- Maggie Pole: [narrating voice] The year of our Lord 1501. Spain is wealthy, but fears for its political power. Queen Isabella overthrew a thousand years of Muslim rule and must have Catholic allies to maintain her sovereignty. And England faces poverty. Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth have long needed rich allies to deter invasion from France and Scotland. Both believe an alliance is vital to solve their problems, and so a match has been made between their eldest son and heir to the Tudor throne, Prince Arthur, and the Spanish princess, Catherine of Aragon. This alliance will eventually make Catherine the Queen of England. She has been promised this since she was a small child. The fortunes of both kingdoms and the security of Europe rest upon Catherine's young shoulders as she leaves her palace home to make the arduous journey across Spain to the ship that will carry her to England. But achieving her God-given destiny comes at a price. For Catherine may never see her beloved homeland again.
- Prince Arthur: [letter, with his voice] My own darling, my dearest spouse, I feel a strong desire to embrace you. Your letters have delighted me and your passion rendered me so smitten. Let your coming to me be hastened, that the love between us reaps its joy and proper fruit. Your Highness, most loving spouse, Arthur.
- Catherine of Aragon: Arthur.
- Lina de Cardonnes: Highness?
- Catherine of Aragon: Is it foolish to believe myself in love with a man whom I have never met?
- Lina de Cardonnes: You love God, and you have never met him, either.
- Catherine of Aragon: I hope God has not read my letters back to Arthur, or he would not think me so devout.
- [Isabella comes]
- Catherine of Aragon: Good morning, madre.
- Queen Isabella: Good. You must always think in English now. We must continue to the coast to catch the tide. There is still a dangerous ride ahead.
- Catherine of Aragon: What is it, Mother?
- Queen Isabella: These Moors who say they have converted to the one true God rise up against us. They say that Allah protects them. So they will meet the one true God this day and learn that they are wrong.
- Catherine of Aragon: I will fight with you.
- Queen Isabella: Your duty to your country is your marriage. Protect us, Catherine. You in England, your sister in the Habsburg Empire form a Catholic ring of steel around our motherland for God.
- Catherine of Aragon: I will not fail you, Mother.
- Queen Isabella: You are my blood. A true daughter of Spain. And one day Queen of England.
- Queen Elizabeth: Henry. Have you had news?
- King Henry Tudor: First we're told her brother dies and her mother cannot spare her. Then the princess has a fever, and again she is delayed, and now I hear some Moorish rebellion blocks her passage. Are you sure God isn't trying to keep her from us, Lizzie?
- Queen Elizabeth: God tests her resolve and ours, but every threat is overcome, so it seems to me that God protects our princess and brings her to us.
- Prince Arthur: My bride has sailed, mother?
- Queen Elizabeth: She has, so you must leave for Dogmersfield House, where she will break the journey and you may meet.
- Prince Arthur: Are you not coming with me?
- Queen Elizabeth: Your new brother cannot bear the journey. Richard Pole will ride with you as always, and your Aunt Maggie will attend to you.
- [Arthur leaves]
- Queen Elizabeth: You are not sleeping.
- King Henry Tudor: We are beset with enemies on every side. Until wedding bells ring out and Spain becomes our ally, we have neither the... the funds nor the... nor the men to save ourselves and all of Europe knows it. Until that girl arrives, we are lost.
- Queen Elizabeth: Arthur... your Aunt Maggie, what does she say to you? You know you must relay it to me.
- Prince Arthur: She says nothing, Mother.
- Queen Elizabeth: My cousin may know of plots against us.
- Prince Arthur: She cares for me and that is all.
- Queen Elizabeth: You must tell me everything she says. Many are against us. God save you, Arthur.
- Catherine of Aragon: Tell me, are you afraid?
- Lina de Cardonnes: I have never been to sea.
- Catherine of Aragon: It was God himself who sent me to England. No wind or rain will stop us. Did they not tell you that when they chose you as my lady?
- Lina de Cardonnes: I was chosen when I was a girl. My father was Mauro de Cardonnes.
- Catherine of Aragon: My mother's adviser on the Moorish issue.
- [De Fuensalida comes]
- Catherine of Aragon: Ambassador. Do you bring news of our landing?
- De Fuensalida: We are blown a little way off-course.
