When did Arthur Prince of Wales die and how old was he?
Arthur, Prince of Wales died on the 2nd of April 1502 at Ludlow Castle, six months short of his sixteenth birthday. He had been born on the night of the 19th-the 20th of September 1486.
Questions about Arthur, Prince of Wales
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who were the parents of Arthur Prince of Wales?
Arthur's parents were King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York. His mother was the daughter of the Yorkist king Edward IV, making Arthur a symbolic union of the Houses of Lancaster and York.
What caused the death of Arthur Prince of Wales?
Arthur died after falling ill in March 1502 with what was described at the time as "a malign vapour which proceeded from the air." Historians have proposed several possible causes, including the English sweating sickness, tuberculosis, plague or influenza. His wife Catherine of Aragon fell ill at the same time but recovered.
Was the marriage of Arthur Prince of Wales and Catherine of Aragon consummated?
Catherine of Aragon maintained until her death that the marriage had not been consummated and that she came to Henry VIII as a virgin. Arthur's morning-after remarks claiming otherwise are generally dismissed by modern historians as the boasts of a fifteen-year-old. The question became politically critical when Henry VIII used the possibility of consummation to seek an annulment of his own marriage to Catherine.
Where was Arthur Prince of Wales buried?
Arthur was buried at Worcester Cathedral. His body was carried there on the 25th of April 1502 via the River Severn. A chantry was erected over his grave two years later.
How did the death of Arthur Prince of Wales lead to the English Reformation?
Arthur's death led Henry VII to arrange a marriage between Catherine of Aragon and Arthur's younger brother, who became Henry VIII. When Henry VIII later sought to annul that marriage in order to wed Anne Boleyn, his legal argument rested on a biblical passage stating that marrying a brother's widow is sinful if the first marriage was consummated. The pope refused to grant the annulment, driving Henry VIII to break with the Roman Catholic Church and establish the Church of England.