Katherine of Aragon

Every September, the clergy and congregation of Peterborough Cathedral devote a day to celebrating the memory of Katherine of Aragon, who is buried in the Cathedral. It is extraordinary that an Anglican cathedral should pay such respect to a Roman Catholic queen, the more so since it was Katherine’s ‘divorce’ from Henry VIII that was in effect the signal for the separation of the Church in England from the Roman communion. But the annual commemoration is a tribute to the memory of a woman who, although a Spaniard by birth, became – and remains – one of the best-loved and most admired of English queens. This article will explore how Katherine earned that affection.