- Lina de Cardonnes: I will fetch you something for your stomach.
- Oviedo: [performs prayer] Allahu Akbar.
- Lina de Cardonnes: Get up. You shame the Infanta.
- Oviedo: We are not in Spain.
- Lina de Cardonnes: You are of her guard. You must serve her God.
- Oviedo: I am loyal to the Princess. And my God is Allah. There is no contradiction.
- [Lina almost falls, he grabs her]
- Lina de Cardonnes: Get your hands off of me. You know who I am.
- Oviedo: Yes.
- Lina de Cardonnes: I will be a Lady of the English court. And you are just a soldier. Remember it.
- Oviedo: My name... Oviedo, and I remember, my... lady.
- Prince Arthur: Aunt Maggie.
- Maggie Pole: My brave hunters. Oh, Arthur. Oh. Rabbit stew.
- Prince Arthur: Uncle Richard shot them. I hesitated.
- Maggie Pole: Well, then you are merciful to save a life when others are too quick to take one.
- Prince Arthur: My mother does hold you in high affection, Aunt Maggie.
- Maggie Pole: [she goes to her husband] I do not like this house, Richard. I want to go home. I miss the children.
- Sir Richard Pole: They will join us in Westminster. It's not long now.
- [they start to walk]
- Sir Richard Pole: That boy's mind is all over the place. In a fog of love, I suppose. I nearly took an arrow in the backside.
- Maggie Pole: The girl is coming, then? I have hoped, after all this time...
- Sir Richard Pole: Her name is Catherine, and you must learn to use it, Maggie, for the boy's sake and our children's. You heard Arthur. The queen would like to put the past behind us.
- Maggie Pole: I would like that Spanish girl to sink down to the bottom of the ocean, because she is the cause of my pain and grief, and so is Queen Elizabeth. But we do not get what we want in this life, Richard.
- Sir Richard Pole: The king's mother travels to Southampton to accompany her. Maybe the princess will be so affrighted, she'll take the first tide home again.
- Margaret Beaufort: The child will be exhausted, confused, and humbled by the sight of England. The ambassador will accompany her from the quayside to greet me with a curtsey at this dais. Hmm. And then we'll set forth to Dogmersfield to meet the prince. She will have learnt the ways of England by the time she gets there.
- De Fuensalida: Your Royal Highness. England.
- Rosa: [sickly] Lina, let me die.
- Catherine of Aragon: Good. Then please land. Land here.
- De Fuensalida: But the welcome party waits along the coast for us at Southampton.
- Catherine of Aragon: Tell the captain I have ordered it.
- Catherine of Aragon: Does it always rain this much in England, Duke Stafford?
- Edward Stafford: It's Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and, no, it doesn't. Sometimes it hails or snows or floods. But the sun always comes out in the end. You know, you really should have landed at Southampton. We'll escort you to Dogmersfield, where the king's mother will now greet you. But your beauty does cheer the rainy day, as does your lady. What's your name, Spanish beauty?
- Rosa: I am Rosa de Vargas, senor.
- Catherine of Aragon: My ladies are to marry nobles of the court. They will be chosen by the prince and I for their piety.
- Edward Stafford: For their piety.
- [laughs]
- Edward Stafford: Well, what a pity I have a wife already.
- Catherine of Aragon: Prince Arthur wrote to me of chivalry and faith. I do not think that England lacks for piety.
- Lina de Cardonnes: Stop looking at him, Rosa.
- Rosa: I am looking at the English trees.
- Queen Elizabeth: Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou...
- The Boy: [flashback] England, receive my blood!
- Queen Elizabeth: [continues to pray]
- King Henry Tudor: Lizzie. Lizzie, she's landed. In Plymouth for some reason, but she is here. Finally I will see this mythical creature for myself.
- Queen Elizabeth: God smiles upon us.
- King Henry Tudor: I will ride at first sight to see them.
- [he kisses Lizzie's cheek and leaves]
- Meg Tudor: [She brings Mary] Harry shouted her today. He's been in a rage all day.
- [Lizzie hugs Mary]
- De Fuensalida: House of Tudor, I give to you our illustrious princess, Catherine of Aragon.
- Margaret Beaufort: [in Latin] Welcome to England, child. I cannot speak Spanish so we shall converse in Latin.
