As you must already know, being Henry's brother, Arthur is the son of King Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth of York. He was born on either the 19th or 20th of September, 1486 - the date is not officially known, which is strange, considering he would have been King!
Upon the birth of Prince Arthur, Henry moved his court to Winchester, which was quite a gamble, considering if Elizabeth delivered a girl, the move would have been for nothing, and there would have been no reason to celebrate! When Arthur was christened, he was made a Knight of the Bath, which was also a time for great celebration in England.
As heir to the English throne, Arthur was betrothed to marry the Spanish Princess, Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabel of Castile, when he was only two years old. There is speculation that he may have been a weak and wickly child from birth, but this is disputed, because it is unlikely that Ferdinand and Isabel of
That marriage between Arthur and Catalina (as Catherine was known then) took place when he was fourteen years old, and he was said to be "immensely happy to behold his lovely bride." At this point, Arthur, who had been named the Prince of Wales, was thought to be a very valuable member of the Tudor family, and now that he was married to a Spanish Princess, there was no question in England that he would be the next King and provide heirs for the throne!
However, tragedy struck in 1502 when he suddenly died from what was either consumption, diabetes, or the "sweating sickness." As we all know, his beautiful bride, Catherine, went on to become the first wife of Arthur's younger brother, Henry, who took Arthur's place as heir to the English throne. The rest is history!
Although Arthur lived a short life, the day of his birth was no doubt a day of great celebration for Henry VII and Elizabeth of York!
Happy belated birthday, Prince Arthur!