Significant LS in French, signed “V[ot]re frere cousin et bon pere, Henry R,” one page, 16 x 11.25, April 8, 1506. A letter of recommendation for Catherine of Aragon's chamberlain who is leaving for Spain, sent to the King of Castile and Granada, Philip I of Austria. In part (translated): "We recommend to you…the Chamberlain of our very dear and very good daughter The Princess of Wales [Catherine of Aragon]…for the matter of which at her request we spoke of when we were together in our castle of Wyndesore. We beg you most earnestly, most high and very powerful prince." In very good to fine condition, with scattered light foxing, and a repaired tear to the bottom blank area.
The matter at hand was evidently Catherine of Aragon's dowry and her hope that King Philip of Castile would exert pressure upon her father, Ferdinand V of Aragon. Catherine (1485-1536), widow of Henry VII's eldest son, Prince Arthur, was now betrothed to the new Prince of Wales, the future Henry VIII, but the marriage was contingent upon the second installment of her dowry being available in London. Ferdinand had thus far failed to supply it. The hapless princess was living on the uncertain bounty of the notoriously frugal Henry VII, and unable to pay even her servants. Prince Henry himself wrote to Philip, in terms similar to the present letter, on April 9th, while Catherine wrote to Ferdinand V two weeks later, begging him to consider that she was in debt, even for food, while complaining that Henry VII would not pay for anything.
In the complex web of relationships between England, Austria, and Spain, Philip ('the Handsome'), Duke of Burgundy and son of Emperor Maximilian I, became King of Castile as a result of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon's sister, Joanna ('the Mad'), who inherited the kingdom on the death of her mother, Isabella I ('the Catholic'). Philip's claim was contested by Ferdinand V, whose powers Henry VII sought to limit. In January 1506, an unexpected but timely gale in the English Channel obliged the convoy of ships taking Philip and Joanna from Flanders to Spain to land at Weymouth. Philip was escorted to meet Henry at Windsor Castle ("Wyndesore"), where they concluded the secret treaty by which Henry undertook to support Philip's claim to Castile—by force, if necessary. Philip and Joanna disembarked at Corunna on April 26th, and a meeting with Ferdinand V took place soon after. Still, the matter would not be resolved for several years—Catherine of Aragon would finally marry Henry VIII shortly after his ascension to the throne in 1509.
Past sales history: Lot 16, Valuable Printed Books & Manuscripts, Christie's, June 8, 2005.
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