- Catherine of Aragon: I speak English perfectly well, and I am not a child. I am Princess of Spain and Princess of Wales.
- Margaret Beaufort: Soon to be Princess of Wales.
- Catherine of Aragon: My marriage was held by proxy in my absence, two times, I believe, so I am Princess of Wales by law, yes?
- Sir Richard Pole: Your Grace, we thank God for your safe arrival. I am Sir Richard Pole. This is my wife Margaret.
- Catherine of Aragon: I would like to be inside, out of these damp clothes.
- Maggie Pole: Oh, uh, these ladies will take your belongings, and then you can...
- Catherine of Aragon: I will bathe and then siesta.
- Margaret Beaufort: Sie... "Siesta?" Is... Is this a food?
- De Fuensalida: It is, uh, sleep, my lady.
- Margaret Beaufort: Sleep? It's the afternoon. No, you'll have your full introduction to Prince Arthur, and then...
- Catherine of Aragon: No. I... I cannot meet him until we stand together in God's presence.
- Margaret Beaufort: But you're already married, twice, as you've said, so God will have no judgment on your meeting your own husband.
- Catherine of Aragon: We are not blessed in His sight, and I meet no one until the English mud is washed off me and I have had siesta.
- Maggie Pole: I can't bear it. It hurts even to look at her.
- Sir Richard Pole: You can, and you will have to.
- Catherine of Aragon: Where is the light?
- Lina de Cardonnes: It is you, senora. You are the light.
- Catherine of Aragon: I am happy that they chose you as my lady, Lina.
- Lina de Cardonnes: Ah, bring the bath to the Infanta's room at once. These go to your kitchens to be stored where it is dry.
- Margaret Beaufort: What is that? We don't need your kindling. We know how to build a fire in England.
- Lina de Cardonnes: This is vanilla, my lady, for the Infanta's bath, and the mint, dried rose petals, marjoram oil, and...
- Margaret Beaufort: Did you bring your own water, too?
- Lina de Cardonnes: There is water here, no? The Infanta must bathe every day.
- Margaret Beaufort: Every day? Nonsense. Once a week will serve her, just the same as everybody else.
- Lina de Cardonnes: At the Alhambra, we have heated baths with hot running water. She already leaves all this behind.
- Edward Stafford: My lady, if you'll excuse me, I'll see to it the soldiers are billeted in the stables?
- [Margaret nods]
- Lina de Cardonnes: The... the stables?
- Margaret Beaufort: Where they will sleep.
- Edward Stafford: [They go] Over there.
- Lina de Cardonnes: Here? No. They are not animals.
- Margaret Beaufort: It was good enough for our Lord.
- Lina de Cardonnes: Is it good enough for you? These men are soldiers of Spain. They have fought beside Queen Isabella of Castile.
- Margaret Beaufort: I have given my instructions.
- Lina de Cardonnes: Does your prince wish for the smell of caca in his castle? These men were brought as a gift to him, part of the Infanta's dowry.
- King Henry Tudor: Open the door! This is the king. Open the door.
- Lina de Cardonnes: The Infanta, she is sleeping, Your Grace.
- King Henry Tudor: Well, kindly ask her to rouse herself and let me in.
- Catherine of Aragon: I will do no such thing.
- Lina de Cardonnes: The Infanta has been brought up modestly, Your Grace.
- King Henry Tudor: And willfully. Considering what has been done to get you here, you'll kindly pay us the courtesy of...
- Catherine of Aragon: You speak of courtesy while you bang your fists upon my door.
- King Henry Tudor: I swear by my crown, I will summon my soldiers to remove this bloody door and its hinges if you do not open it!
- Catherine of Aragon: [Lina opens the door and Henry enters] This is not the way a king behaves. You do not have the right to force yourself into my rooms. It is a bad beginning, and I will write my mother of your disrespect.
- King Henry Tudor: I merely wished to lay my eyes upon what we have waited half a year to see. Please, remove your veil.
- Catherine of Aragon: I wear my veil until I am married.
- King Henry Tudor: Here, our customs are different.
- Catherine of Aragon: You sound afraid, Your Grace. Why would you be afraid? You fear I may be ugly? What difference would it make? I am here to make a treaty for my mother and my country, and you need me more than we need you.
