Ludlow Castle

 In my last blog, I posted about visiting the Shropshire town of Ludlow.  If you love Tudor buildings and history, it's a brilliant place to visit.  Ludlow Castle was used by Edward IV to educate his son, the future Edward V (and one of the ' Princes in the Tower') for his role as king.  A mini court was established there.  The young Edward was at Ludlow Castle when he heard his father had died and he was now King Edward V, and set out on his journey to London to prepare for his coronation.

Henry VII followed his example, and sent his eldest son to Ludlow to establish his own mini court.  When Prince Arthur married Katherine of Aragon in 1501,the young couple were sent there to rule over their mini court.   Arthur died in April 1502, from some sort of plaque - possibly a form of influenza, the sweating sickness.  Katherine herself was ill.  Despite lots of speculation, Arthur was not the sickly prince he has often been portrayed as.  Would Henry VII have risked his son's health by sending him to the wet and cold, damp Marcher lands?  What happened at Ludlow castle would become the centre of Henry VIII's 'great matter'.  Henry questioned the relationship between Arthur and Katherine.  Katherine always maintained she was a virgin.  We will never know.  The following photos are from the apartments of Prince Arthur and Katherine.

From the Great Hall, looking up.   Below, a window seat.

The doorway on the right leads to the private apartments of Prince Arthur.  The tower is known as Prince Arthur's tower.  You can now climb the staircase to enter them.

The newly built viewing platform that overlooks the great hall.

View from the great hall of Prince Arthur's Tower.

Private apartments of Prince Arthur.

Front of the apartments of Prince Arthur and Katherine of Aragon.   The round tower is a separate chapel that has recently had a wooden roof built.