User talk:Ashleyn67

The Diary of Katherine of Aragon Dear Diary, 									         October 2, 1501 Today is the last day of my long journey from Spain to England. The ships captain has said we are due to arrive in Plymouth in just a few hours. The trip has been tiresome and has felt like a lifetime. Although it has only been a few days since my departure I already miss my family and friends greatly. I can not imagine how long it will be until I see or hear news from them again. Sorrow for the loss of life as I have always known it burdens my heart. I do not understand how I will be able to escape this state of mind enough to enjoy this beautiful new country. Even though I am quite excited to be embarking on this journey in life it also pains me to know that I may never get to see my beloved family and country again. Although I have known for quite some time that I would have to take my leave to England to become Queen nothing could have prepared me for the feelings that I know now. Anxiety fills me as I come to think of the duty I must fulfill by marrying Arthur Prince of Wales. I understand that I must do this as a duty to my country and I will oblige but I can not help but pain for I may never get to experience the beauty of true love. I also worry about being a good wife to a husband that I have never even met and a good queen to a country I have never laid eyes upon. I know from experience of watching my mother Queen Isabella that being queen is no light task. Even with the knowledge my father has provided for me I do not feel prepared to take on such an enormous responsibility. I know in my youth I am not near as experienced as I should be to aid in running a country, but I do not want to look weak and do not want to be taken advantage of. So I have thus decided to go in with a look of bravery and readiness to take my place as the Queen of Wales. Until Next Time, Katherine of Aragon

Dear Diary, 									   November 14, 1501 I never expected to be marrying at such a young age, but today I find myself in my sixteenth year marrying Arthur the Prince of Wales. We have been betrothed to marry since before my fourth year alive. I have now spent about a month in England and am coming to terms with my anxiety and fears of being queen. I am quite excited to see the dress I am to wear to the wedding and the many adornments that come with it. I have been told that all of London will celebrate our wedding and that a large feast will be held in our honor. I am quite excited to meet the nobility of England and see them all in their best attire. After all the festivities have been had we will depart to Wales where we will stay to reign over the country. I hope our wedding ceremony is as magnificent as I have always dreamed it to be. I have had a vision of my wedding ever since I was just a young girl and I hope it lives up to everything I have imagined for my wedding day. Our ceremony is going to be held at Sr. Paul's Cathedral in London and I hear it is quite beautiful. Although I am excited I am also a tad upset to know that my family and my country men will not be there to see me given away to my new husband. My lady in waiting is telling me I must make haste now if we are to make it to the ceremony in time. Until Next Time, Katherine of Aragon

