Today in 1501 Katherine of Aragon set sail from Laredo Spain to go to England and marry Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales. It was actually the second attempt at sailing. After waiting nearly a month for good winds, she set sail originally on August 17, but a huge storm in the Bay of Biscay forced the ships back to Spain. She had been very frightened and thought she was going to die. The ships were so battered that they needed re-fitting before the journey could resume, which she did from a different port today.
She had already been away from home, which at that point had been the palace of the Alhambra in Granada, since May, and had traveled 500 miles on horseback to northern Spain during the summer. By all accounts her journey was exhausting, and she finally landed in Plymouth on October 2.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Episode link:
Tudor Times on Katherine of Aragon
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