• Catherine was the youngest daughter of King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile. These two kingdoms make up modern Spain.
• She lived in Tudor Times, in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
• Her parents arranged for her to marry Prince Arthur, the eldest son of King Henry VII of England, when she was only 15.
• Arthur was a strong sporty 14-year-old. He liked to go hunting in Windsor Forest and had a hunting lodge at Smewyn’s Manor in Shottesbrooke, near Maidenhead.
• Spanish tradition said that engaged couples should not see each other before the wedding, but Arthur was desperate to see his bride.
• When she arrived in England, Henry VII arranged for the princess’s carriage to travel over Finchampstead Ridges. Arthur went out hunting there and saw her through the carriage window. She was very beautiful.
• They had a big fancy wedding at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and went to live at Ludlow Castle on the Welsh Border.
• Arthur caught a nasty disease and died soon afterwards. It was a big shock to everyone. Some people said the marriage had been cursed because they had seen each other beforehand.

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