Two of my “on this day in history” posts that I post daily on the Anne Boleyn Files Facebook page are linked to Catherine of Aragon today.
On this day in history, 2nd January 1536, Eustace Chapuys, the imperial ambassador, arrived at the dying Catherine of Aragon’s bedside in Kimbolton Castle. You can read Chapuys’ account of his four-day visit in my article from last year – click here.
Forty-fours years earlier, on 2nd January 1492, King Boabdil (or Abu `Abdallah Muhammad XII), Sultan of Granada, surrendered the city of Granada in Spain to the forces of Catherine’s parents, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, following months of siege. Ferdinand and Isabella seized the Alhambra, the Moorish fortress and beautiful palace complex, and flew their royal banners from the fortress. They then made their home at the palace and Catherine lived there until 1501 when she travelled to England to marry Arthur, Prince of Wales.
You can learn more about this and the Alhambra itself in a video I made for the Tudor Society in 2015 – click here. I recorded the video at the Alhambra so do enjoy the beauty that is the Alhambra Palace. I am lucky to live near it and I visit it regularly – I just can’t get enough of it!
