The court had come to the City after Christmas, and it was at the Tower of London, on Candlemas, that Elizabeth of York was brought to bed of her seventh child. When the news had come, just ten months before, of Arthur’s death, Elizabeth had reminded her husband that she was not too old for a queen’s first duty, the bearing of children. But this time the bad luck of the Tudors struck a double blow. Elizabeth lived little more than a week after the child’s birth.
[…]
Historians have noted that the character of Henry VII’s reign changes after the death of Elizabeth of York, that the leading roles seem to fall to smaller men and the protagonist himself grows smaller, meaner.
tl;dr:
Henry VII of England loses his eldest son, Arthur, who was groomed to be his successor (Arthur’s younger brother, Henry, is later known as the famous Henry VIII). Henry’s wife, Elizabeth of York, consoles him by saying that she can still have children. But she dies shortly after birthing their next child (Catherine). The author points out that losing her changed the man, and the character of his reign was ‘smaller, meaner.’
Source:
Mattingly, Garrett. “Part I: A Spanish Princess (1485-1509); Chapter 3, Section ii” Catherine of Aragon. New York: Quality Paperback , 1990. 59. Print.
Further Reading:
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London
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