Catherine of Aragón is one of the world’s most famous female historical figures. She served as Queen of England and was the first wife of King Henry VIII.
Catherine was born to Ferdinand II of Aragón and Isabella I of Castile and grew up in Spain with her many siblings. She had, in fact, a total of nine sisters and brothers, both illegitimate and not.
If you would like to know more about them, keep reading. Below, you will find a list of Catherine of Aragón’s siblings ranked oldest to youngest.
10. Alonso de Estrada (1470 – February 16, 1530)
Age at time of death: 60 Years Old
Birthplace: Ciudad Real, Spain
Title(s): N/A
Spouse: Marina Gutiérrez de la Caballería
Alonso de Estrada was Cathrine’s oldest brother. He was born in 1470 and was believed to be one of Ferdinand II of Aragón’s illegitimate sons.
He served as a colonial official in New Spain, a territory corresponding to today’s Mexico, the Western and Southwestern US, the Caribbean, some parts of South America, and a few territories in the Pacific Ocean archipelagos.
Alonso was one of the members of the triumvirates that governed the colony for short periods between 1524 and 1528.
Did You Know?
Alonso was married to Marina Gutiérrez de la Caballería.
9. Isabella of Aragón (October 2, 1470 – August 23, 1498)
Age at time of death: 27 years, 10 months, 21 days
Birthplace: Dueñas, Castile
Title(s): Queen of Portugal (1497 – 1498)
Spouse: Manuel I of Portugal
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Isabella of Aragón was Catherine’s oldest sister, born in 1470. She was the first daughter of Ferdinand II, King of Aragón, and Isabella I, Queen of Castile.
The first years of Isabella’s life were embroiled in a war of succession. Because of this, her parents had to abandon her to fight the Portuguese. During this period, Isabella was in Segovia, which, following the monarchs’ departure, was governed by Andrés de Cabrera and his wife, Beatriz de Bobadilla.
Locals, however, did not like this change and organized an uprising during which Isabel, who at the time was only seven years old, was trapped in a tower until her mother’s return.
The succession war ended with the Treaty of Alcáçovas, which stated that Isabella would marry Afonso V’s grandson, who was five years younger than his soon-to-be wife.
Isabella spent the rest of her childhood accompanying her parents in several campaigns aimed at conquering the Muslim states in southern Spain.
Isabella married her first husband in 1490 and soon fell in love with him. However, the wedding ended up being short as the following year, Afonso was killed in a riding accident. Isabella soon convinced herself that her husband had died because of God’s punishment.
She, in fact, believed that this was God’s reaction caused by the decision to welcome the Jewish expelled from Spain to Portugal. After her husband’s death, Isabella was heartbroken and declared she would never marry again.
Despite this, a few years later, in 1497, she was forced to marry King Manuel I but did so on one condition. That the king agreed to expel all the Jews who did not convert to Christianity.
Did You Know?
Isabella had only one son, Miguel da Paz. Unfortunately, she died one hour after giving birth.
8. Juana de Aragón (1471 – 1522)
Age at time of death: 51 years
Title(s): N/A
Spouse: Bernardino Fernández de Velasco, 1st Duke of Frías.
Juana de Aragón was born in 1471 to Ferdinand II and one of his mistresses, Aldonza Ruiz de Iborre y Alemany.
Unfortunately, not much is known about her except that she died in 1522 at the age of 51.
Did You Know?
Juana only gave birth to one son, Hugo I, Duke of Gandia.
7. John, Prince of Asturias (June 30, 1478 – October 4, 1497)
Age at time of death: 19 years, 3 months, 4 days
Birthplace: Seville, Spain
Title(s): Prince of Asturias and Girona
Spouse: Margaret of Austria
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
John was Ferdinand II and Isabella I’s first son. He was born in 1478 and unfortunately died young, at 19 years old.
John was educated by a Dominican Fray, Diego Deza, who taught Theology at the University of Salamanca. However, later in his life, the queen asked the Italian humanist Peter Martyr d’Anghiera to continue teaching the young prince.
Besides his education, Isabella I was worried that young John did not have enough male kids to play and grow up with. For this reason, she invited the sons of aristocrats to live in the court. John was a talented musician and played the flute, violin, and clavichord. He also had a fine tenor voice and often sang with his sisters.
