Do we have a true portrait of Catherine of Aragon? What did she really look like?
Catherine of Aragon is an iconic figure in English history. Catherine was the daughter of Spain’s famous Catholic Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand, and the wife of two princes of England, including the infamous King Henry VIII.
But what did Catherine really look like? Movies and TV shows rarely portray Catherine correctly, plus, the most famous portrait of Catherine may not even be her. So, let’s dive into the research and reveal some re-creations of her appearance.
For the full video with living re-creations, visit us here.
Some media portrayals of Catherine of Aragon. She did not have dark hair!
One of the first physical descriptions we get of Catherine is upon her arrival in England to marry the Prince of Wales, Arthur. It was said that her betrothed’s father, King Henry VII, was relieved that Catherine was pretty and looked fit for childbearing - it was reported that he “was delighted with what he saw.”
Unfortunately, Arthur sadly died just four months later, but Catherine stayed in England, and after many years of uncertainty, she was married to his brother, Henry.
It was easy to see why Catherine was popular with the people, and her new husband. She was intelligent, kind, and received a comprehensive education - essentially, she was raised to be a Queen.
In addition to her wit, Catherine was said to have been lovely in her youth. In contrast to how fictional media portrays Catherine, as the typical Spaniard with dark hair and dark eyes, she was very fair, with red-gold hair, fair skin, and large blue eyes. Her hair and beautiful, smooth skin were one her most remarked-upon qualities throughout her life.
To thank for this fair appearance was her diverse European heritage - In fact, Catherine technically had a stronger claim to the throne of England than the King of England, Henry VII through her ancestor John of Gaunt.
Descriptions of the young Catherine:
Sir Thomas More, who witnessed the marriage of Henry and Catherine in person, said Catherine wore a wide brimmed hat, with her waist-length hair flowing loose behind her. He also remarked that few women could compare with Catherine’s looks in her prime.
And her confessor, Fray Diego, said:
‘Her highness is very healthy and the most beautiful creature in the world, with the greatest gaiety and contentment that ever was.’
Unfortunately, this glorious beginning for Catherine and Henry didn’t last. Over the years, they suffered, with at least five of her six pregnancies ending in tragedy. The couple did have one living, healthy child - a daughter named Mary.
Descriptions of an older Catherine:
Over the years, their once happy marriage began to crumble under the pressure of an absent male heir. Fifteen years in England, an uncertain future, and immense stress caused Catherine’s looks to quickly fade.
When Catherine was just 30, a venetian ambassador described her as “ugly and deformed” in 1515.
Five years later, another Venetian, Sebastian Giustinian, records that Catherine was “35 years old, and not handsome, though she has a very beautiful complexion. She is as virtuous as words could express.”
The French King, Francois, said after meeting the Royal couple at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, that King Henry was “young and handsome”, but cruelly added that his wife was “old and deformed.”
However, it was said that Catherine always carried herself with dignity. Although she was a small woman, she commanded respect with her intelligence and low, authoritative voice.
Catherine’s Portraiture:
“Portrait of a Girl” by Juan de Flandes. Believed to be Catherine of Aragon.
While we have solid physical descriptions of Catherine to work from, there is more controversy around her portraits than you might expect.
The portraits that are attributed to being a young Catherine don’t really look anything like the portraits of her as an older woman, leading to quite a bit of confusion about what her true face really was.
The youngest image of Catherine we have is this portrait, simply called “Portrait of a Girl”, that is only tentatively identified as Catherine of Aragon. I’m inclined to agree, because this portrait of her sister, Juana, made by the same artist, is confirmed, and they look very similar here.
Catherine of Aragon OR Mary Rose Tudor, by Michael Sittow, c. early 1500s
One of the most famous depictions of a teenaged Catherine, is this one. It’s a beautiful painting, and lives in many of our imaginations when we think of the young Spanish Princess. I’ve based one of my re-creations off of this portrait, but it’s actually quite controversial.
The museum that displays this artwork actually labels her as Mary Rose Tudor - the sister of Henry VIII.
Unfortunately, we still have no verdict - there are arguments both for and against this image being Catherine.
The original identification of this image as Catherine was proposed by Max Friedlander in 1915. The artist for this portrait, Michael Sittow, was a Flemish painter who worked as the court painter for Catherine’s mother, Isabella of Castile.
It would therefore make sense that he would paint a teenaged Catherine before she left for England.
Friedlander assumed that it was the Spanish Infanta because of the K initials seen in her jewelry (Catherine can be spelled interchangeably with a C or a K).
But, in 2005, art historian Paul Matthews proposed the re identification as Mary Tudor. He proposed the painting was made later than originally thought - around 1515 (Catherine would already be around 30 by this time). He also found that Michael Sittow happened to also work for the Hapsburg court, and in 1514, he is documented as having painted a portrait of Mary Tudor for her betrothal to Charles, the Habsburg heir apparent.
We do have some confirmed images of Catherine later in her life.
“Lambeth Portrait” of Catherine of Aragon, by an Unknown Artist.
The first is called the Lambeth portrait, from 1520. Until 2008, this portrait was identified as Henry’s sixth wife, Catherine Parr, but was reidentified by the national portrait gallery due to the style of dress she’s wearing. It was also found to match as a pair with this portrait of King Henry VIII. For reference, Catherine of Aragon would be about 35 when this image was painted.
Although I’ve made a re-creation from this image, I struggle with it as a piece of art. We don’t know who painted it, but both portraits in the pair are painted with medium skill - features are cartoony and outlined rather than looking natural.
It’s hard to find much similarity between this portrait, and the others confirmed to be Catherine.
The other versions we have are all miniatures by Lucas Horenbout - which is not ideal, since they are painted at such a small scale that the facial accuracy just might not be there.
3 miniature paintings of Catherine of Aragon - all attributed to Lucas Horenbout.
Even these three miniatures don’t really look consistent across each other, much less consistent with the Lambeth portrait.
I do think the miniature on the left with the monkey looks more similar to the painting of the young Catherine than the others.
So let’s take a look at some re-creations, and you all can let me know your verdict on which face you think is the true face of Catherine of Aragon.
First, let’s start with the Michael Sittow image, and let’s assume it’s a true portrait of Catherine:
To me, this image looks very consistent with descriptions of the young Spanish princess - round-faced and healthy, with her beautiful red-gold hair.
Unfortunately I do think the stress of her situation would have shown in Catherine’s appearance, her age seems to have caught up with her rather quickly. I’ve aged the re-creation so that we can compare it to later portraits - maybe this is what Catherine would look like in her later 20s.
Now, let’s look at the Lambeth portrait, brought to life.
To me, there is hardly any similarity between this version and the young Catherine.
However, let’s re-create the features of the Horenbout miniature, which I think looks much more consistent.
Before I made this re-creation, I was actually of the mind that the young portrait was of Mary Tudor. She just didn’t have the same features to me at all, but seeing this re-creation, I can 100% believe that this is an older version of the young woman here on the left, probably just painted with less skill. It’s made me a believer that this truly is a portrait of Catherine of Aragon.
Look how well the proportions of their faces match up:
Now, let’s look at a modern re-creation of Catherine, just for fun:
