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                                                     Katherine Queen of England
Katherine of Aragon 

This the Tomb of Katherine of Aragon first wife of King Henry VIII
.

The daughter of Ferdinand V and Isabella I of Spain, Katherine was married to King Henry VIII of England, with whom she had a daughter, Mary Tudor. She had previously lost three sons and two daughters by miscarriage; Henry soon convinced himself that this is a punishment from God. Seeking to divorce Katherine to hopefully produce a male heir with courtier Anne Boleyn, Henry argues that Katherine's previous marriage to his brother Arthur — dissolved by Arthur's death and annulled by the Church as unconsummated — had actually been consummated and was thus valid. This would effectively nullify his marriage to Katherine, and allow her lide long enemy Anne Boleyn Access to the throne and Henry's desires.

Katherine had a nephew who was Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Henry's rival and on-again, off-again ally. Katherine sought out Charles' to aid in her attempts to thwart Henry's machinations against her.

 West Front of Peterborough Cathedral Tower Ceiling- Nave to the top and Trancepts to the sides South Door Leading to the Cloisters Katherine of Aragon Queen of England
History of Peterborough Cathedral.

The current Anglican cathedral stands on the site of a monastic church founded by King Peada of Mercia in 655. The monastic settlement was destroyed by Vikings in 870, but was revived in 972 by Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. The town surrounding the abbey was eventually named Peterburgh after the saint to whom the abbey was dedicated.

Although damaged during the struggle between the Norman invaders and local folk-hero, Hereward the Wake, the church was repaired, and continued to thrive until destroyed by fire in 1116.

This event necessitated the building of a new church, which took a total of 120 years to complete, and was consecrated in 1238.

The Norman tower was rebuilt in the Decorated Gothic style in about 1350, and the Perpendicular fan vaulting was added between 1496 and 1508. In 1541, following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the church survived by being selected as the cathedral of the new diocese of Peterborough.

The former English queen Catherine of Aragon was buried in the cathedral's cemetery in 1536. In 1587, the body of Mary Queen of Scots was also buried here, but was later removed to Westminster Abbey on the orders of her son, King James I of England.

The cathedral was vandalized during the English Civil War. Almost all the stained glass was destroyed, and the altar and reredos were demolished, as were the cloisters and Lady Chapel. Some of the damage was repaired during the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1883, extensive restoration work began, with the interior pillars, the choir and the west front being completely rebuilt.

In the 1960s new figures were added to the West Front and in the 1970s the spectacular hanging cross was added to the nave. Since a disastrous fire in November 2001 a massive cleaning and restoration program has been undertaken.