City's Katharine of Aragon festival begins

9 minutes ago

Shariqua AhmedPeterborough

News image — Katharine of Aragon, who was buried on 29 January 1536, was a woman of faith, courage and dignity, said cathedral dean Christopher Dalliston

Getty A close-up of a portrait of Katharine of Aragon as a young woman. She is wearing a black headdress edged with red and gold braid and embroidery. Her red hair can be seen pulled back at her forehead. She is lowering her eyes to look down. — Katharine of Aragon, who was buried on 29 January 1536, was a woman of faith, courage and dignity, said cathedral dean Christopher Dalliston

The Katharine of Aragon Festival, a week-long celebration of Tudor history in Peterborough, has begun.

Hosted by the city's cathedral and museum, the annual event honours the queen, whose burial at the cathedral made the city a significant Tudor heritage site.

This year's festival marks the 490th anniversary of the queen's death and historians and authors will visit the city to give talks.

Jackson van Uden, talks coordinator, said: "During the festival weekend, people will be able to learn about her life, her household and the political world she inhabited, as well as hearing about Peterborough's connection to the Tudor world."

Peterborough Cathedral Katharine of Aragon's tomb. It has fruit, flowers and a picture in a frame laid on it, and gold lettering above it that reads: " Katharine Queen of England" — Peterborough Cathedral was most likely chosen as Katharine's burial place because it was the nearest great religious house to Kimbolton Castle, near St Neots

The cathedral has been honouring the English queen's life for many years. She was buried there in 1536, having died at Kimbolton Castle in Cambridgeshire.

Alongside the talks programme, visitors will be invited to experience a range of events across both the cathedral and museum, including guided tours tracing Katharine's final days and legacy, an evocative after-dark light and sound experience and creative family activities.

A key moment of the festival will be the annual commemoration service, a civic act of remembrance held at Katharine's tomb, which remains a focal point of the week.

Previously, cathedral dean, the Very Reverend Christopher Dalliston, said: "This festival gives us an opportunity to reflect on Katharine's extraordinary legacy, not just a victim of a volatile king but a person of real importance in her own right; a diplomat, a pioneer of education for women and girls, and a leader."

The event is expected to run until 1 February.

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