Part 1, Catherine of Aragon: Chapter 3, Golden World, Chapter 4, Example of Wedlock, and Chapter 5, Without an Heir Male Summary and Analysis

In Golden World, Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII were married on June 11, 1509. Catherine was then quickly crowned Queen at the Tower of London. Historians often wondered why Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon even though their marriage contract was never completed. This author speculates that it was because Henry and Catherine had spent some time together as children and he simply married her because he loved her.

By the fall of their first year of marriage, Catherine was pregnant. However, the baby, a girl, was stillborn in January of the following year. Another child would be conceived within a few months. This baby, a boy named Henry, was...