Before we get started, I have my usual notices. First of all, I want to thank all of you that have been writing to me or writing reviews on iTunes.

It's great to hear from you all, and I love answering your questions and finding out what you think about the show.

I would also like to thank all of my patrons on Patreon, and all of you have kept patience with me for so long.

If you like to keep up with the latest news from

the show, then you can follow it on Facebook and Twitter. The links for all these things are in the show

notes. Next, this is the fourth and final part in my series of episodes on Catherine of

Aragon. If you haven't already done so, I'd recommend you go back and listen to the previous

episodes, as this one builds upon all of the work that I've done so far.

To all my new listeners, welcome.

To everyone else, welcome back.

Hello and welcome to the Queens of England podcast.

Episode 40, Catherine of Aragon, a Most Obstinate Woman.

Hello. Catherine of Aragon, a most obstinate woman. When we last left, Catherine, she had just done her brilliant speech in her own defence at the Legatine Court,

complete with kick-ass mic-drop ending. This was then followed up by her chief defence lawyer,

Bishop Fisher, then stating that he was willing to die in defence of her cause.

The King's public reputation, which even up to now was still pretty good, was starting to take a battering,

and his chief minister, the Lord Chancellor Thomas Woolsey, knew that his reputation,

and possibly his life, depended on getting the right outcome. In desperation, he implored Catherine

to come back to the court and recognise its authority, but she refused, saying, quote,

Will any Englishman counsel or be friendly unto me against the king's wishes?

It was a rhetorical question, but one that both knew the answer to.

The court case dragged on for weeks, without much prospect of a decision.

...