Katherine’s labour began on 31 December 1510, and on New Year’s Day 1511, she was at last ‘delivered of a Prince, to the great gladness of the realm’. In honour of the occasion, a jubilant Henry ordered beacons to be lit in London and the distribution of free wine to the citizens. Churchmen went in procession through the streets, and in the churches the Te Deum was sung. The child was given his father’s name, Henry.
