediately followed by his [[Confirmation (Catholic Church)|confirmation]].{{sfn|Wheeler|Kindrick|Salda|2000|p=377}} His godparents were [[John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford]]; [[Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby]]; [[William FitzAlan, 16th Earl of Arundel]]; Arthur's grandmother, Queen [[Elizabeth Woodville]]; and his aunt [[Cecily of York]]. Elizabeth and Cecily carried the prince during the ceremony.{{sfn|Grose|1784|pp=193–197}} Initially, Arthur's nursery in [[Farnham]] was headed by Elizabeth Darcy, who had served as chief nurse for Edward IV's children, including Arthur's own mother. After Arthur was created Prince of Wales in 1489, he was awarded a household structure at the behest of his father.<ref name="odnb" /> Over the next thirteen years, his parents would have six more children, of whom only three{{snd}}[[Margaret Tudor|Margaret]], [[Henry VIII of England|Henry]] and [[Mary Tudor, Queen of France|Mary]]{{snd}}would reach adulthood.{{sfn|Crofton|2006|p=129}} Arthur was especially close to his sister Margaret (b. 1489) and his brother Henry (b. 1491), with whom he shared a nursery.{{sfn|Marshall|2003|p=85}}

On 29 November 1489, after being made a [[Knight of the Bath]], Arthur was appointed [[Prince of Wales]] and [[Earl of Chester]],{{sfn|Gunn|Monckton|2009|p=10}} and was invested as such at the [[Palace of Westminster]] on 27 February 1490.{{sfn|Allison|Riddell|1991|p=605}} As part of his investiture ceremony, he progressed down the [[River Thames]] in the royal barge and was met at [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]] by the [[Lord Mayor of London]], John Mathewe, and at [[Lambeth]] by Spanish ambassadors.{{sfn|Gunn|Monckton|2009|pp=2–3}} On 8 May 1491, he was made a [[Knight of the Garter]]{{sfn|Weir|2008a|p=151}} at [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle|Saint George's Chapel]] at [[Windsor Castle|Windsor Palace]].{{sfn|Gunn|Monckton|2009|p=3}} 

Around 1491, Arthur began his formal education under [[John Rede]], a former headmaster of [[Winchester College]].<ref name="odnb" /> His education was subsequently taken over by [[Bernard André]], a blind French poet and [[Order of Saint Augustine|Augustinian friar]],{{sfn|Weir|2008b|p=5}} and then by [[Thomas Linacre]], formerly Henry VII's physician.{{sfn|Weir|2008b|p=150}} Arthur's education covered [[grammar]], [[poetry]], [[rhetoric]] and [[ethics]] and focused on [[history]].{{sfn|Ives|2007|p=2}}

Arthur was a very skilled pupil and André wrote that the Prince of Wales had either memorised or read a selection of [[Homer]], [[Virgil]], [[Ovid]], [[Terence]], a good deal of [[Cicero]] and a wide span of historical works, including those of [[Thucydides]], [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]], [[Livy]] and [[Tacitus]].{{sfn|Scarisbrick|1968|p=5}} Arthur was also a "superb archer",{{sfn|Weir|2008b|p=113}} and had learned to dance "right pleasant and honourably" by 1501.{{sfn|Gunn|Monckton|2009|p=9}}