, suggested the idea of uniting Katherine to his second
son Henry; after some hesitation, a dispensation was procured from the
Pope, and she was betrothed to Henry in her eighteenth year. The prince,
who was then only twelve years old, resisted as far as he was able to do
so, and appears to have really felt a degree of horror at the idea of
marrying his brother's widow. Nor was the mind of King Henry at rest; as
his health declined, his conscience reproached him with the equivocal
nature of the union into which he had forced his son; and the vile
motives of avarice and expediency which had governed him on this
occasion. A short time previous to his death, he dissolved the
engagement, and even caused Henry to sign a paper in which he solemnly
renounced all idea of a future union with the Infanta. It is observable,
that Henry signed this paper with reluctance, and that Katherine,
instead of being sent back to her own country, still remained in
England.

It appears that Henry, who was now about seventeen, had become
interested for Katherine, who was gentle and amiable. The difference of
years was rather a circumstance in her favor; for Henry was just at that
age, when a youth is most likely to be captivated by a woman older than
himself: and no sooner was he required to renounce her, than the
interest she had gradually gained in his affections, became, by
opposition, a strong passion. Immediately after his father's death, he
declared his resolution to take for his wife the Lady Katherine of
Spain, and none other; and when the matter was discussed in council, it
was urged that, besides the many advantages of the match in a political
point of view, she had given so "much proof of virtue, and sweetness of
condition, as they knew not where to parallel her." About six weeks
after his accession, June 3, 1509, the marriage was celebrated with
truly royal splendor, Henry being then eighteen, and Katherine in her
twenty-fourth year.

It has been said with truth, that if Henry had died while Katherine was
yet his wife, and Wolsey his minister, he would have left behind him the
character of a magnificent, popular, and accomplished prince, instead of
that of the most hateful ruffian and tyrant who ever swayed these
realms. Notwithstanding his occasional infidelities, and his impatience
at her midnight vigils, her long prayers, and her religious austerities,
Katherine and Henry lived in harmony together. He was fond of openly
display