Dear Diary, 										 April 2, 1502 My dear husband, Arthur Prince of Wales, has today joined god in heaven. He died of an illness that he has long possessed. I am mourning the untimely loss of my young husband but I do not mourn as much as the rest of the country for I have known him but a short while. We have only been married two short years and I must admit I do not know him very well nor can I say that I love him. The worry of what will happen to me next clouds my mind. I do not know what the king will make of me now that his son has passed and agreements between England and Spain are broken. Already I have been treated as a second class citizen in my own home. I worry about my future here in England and wonder if I have a future here at all. A part of me is excited because this may be my chance to take my leave back to Spain to join my family. These thoughts fill me with great guilt because I know I should feel terrible about the passing of my beloved husband. Until Next Time Katherine of Aragon Dear Diary, 										March 9, 1509 Today I have written home to my father, telling him of the horrid conditions that the King of England has me living in. I have been reduced to living in a state of poverty, locked up with just a few loyal servants, including my lady in waiting, who have stayed behind to look after me. The king's unkindness is impossible to be withstood any longer. I hope that this letter will inspire rage in my father and he will come and get me from this horrible place and finally take me home. I assumed or rather hoped that after the passing of my husband I would be allowed to return to Spain with my family. I hear that the only reason that this dream has not become a reality and the reason that I have been treated so horribly is that my father has tried to pull one over on the King of England. My father has tried to cheat the king out of the marriage portion that had previously been agreed upon. I wish this mess would be solved, so that I can move on with my life either here in England or back in Spain. Hopefully the king will have sympathy for me and will let me go home. Until Next Time, Katherine of Aragon Dear Diary, 										 June 11, 1509 I cannot believe that today is my wedding day, again. After spending months being tortured by the King of England I would be lying if I said I felt remorseful when he passed. Ever since then everything has been looking up. Henry VIII asked for my hand in marriage very soon after the passing of his father. I am quite excited to be taking the role of wife and queen yet again. Hopefully this time it will last a lifetime. I am very excited to see my dress and the beautiful ceremony that will be held. If this ceremony is anything like the first one it will be absolutely magnificent. I look forward to getting to know Henry better over time, but I fear his taking the throne may hinder that dream. Until Next Time, Katherine of Aragon Dear Diary, 										 June 24, 1509 Coronation day is upon us and I can barely hide my excitement. I am thrilled to be taking my place as the Queen of England. I hope to act as an inspiration to all and to serve my country honorably in its time of need. I also want to help my husband rule fairly. I saw my crown earlier and it is absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait to go to the ceremony, I love to see everybody in their best clothes and the castle decorated finely. If it is to be anything like our wedding it will be absolutely spectacular. Until Next Time, Katherine of Aragon Dear Diary, 											   1513 I have just been informed that Henry has made me regent while he is away leading the war with France. I am honored that he trusts me enough to leave me in this position of power and I am determined not to let him down. I am quite worried about making the wrong decision about things but I have many able advisors who are helping me along the way. Every day I worry about my husband off heading the war effort. I hope he comes home to me safely, I can truly say that he means a lot to me and I would be absolutely devastated if something were to happen to him. I am leaving today. I am going to ride towards the north to head the troops in the Scottish Expedition. I feel like this is the place I should be since it was I who has put the troops in that position and I want to be a strong leader. I know it is unorthodox for a queen to be leading an army but I feel that it is my position now that Henry is away in France and has left me in this prestigious position. I know god is with me and I will be safe. Until Next Time, Katherine of Aragon Dear Diary, 										 January 1510 I cannot describe the grief that fills my soul. My daughter was born today, but not in full health instead she came out still born. It broke my heart to see her tiny body lifeless after the nine months that we had spent together. I was quite excited to be a mother, but I believe it was stress that killed her. I had a lot of pressure on me to have a boy so that there would be a male heir to the throne. It anguished me to think of what would happen if I were to have a little girl instead and the stress overcame me. I think it is ridiculous that everyone ask and demand a boy be born, when I have absolutely no control over it. This day will forever be in my memory as the day I almost became a mother. I felt proud to be taking on such a distinguished role and I secretly have been more excited about this than I have ever been to become queen. I hope that I can become pregnant again soon and that one day I will be able to become a mother to a wonderful child. Until Next Time, Katherine of Aragon Dear Diary, 											   1526 Melancholy fills my soul because I have yet to be able to produce a male heir. The pressure that is put on me only makes me feel worse about the many children who I have born dead or ill. It is because of this I hear that Henry is trying to separate from me. I’ve heard talk from my ladies in waiting that he has had many mistresses some of whom are Bessie Blount and Mary Boleyn, but it is Miss Anne Boleyn who has truly stolen his heart from me. I cannot believe that my husband is thinking of leaving me solely because I am unable to bear a male heir. I thought that this was at first impossible because we have known each other for quite a long time and I love him dearly, but recently he has been quite short tempered with me and is treating me like I am nobody to him. I do hope these are nothing but rumors and that Henry stay right by my side where he belongs. Until Next Time, Katherine of Aragon Dear Diary, 											   1533 I have just heard horrible news. My husband’s mistress, Anne Boleyn, is pregnant and the father is my husband. I am so ashamed and embarrassed. Although their relationship has been public for quite some time this will certainly clear any doubt they had left. Henry is going today to have our marriage annulled no matter how many laws he has to change to achieve it. This news doesn’t just ruin me but it also ruins my daughter’s title and I want to be sure that she will be entitled to all the best things in life. It is not her fault that I was unable to conceive a male heir to please my husband. I am truly disappointed in Henry, because I loved him so and was hoping with some time he would come to his senses and stay with his daughter and I. I hope he is happy with his mistress and that she can finally give life to his dream of a male heir. Until Next Time, Katherine of Aragon