In 1497, John married Margaret of Austria, who was only 16 years old at the time. The two ended up having a deep love connection which unfortunately ended abruptly when in 1497, John died in Salamanca, probably due to tuberculosis.
Did You Know?
Isabella I often referred to John as ‘my angel’.
6. Alonso of Aragón (August 14, 1478 – February 24, 1520)
Age at time of death: 41 years, 6 months, 10 days
Birthplace: Cervera, Spain
Title(s): Archbishop of Zaragoza, Archbishop of Valencia, and Lieutenant General of Aragon
Spouse: N/A; but mother of his children was Ana de Gurrea
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Alonso of Aragón was born in 1478 to Ferdinand II of Aragon and a Catalan noblewoman known as Aldonza Ruiz de Ivorra. He served as Archbishop of Zaragoza and Valencia.
Despite being an archbishop, Alonso was more of a politician than a clergyman. He worked as both Lieutenant General of Aragón and Lieutenant General of the Kingdom of Naples.
Did You Know?
Alonso died in Lécera and was buried in La Seo Cathedral.
5. Joanna of Castile (November 6, 1479 – April 12, 1555)
Age at time of death: 75 years, 5 months, 6 days
Birthplace: Toledo, Castile
Title(s): Queen of Castile (1504 – 1555); Queen of Aragon (1516 – 1555)
Spouse: Philip I of Castile
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Joanna of Castile was born in 1479 and, from 1504 to 1555, served as the queen of Castille. In 1516 she was also crowned queen of Aragón.
Joanna married Philip the Handsome, the Archduke of Austria. Throughout her life, she had a total of six children.
Joanna also spent several years confined in the Royal Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas after being declared insane.
Did You Know?
Joanna of Castile was historically known as Joanna the mad.
4. Maria of Aragón (June 29, 1482 – March 7, 1517)
Age at time of death: 34 years, 8 months, 8 days
Birthplace: Córdoba, Kingdom of Castile
Title(s): Queen of Portugal (1500 – 1517)
Spouse: Manuel I of Portugal
photo source: wikipedia.org
Maria of Aragón was born in 1482 to Ferdinand II and Isabella I. She served as Queen of Portugal from 1500 to 1517 after marrying King Manuel I after her sister Isabella’s death.
Did You Know?
Maria was almost continually pregnant in Portugal and gave birth to ten kids. This had a deteriorating effect on her health.
3. Catherine of Aragón (December 16, 1485 – January 7, 1536)
Age at time of death: 50 years, 22 days
Birthplace: Archbishop’s Palace of Alcalá de Henares, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Title(s): Queen of England (1509 – 1533)
Spouse: Henry VIII
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Catherine of Aragón was born in 1485 to Ferdinand II and Isabella I. She served as Queen of England from 1509 to 1533 when her husband, King Henry VIII, decided to ask for an annulment of the wedding.
However, Pope Clement VII refused to grant the annulment. Consequently, King Henry VIII decided to split from the Roman Catholic Church, giving origin to the Anglican Church.
The real reasons behind the King’s requests were that Catherine had failed to give him a male heir and his infatuation with Anne Boleyn.
Following her banishment from the court, Catherine moved to Kimbolton Castle, where she died of cancer in 1536. The British were particularly fond of her, and her death caused tremendous mourning.
Did You Know?
Despite her husband’s choice to separate from the Roman Church, Catherine remained a fervent Catholic.
2. Miguel Fernández Caballero de Granada (1495 – 1575)
Age at time of death: 80 Years Old
Birthplace: Granada, Reino de Granada
Title(s): N/A
Spouse: N/A
Miguel Fernández Caballero de Granada was born in 1495 and was one of Ferdinand II’s illegitimate sons. He was educated by Pedro Fernández de Córdoba and worked as a librarian for Francisco I, King of France. He traveled through Europe, living in Italy, where he served as Nicholas Michavelli’s secretary, and in Hungary.
In the 1520s, Miguel moved back to Spain, where he married Ángela Enríquez de Córdoba.
1. John of Aragón, Prince of Girona (May 3, 1509 – May 3, 1509)
Age at time of death: 1 Day Old
Birthplace: Valladolid, Spain
Title(s): N/A
Spouse: N/A
John of Aragón was Catherine’s youngest sibling, born in 1509. His parents were Ferdinand II of Aragon and Germaine of Foix, a French noblewoman. Unfortunately, John had a very short life as he lived only for a few hours.
