ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY . 23 MAY 1533 . - The Marriage of Henry VIII & Katharine of Aragon was annulled . . ◼ On 23 May 1533, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury , sitting in judgement at a special court convened at Dunstable Priory to rule on the validity of Henry's marriage to Katharine of Aragon, declared the marriage illegal, even though Katharine testified she & Arthur (Arthur, Prince of Wales & Henry's older brother) had never had physical relations. Cranmer ruled Henry & Anne's (Anne Boleyn) marriage valid five days later, on 28 May 1533. . ◾ “My lord of Canterbury gave sentence this day at 11 o’clock in the great cause of matrimony; has declared it to be against the law of God, & has divorced the King from the noble lady Katharine. He has used himself in this matter very honorably, & all who have been sent hither on the King’s behalf have acted diligently & towardly. Sentence shall be given for the King’s second contract of matrimony before the Feast of Pentecost. The process is partly devised. 23 May.” . ◼ Convocation had already ruled, in March 1533, that the marriage was contrary to God’s laws & that the Pope should never have issued a dispensation for it, but, following his consecration as Archbishop, Cranmer had opened a special trial into the annulment proceedings at Dunstable Priory, Bedfordshire. It was on 23rd May 1533 that this court ruled on the marriage & Cranmer could send notification of the sentence to the King. . ◼ Until the end of her life, Katharine would refer to herself as Henry's only lawful wedded wife & England's only rightful queen, & her servants continued to address her by that title. Henry refused her the right to any title but "Dowager Princess of Wales" in recognition of her position as his brother's widow. . . . #OnThisDayInHistory #ThisDayInHistory #TheYear1533 #d23may #HenryVIII #KingHenryVIII #HenryVIIIofEngland #HouseofTudor #TudorDynasty #RoyalFamily #Royalty #Tudorhistory #Royalhistory #Anneboleyn #Reformation #tudor #tudors #Theking #Archbishop #History #KatharineofAragon #QueenKatharine #EnglishMonarchy #BritishMonarchy #ThomasCranmer #historyfacts #Historybuff #education #EnglishHistory (at Bedfordshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxz2VB9FqGj/?igshid=121m9b3wman7h