it was 'evening late' before Catherine left 'with torches lit to a great number'. 1
* * *
Next morning, it was her wedding day. The great church was filled: people stood in the rood-lofts and vaults; they perched on window sills and packed the pavement. There were also two stands or boxes for the privileged. On the south side, the mayor and aldermen of London had an open stand; to the north, the royal family had a more elaborate box, modelled on the Closets in the Chapel Royal. It was enclosed and with glazed casements, which allowed the King and Queen to see without being seen. It also, again like the Holyday Closets, had private access. Henry VII and Elizabeth took their places. Then Arthur entered, inconspicuously like most grooms, through the south door and went to the wedding stage. Now it was time for the bride. 2
Catherine left the Bishop's Palace, escorted as always by Henry, Duke of York. She entered in procession through the west doors, climbed up to the walkway and joined Arthur and the assembled clergy on the wedding stage. Trumpets, placed high in the vault as they are today to take advantage of the acoustic, rang out. But the real feast was for the eyes. Catherine's dress was white. Her skirt was stretched out over her hips by a great hoop or farthingale and on her head she wore a mantilla or veil of white silk, reaching to her waist and with a jewelled border an inch and a half wide. Was she the first bride in England to wear a veil? Certainly the herald had seen nothing like it. 3
Now it was the lawyers' turn. First, the Papal dispensations authorising the marriage were read out. Then, the terms of the marriage settlements were recited. As part of the theatre of the wedding, Henry VII and Arthur publicly sealed the deeds of the dowry; while for their part the Spaniards, equally theatrically, handed over the first instalment of the marriage portion. £20,000 in gold was a bulky item, and one shilling was paid 'for the carriage of the payment of Spain from [St] Paul's to the water' – that is, to the river Thames. 4
Next came the actual wedding. This lasted some three hours, after which the party processed along the western end of the walkway towards the high altar. Arthur and Catherine went hand in hand, as specified in the commissioners' brief, and the trumpets sounded again. But, just before passing through the gates of the choir, the bride and groom paused and turned to the vast congregation – now to the north, now to the south, so that everybody could see them. It seems to have been a spontaneous gesture and it sent the crowds wild: 'Some crying King Henry!'; 'some in likewise crying Prince Arthur!' But no one, apparently, cried 'Princess Catherine!' 5
There followed another interminable ceremony as the Mass of the Trinity was sung. Fortunately, the commissioners had not forgotten the needs of nature. Within the sanctuary, Arthur and Catherine each had a traverse or curtained enclosure, 'to serve when need shall be' for either to relieve themselves. The traverses also had fabric roofs to protect the Prince and Princess from the prying eyes of spectators in the vaults. At the end of the mass, refreshments of wine and spices were served.
Arthur left quickly and informally, to be ready 'to receive the Princess at her chamber door', when she returned to the Bishop's Palace, 'as the custom of England is'. But Catherine once more, like a mannequin on a catwalk, processed the length of the church, with Henry, Duke of York, at her side.
She was the focus of attention also at the wedding feast, where the guests ate rare meats and drank fine wines, were served by lords and knights, and remained at table until 5 p.m. At that hour, the Earl of Oxford, holder of the hereditary office of Lord Great Chamberlain, summoned a select party to prepare the wedding bed. It included the Lady Mistresses of both Catherine and Arthur. 6
The Lady Mistress was what we
* * *
Next morning, it was her wedding day. The great church was filled: people stood in the rood-lofts and vaults; they perched on window sills and packed the pavement. There were also two stands or boxes for the privileged. On the south side, the mayor and aldermen of London had an open stand; to the north, the royal family had a more elaborate box, modelled on the Closets in the Chapel Royal. It was enclosed and with glazed casements, which allowed the King and Queen to see without being seen. It also, again like the Holyday Closets, had private access. Henry VII and Elizabeth took their places. Then Arthur entered, inconspicuously like most grooms, through the south door and went to the wedding stage. Now it was time for the bride. 2
Catherine left the Bishop's Palace, escorted as always by Henry, Duke of York. She entered in procession through the west doors, climbed up to the walkway and joined Arthur and the assembled clergy on the wedding stage. Trumpets, placed high in the vault as they are today to take advantage of the acoustic, rang out. But the real feast was for the eyes. Catherine's dress was white. Her skirt was stretched out over her hips by a great hoop or farthingale and on her head she wore a mantilla or veil of white silk, reaching to her waist and with a jewelled border an inch and a half wide. Was she the first bride in England to wear a veil? Certainly the herald had seen nothing like it. 3
Now it was the lawyers' turn. First, the Papal dispensations authorising the marriage were read out. Then, the terms of the marriage settlements were recited. As part of the theatre of the wedding, Henry VII and Arthur publicly sealed the deeds of the dowry; while for their part the Spaniards, equally theatrically, handed over the first instalment of the marriage portion. £20,000 in gold was a bulky item, and one shilling was paid 'for the carriage of the payment of Spain from [St] Paul's to the water' – that is, to the river Thames. 4
Next came the actual wedding. This lasted some three hours, after which the party processed along the western end of the walkway towards the high altar. Arthur and Catherine went hand in hand, as specified in the commissioners' brief, and the trumpets sounded again. But, just before passing through the gates of the choir, the bride and groom paused and turned to the vast congregation – now to the north, now to the south, so that everybody could see them. It seems to have been a spontaneous gesture and it sent the crowds wild: 'Some crying King Henry!'; 'some in likewise crying Prince Arthur!' But no one, apparently, cried 'Princess Catherine!' 5
There followed another interminable ceremony as the Mass of the Trinity was sung. Fortunately, the commissioners had not forgotten the needs of nature. Within the sanctuary, Arthur and Catherine each had a traverse or curtained enclosure, 'to serve when need shall be' for either to relieve themselves. The traverses also had fabric roofs to protect the Prince and Princess from the prying eyes of spectators in the vaults. At the end of the mass, refreshments of wine and spices were served.
Arthur left quickly and informally, to be ready 'to receive the Princess at her chamber door', when she returned to the Bishop's Palace, 'as the custom of England is'. But Catherine once more, like a mannequin on a catwalk, processed the length of the church, with Henry, Duke of York, at her side.
She was the focus of attention also at the wedding feast, where the guests ate rare meats and drank fine wines, were served by lords and knights, and remained at table until 5 p.m. At that hour, the Earl of Oxford, holder of the hereditary office of Lord Great Chamberlain, summoned a select party to prepare the wedding bed. It included the Lady Mistresses of both Catherine and Arthur. 6
The Lady Mistress was what we
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