Editing Arthur, Prince of Wales (section)

== Marriage ==
[[File:ArthurCatherine.jpg|thumb|A Flemish tapestry depicting Arthur and Catherine's court.]]
[[File:Juan de Flandes 002.jpg|thumb| 1496 Portrait by [[Juan de Flandes]] thought to be of 11-year-old Catherine. She resembles her sister [[Joanna of Castile]].]]
Henry VII planned to marry Arthur to a daughter of the [[Catholic Monarchs]], [[Isabella I of Castile]] and [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]], in order to forge an Anglo-Spanish alliance against France.{{sfn|Kidner|2012|p=380}} It was suggested that the choice of marrying Arthur to Ferdinand and Isabella's youngest daughter, [[Catherine of Aragon|Catherine]] (b. 1485), would be appropriate.<ref name="odnb" /> Thanks to negotiations by the Spanish ambassador [[Rodrigo González de la Puebla]], the [[Treaty of Medina del Campo (1489)|Treaty of Medina del Campo]] (27 March 1489) provided that Arthur and Catherine would be married as soon as they reached [[canonical age]]; it also settled Catherine's dowry at 200,000 crowns (the equivalent of [[Pound sterling|£]]5 million in 2007).{{sfn|Weir|2007|p=17}} Since Arthur, not yet 14, was below the age of consent, a [[Dispensation (canon law)|papal dispensation]] (i.e., waiver) allowing the marriage was issued in February 1497, and the pair were betrothed by proxy on 25 August 1497.{{sfn|Fraser|1992|p=24}}{{sfn|Wheeler|Kindrick|Salda|2000|p=377}}

To demonstrate his status as heir to the throne, Arthur made a [[Royal Entry]] to [[Coventry]] in October 1498. He was welcomed with pageants of the [[Nine Worthies]], introduced by King Arthur, by Queen Fortune, and by [[Saint George and the Dragon|Saint George defending a maiden from the dragon]].<ref>[[Sydney Anglo]], ''Spectacle Pageantry, and Early Tudor Policy'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969), pp. 54–6.</ref> In 1499, a [[Proxy marriage|marriage by proxy]] took place at Arthur's Tickenhill Manor in [[Bewdley]], near [[Worcester, England|Worcester]]; Arthur said to Roderigo de Puebla, who acted as proxy for Catherine, that "he much rejoiced to contract the marriage because of his deep and sincere love for the Princess".{{sfn|Weir|2007|p=23}} In October 1499, Arthur, referring to Catherine as "my dearest spouse", wrote: <blockquote>"I cannot tell you what an earnest desire I feel to see your Highness, and how vexatious to me is this procrastination about your coming. Let be hastened, the love conceived between us and the wished-for joys may reap their proper fruit."{{sfn|Weir|2007|p=23}}</blockquote>

The young couple exchanged letters in [[Latin]] until 20 September 1501, when Arthur, having attained the age of 15, was deemed old enough to be married.{{sfn|Sanders|Low|1910|p=235}} Catherine landed in England about two weeks later, on 2 October 1501, at [[Plymouth]].<ref name="odnb" /> The next month, on 4 November 1501, the couple met for the first time at [[Dogmersfield]] in [[Hampshire]].{{sfn|Weir|2007|p=27}} Arthur wrote to Catherine's parents that he would be "a true and loving husband"; the couple soon discovered that they had mastered different pronunciations of Latin and so were unable to easily communicate.{{sfn|Fraser|1992|p=25}} Five days later, on 9 November 1501, Catherine arrived in London.{{sfn|Weir|2007|p=30}}

On 14 November 1501, the marriage ceremony finally took place at [[Old St Paul's Cathedral|Saint Paul's Cathedral]]; both Arthur and Catherine wore white satin. The ceremony was conducted by [[Henry Deane (archbishop of Canterbury)|Henry Deane]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], who was assisted by [[William Warham]], [[Bishop of London]]. Following the ceremony, Arthur and Catherine left the Cathedral and headed for [[Baynard's Castle]], where they were entertained by "the best voiced children of the King's chapel, who sang right sweetly with quaint harmony".{{sfn|Weir|2007|p=33}}

What followed was a [[bedding ceremony]] laid down by Arthur's grandmother [[Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby|Lady Margaret Beaufort]]: the bed was sprinkled with holy water, after which Catherine was led away from the wedding feast by her ladies-in-waiting. She was undressed, veiled and "reverently" laid in bed, while Arthur, "in his shirt, with a gown cast about him," was escorted by his gentlemen into the bedchamber as [[viol]]s and [[tabor (instrument)|tabors]] played. The Bishop of London blessed the bed, and prayed for the marriage to be fruitful, after which the couple were left alone. This is the only public bedding of a royal couple recorded in Britain in the 16th century.{{sfn|Weir|2008b|p=11}}