Arthur's Tomb

We went shopping in Worcester today and visited the cathedral. We enjoyed a coffee at the cafe in the undercroft beside the cloisters and viewed the tomb of Prince Arthur, the elder brother of Henry VIII and husband of Catherine of Aragon.

I didn't know until recently that he was buried in the cathedral. I know now only because it is mentioned in Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, which I am currently reading.

He died at Ludlow in 1502 aged just 15. It is sad to think that neither his father (Henry VII), nor his mother (Elizabeth of York) nor his wife Catherine attended his funeral. I can't help wonder how different the subsequent history of England might have been had he not died so young, and his brother not married his widow.