thisfalconwhite: On this day in history…  20 August 1486: Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales,

thisfalconwhite:On this day in history… 20 August 1486: Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, is born.Arthur Tudor was the eldest child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Arthur’s birth was of special significance, for he embodied the union of the Houses of York and Lancaster that had ended the Wars of the Roses. Anxious to solidify his claim to the throne of England, Henry VII married the Yorkist heir and then looked for ways to bolster Tudor prestige. He had his lineage traced back to ancient British rulers, thus emphasizing his Welsh - or Romano-British - ancestry. To further assert these claims, Henry named his first-born son and heir Arthur, after the legendary British king. At his birth, Arthur was named Duke of Cornwall, and in 1489 he was appointed Princes of Wales as well as Earl of Chester. Although early historians later wrote that Arthur was a sickly boy, this is not confirmed in the primary sources. The prince was tall for his age and rather attractive - he had the same reddish hair and fair complexion as his younger brother, Henry, which they had both inherited from their mother. Unlike his brother, however, Arthur was well-schooled in kingship from a young age. He was created Lord Warden of the Marches, served as regent while the king traveled to France, and he administered the Council of Wales and the Marches. In 1501, he married Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. After the wedding, Arthur and Catherine established a household at Ludlow Castle in Wales so that he could continue his duties there. A few months after their arrival, the young couple fell ill from “a malign vapour which proceeded from the air.” Catherine recovered, but Arthur died on 2 April 1502. Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, upon hearing the news, both succumbed to tears of grief. Less than a year later, Elizabeth died in childbirth. The deaths of Arthur and Elizabeth deeply affected Henry VII. He lost a beloved wife and an eldest son, but he also lost the two individuals who most symbolized his strong claim to the throne. As a result of Arthur’s death, Prince Henry - the future Henry VIII - became the new heir. -- source link

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