both were in such favour with the young king that Catherine became the only godmother of the heir to the throne, Henry, Duke of Cornwall, who was born on 1 January 1511. Catherine's father-in-law died in 1509, and formally her husband became the heir to the Earl's title and possessions, however, in order to receive the inheritance, William needed the approval of the king and the repeal of the act of deprivation. Until all the formalities were met, Catherine, "the king's dearest aunt", was assigned annuity payments in the amount of 200 marks. Despite the friendly attitude towards his aunt and her husband, Henry VIII put forward a number of conditions under which William Courtenay could transfer the title and possessions of his father. One of these conditions was the renunciation of Catherine's claims to the lands of the Earldom of March (to which she was also entitled as one of the descendants of Anne de Mortimer), and as her father's personal, non-crown property. Catherine, having neither the means nor the desire to fight for the possessions of the Marches, accepted the proposal of her nephew, and on 12 April 1511, the parties signed an agreement. On 9 or 10 May 1511 the title of Earl of Devon was recreated for William Courtenay, and the act that prohibited the succession of titles to his children was repealed. The king guaranteed the transfer to the couple of some possessions, seized in favour of the crown from Thomas Courtenay during the reign of Catherine's father. In addition, several estates were personally transferred to Catherine with the right to transfer them by inheritance. Widowhood By the time all the formalities related to the transfer of the title to William Courtenay were completed, he was already seriously ill; on 9 June 1511 he died of pleurisy at the Palace of Placentia, where he was staying with his wife. The king gave special permission for a magnificent funeral at Blackfriars Abbey; the organization of the funeral was carried out by Catherine, whom her husband in his will called the main executor of his last will. After the funeral, she ordered daily masses to be read and candles to be kept burning around the clock on William's grave. Left a widow at the age of thirty-one, on 6 July 1511, Catherine completed the transfer of her rights to the Earldom of March to the crown and,