How A 'Book Detective' Cracked A Ciphered Message Hidden Inside Catherine of Aragon's Jewelry

A Tudor Tale of Defiance.

Queen Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII (his first wife)

In the summer of 1531, after more than two decades of marriage, Henry VIII delivered what might be history's most notorious breakup letter. His message to Catherine of Aragon was brutally brief: he "cared not for her, adieux."

Catherine had no idea this was happening, in fact she only found out because she wrote to Henry a few days after he left asking about his health. This terse breakup letter was her return message because the king had already departed for a new life with Anne Boleyn, leaving his wife of 22 years without even a farewell. The two never saw each other again.

Although Henry didn’t kill Catherine, he treated her terribly. Upon leaving her, Catherine was immediately exiled and forced to live in a series of homes that were more run down than the last.

This was all done in punishment because Catherine refused to divorce Henry. Fortunately for him, he didn’t have to wait long because Catherine died five years later in January of 1536 at the age of 50. But during those 5 years, she denied Henry a legal marriage and Anne the title of queen, maintaining that she was the one true Queen of England.

Now 500 years later, Vanessa Braganza a self described “book detective” from Harvard University, reveals how the abandoned queen hid a powerful message in what seemed to be an innocent piece of jewelry.