11 key dates: Young Henry VIII, Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon
Are you watching The Spanish Princess on Starz and want to know how the story fits in the real timeline of Henry VIII, Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon? Here are 11 key dates in the history of the Tudors…

19 September 1486
Arthur, first son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, is born in Winchester. He is named after the legendary king who is much in vogue through the writings of Geoffrey of Monmouth
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28 November 1489
A sister, Margaret, is born to Arthur. The following day, the three-year-old boy is invested as the Prince of Wales
28 June 1491

Prince Henry is born in Greenwich. He is not sent to his elder brother’s household, but instead joins his sister Margaret in the nursery overseen by his mother
1493
Arthur is sent to Ludlow, to continue his education as the king-in-waiting. Henry meanwhile is still being weaned, and learning to walk, in the company of his mother and sister

31 October 1494
Henry is invested as the Duke of York in London. This continues the mirroring of his childhood with that of his uncle, Richard Duke of York, one of the unfortunate princes in the tower
14 November 1501
Prince Arthur marries Catherine of Aragon at St Paul’s Cathedral. The two 15-year-olds then go off to live as man and wife in Ludlow. Arthur’s brother Henry was Katherine’s escort

11 February 1503
Queen Elizabeth dies nine days after giving birth to her last daughter Catherine. Henry, her surviving son and the heir to the throne, is not yet 12 years old
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23 February 1504
Henry takes over his dead brother’s place as Prince of Wales
21 April 1509
Henry VII dies. Three days later, his son is pronounced King Henry VIII
11 June 1509
Henry marries his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon. The pair have a magnificent joint coronation on 24 June. The country rejoices.
This timeline originally appeared in the April 2009 issue of BBC History Magazine, alongside an article on Henry VIII’s childhood by David Starkey.