- [She removes her veil]
- King Henry Tudor: Welcome. And now you will come and meet my son and perhaps you will allow him to lay his eyes upon you also.
- Prince Arthur: I- I am glad to finally meet you.
- Catherine of Aragon: It rains. I would like to go inside.
- Prince Arthur: Oh no, uh, this isn't rain. It's drizzle.
- Catherine of Aragon: It is rain.
- Prince Arthur: Drizzle. We have many different kinds of rain, downpours, drizzle, mist, spitting, dancing dollies. It's why our gardens are so green.
- Catherine of Aragon: Well, it is water from the sky. It is wet.
- Prince Arthur: We... we cannot be alone until we are married, and if we go inside, then they can hear us. It's too small. I will try hard to be a good husband to you. I will... I will always listen to you, to your concerns, and I will be attentive to your... to your needs.
- Catherine of Aragon: My need is that I stay out of the rain so I do not catch a chill. You were more caring in your letters. You said that you would cherish me and keep me safe and love me.
- Prince Arthur: I said...
- Catherine of Aragon: How you longed to hold me in your arms until our union bore fruit. You were loving and poetic.
- Prince Arthur: And did you write back?
- Catherine of Aragon: Of course.
- Prince Arthur: How many?
- Catherine of Aragon: Uh...
- Prince Arthur: How many times?
- Catherine of Aragon: I- I don't understand.
- Catherine of Aragon: He did not know of them, the letters. I was... I shared my heart and passion. I was intimate. Who is it I have written to?
- Rosa: Uh, what is the seal?
- Catherine of Aragon: Tudor rose.
- Rosa: Will the noblemen who court us write love letters to us, too?
- Catherine of Aragon: I imagined that I was in love. Was it all a trick?
- Lina de Cardonnes: And the king said, "What was done to bring you here." What did he mean?
- King Henry Tudor: I have finally laid eyes on Catherine. She is willful, yes, and obstinate, but our alliance is in place, and we are safe.
- [kisses Lizzie's head]
- Queen Elizabeth: Was she comely?
- King Henry Tudor: Hmm?
- Queen Elizabeth: Is she like the portrait they sent us?
- King Henry Tudor: Y-yes, she is. As you were when we first met. She has your spirit, and she is... Yes, she is beautiful. Now if you'll excuse me.
- [kisses Lizzie's hand]
- Margaret Beaufort: I fear we shall have trouble with that one. She's arrogant and overprivileged.
- Queen Elizabeth: The perfect character for a queen. But of course you'd like her humble and penitent.
- Margaret Beaufort: I don't like her.
- Queen Elizabeth: She brings the might and wealth of Spain to us. Who any of us like or do not like is of no consequence.
- Sir Richard Pole: Your Grace.
- Queen Elizabeth: Hello Maggie.
- Sir Richard Pole: Come, Ursula.
- [he leaves]
- Queen Elizabeth: We haven't seen each other in the longest while.
- Maggie Pole: Sir Richard and I have been busy with our family and running Arthur's household.
- Queen Elizabeth: And now we must both hand him over to another. It's strange, isn't it? One day, we'll be doing the same with my Harry and your little Henry, too.
- Maggie Pole: Your Grace.
- Queen Elizabeth: Maggie, I would like you to join me in my confinement. I would give us the chance to reacquaint.
- Maggie Pole: I have Prince Arthur and his new wife to attend to at their seat at Ludlow. As soon as they are wed, we will...
- Queen Elizabeth: Do you hear of traitors that would raise against my husband?
- Maggie Pole: I tend to Arthur. That is all.
- Queen Elizabeth: Do you poison him against me? You cannot stay this way with me forever, Maggie. Our Spanish princess will need a heart of stone if she is to survive this family.
- Catherine of Aragon: This is not the palace.
- Edward Stafford: This is the tower. You'll stay in tower apartments tonight. This is the custom before a royal wedding. They are most comfortable.
- Prince Harry: Hello.
- Edward Stafford: May I introduce Prince Henry, Duke of York?
- Prince Harry: Harry. People call me Harry.
- Prince Harry: Do you like it here? It's cozy, isn't it?
- Charlie Brandon: I'm Charlie Brandon, not yet married.
