When Prince William eventually takes the throne, the United Kingdom will welcome its sixth Queen Catherine.
However, concerns arise about whether she will fall victim to the curse that plagued her predecessors.
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In a new book titled “The Catherine Code,” author Bob Casey highlights the challenges faced by previous queens who shared the name Catherine.
Abandonment, beheading, and false accusations of poisoning were just some of the unfortunate fates they endured.
One of the ill-fated Queen Catherines was Catherine of Aragon, famously known as Henry VIII’s first wife.
Born to King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabel of Castile, she initially married Henry’s older brother, Arthur, who tragically passed away as the Prince of Wales in 1502.
To maintain the alliance with Spain, Catherine married Henry six years later.
Although she had six children, only one, Mary I, survived.
However, her inability to produce a male heir led to Henry divorcing her for Anne Boleyn.
Catherine was banished from court and died just three years later.
Another Catherine who suffered a bleak fate was Catherine Howard, Henry VIII’s fourth wife.
Coming from a family with a long history of serving monarchs, she married the King at the young age of 17.
Unfortunately, she had been s**ually abused by her music teacher at the tender age of 13.
Her downfall came when Henry discovered her premarital relationships, leading to her beheading at the Tower of London when she was only 19.
Although Catherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife, outlived him, she too was not exempt from the Catherine curse.
After the King’s death, she remarried but tragically died in childbirth just a year later.
Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal and wife of King Charles II of England, faced her own set of challenges.
Being Roman Catholic, she became the target of Protestant extremists who accused her of plotting to poison the King in order to place his Catholic brother, James, on the throne.
However, the King cleared her of all charges.
England has had three other Queen Catherines in its history: Catherine of Lancaster, wife of Henry III, and Catherine of Valois, wife of Henry V. Princess Kate will undoubtedly hope to avoid the infamous Queen Catherine curse when her husband, Prince William, eventually ascends to the throne as the nation’s monarch.