The More is the residence of Katherine of Aragon during the court’s division over her separation from Henry VIII. It becomes the place where she maintains a household and court apart from the king, and where the contrast between royal honor and personal isolation is especially clear.

A Household Apart

When the court divides, some courtiers accompany Henry VIII on his progress among the hunting estates, while others remain with Katherine at The More. Many leave for their own homes, hoping not to be forced to choose between king and queen. The division is therefore not simply a change of residence: it exposes the competing loyalties that have fractured the court.

Montague travels with the king, although his loyalty remains with Katherine. His position makes the separation more complicated than a clean division between two households: physical attendance at the king’s side does not necessarily settle where a courtier’s allegiance lies.

The Queen’s Court

Katherine is described at The More as well served and honored, with a substantial household and court. The account gives no architectural description of the residence; its significance comes instead from the people gathered there and from its place in the political separation. The queen retains the forms of a court even as she is apart from the king and from much of the royal household.

Christmas 1531

At Christmas, Katherine remains at The More while Princess Mary and Margaret Pole are ordered to spend the feast at Beaulieu. Margaret tries to make the twelve days festive for Mary with feasting, dancing, disguising, wassailing, the Yule log, and the Christmas crown. Yet Mary misses her mother, and Katherine’s well-served household offers no remedy for being alone. The contrast makes The More a setting of status without family closeness: the queen is honored in her own court, while her daughter celebrates elsewhere.