- Prince Harry: It's, uh, me who'll be leading you up the aisle tomorrow. Lucky you, eh?
- Catherine of Aragon: Thank you for your welcome, Prince Harry.
- Prince Harry: They only use this place for special occasions. What are you wearing that veil for? Is it to stop my brother kissing you? Because if it is, I've, I've, um... I've got a little secret to let you in on, and my brother is afraid of girls, so you're probably safe enough without it.
- Catherine of Aragon: I am not a girl, though.
- Prince Harry: I am going to need better targets. Perhaps the seals on love letters. I am glad that you want to kiss my neck.
- Maggie Pole: You'll make a very handsome groom.
- Prince Arthur: [to his servants] Go, all of you.
- [they leaves]
- Prince Arthur: He sent her letters, bloody wrote to her. Harry. I tried to write to her a year ago. I wanted to be friends before she came here. But I couldn't find the words. I tried too hard. It sounded scholarly or else too soft. And then Harry found them and made fun of me, so I didn't try again.
- Maggie Pole: But he did.
- Prince Arthur: And she wrote back to him.
- Maggie Pole: But she thought she was writing back to you.
- Prince Arthur: It doesn't matter. He's... He's made love to her. With words, at least. He's ruined her. She isn't mine.
- Maggie Pole: He's jealous of you, Arthur, because you'll be king, and your marriage will bring peace to England, because your marriage makes you powerful.
- Queen Elizabeth: My husband tells me you are beautiful. He is taken with you.
- Catherine of Aragon: He was rude to me.
- Queen Elizabeth: No, not rude. Eager, desperate. He is a starving man, and you are bread. We paid a high price for you.
- Catherine of Aragon: What price?
- Queen Elizabeth: Yes, I see it. He said that you were... Well, he said that you idealistic and certain of your goodness. When I first arrived at court, all I wanted was my liberty and love.
- Catherine of Aragon: My mother says that steel runs through your veins.
- Queen Elizabeth: Did she say that? I'm flattered. I wasn't always so. I only know what I learnt not to fight every battle. I am like a reed that bends in stiff wind, but doesn't snap. Here I am. I haven't snapped.
- Catherine of Aragon: What was the price you paid?
- Queen Elizabeth: Did your mother never tell you what was done to bring you here? Nor Lady Pole, when you saw her?
- Catherine of Aragon: Lady Pole retreats upon sight of me.
- Queen Elizabeth: Your mother would only pledge your hand if there were none to challenge Arthur for the throne, so two young men were... they were put to death, one of them an imposter, the other a beloved boy from our family, Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick. He was Maggie Pole's brother, simple soul, a child in his mind. He had no idea why he had to die. Perhaps that was God's mercy on him.
- Catherine of Aragon: My mother would not order that.
- Queen Elizabeth: Oh, but she did.
- Catherine of Aragon: She would not kill an innocent, only enemies.
- Queen Elizabeth: He was beheaded at the tower, where you sleep tonight.
- Catherine of Aragon: Why would you tell me this the night before my wedding?
- Queen Elizabeth: Because you need to know what rests on you, the hopes of Spain and England and the Habsburg Empire. We join forces to unite against our enemies so that my son is protected on his throne when we are gone. And you must give us sons, Catherine, no girls, only boys, heirs, so that the king may sleep again and sweetly dream as he once did.
- Catherine of Aragon: I know my duty, but I will not share your guilt. If you spill blood, then it is yours.
- Queen Elizabeth: There is no guilt, only love for my both sons. Do not cross me, Catherine. There is nothing I won't do to save my boys or to save my love.
- Christopher Columbus: When you are far away from all you know, and the ground begins to shake beneath your feet, remember your beginning, where you came from. It will give you strength.
- Prince Harry: Hello again, Highness.
- Catherine of Aragon: Why did you write to me? Was it to harm your brother?
- Prince Harry: At first. Then I liked your letters. They excited me.
- Catherine of Aragon: Then you show your weakness. You give me power over you. I would never give my power away.
- Catherine of Aragon: Daughter of Spain. Wife to Prince Arthur. Daughter of Spain. Wife to Prince Arthur. Daughter of Spain. Wife to Prince Arthur. Daughter of Spain. Wife to Prince Arthur. Daughter of Spain. Wife to Prince Arthur. And soon Queen of England.