Catherine became the wife of Henry VIII in 1509. She had previously been the wife of Henry's older brother, but he died young. Henry married Catherine for her money (she was the daughter of the King of Spain). She was 24 years old, which was quite old for a marriage in those days.

Henry and Catherine had a son, Prince Henry, who was born in 1511. Sadly the baby died after two months. The next child she had was a girl, who would later be Queen Mary, but that was not what Henry wanted. By the time Catherine was 42 she was beyond child-bearing age and Henry wanted to be rid of her. Besides, he had fallen in love with one of her ladies-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn.

When Henry tried to get a divorce, the Pope would not hear of it, and this is why Henry broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and began the Church of England.