Robin Hood and Queen Katherine

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Robin Hood and Queen Katherine is an old English folk song about Robin Hood (Roud 72, Child 145). A sequel ballad, Robin Hood's Chase, continues the tale. In the story, Robin befriends Queen Katherine. King Henry bets that his archers cannot be surpassed, and the queen brings Robin and his men to London under false names. Robin's archers win the challenge and reveal their true identities. The king asks Robin to leave his outlaw band and join the court, but Robin refuses. The identity and spelling of Queen Katherine are not certain; she could be Catherine de Valois or Katherine of Aragon, depending on the time period imagined. Some later writers, such as Howard Pyle, changed the tale to fit different histories.