 After residing at <unk> Manor for a month , Arthur and Catherine headed for the marches in Wales , where they established their household at Ludlow Castle . Arthur had been growing weaker since his wedding , and although Catherine was reluctant to follow him , she was ordered by Henry VII to join her husband . Arthur found it easy to govern Wales , as the border had become quiet after many centuries of warfare . In March 1502 , Arthur and Catherine were afflicted by an unknown illness , " a malign vapour which proceeded from the air " . While Catherine recovered , Arthur died on 2 April 1502 at Ludlow , six months short of his sixteenth birthday . 
