Henry VIII and his six

wives
 Contents
Henry VIII
Catherine of Aragon
Anne Boleyn
Jane Seymour
Anne of Cleves
Kathryn Howard
Katherine Parr
The six wives overview
Time line
 Henry VIII
Henry was born on 28th June 1491.

Henry became King on 21st April 1509.

Henry died on 28th January 1547.
 How Henry VIII became King.
Henry’s brother Arthur married Catherine of
Aragon in 1501.

Arthur died very suddenly in 1502, so, he never

got the chance to become king.

Instead Henry became King when he was

18 years old in 1509.

He married Catherine of Aragon, his brothers

widow, the same year he became king.
 Catherine of Aragon
Catherine was born 16 December 1485 in Spain.

Catherine married Henry VIII on 11th June

1509. Catherine was Henry’s 1st wife.

Henry divorced Catherine

in1533 because he wanted a
male heir and she could no
longer have children.

She died on 7th January 1536.

 Catherine and Arthur

Catherine was promised as Arthur’s wife when

she was three years old.
The marriage would be good for both countries,
she was from Spain and if she married Arthur it
would bring the 2 countries closer. (A good
political match)

Catherine married Arthur on November 14th 1501.

Arthur died less than six months later.

 Catherine of Aragon
and Henry VIII
Catherine now a widow was still young
enough to marry.
She married Henry and was crowned Queen of
England in a joint ceremony with her husband.

Shortly after the marriage, Catherine was

pregnant, this first child was still born.

The second child Prince Henry died after 52 days

of life.
 Catherine of Aragon
and her children.
Next Catherine miscarried and lost another son.

In February 1516 she gave birth to Mary who

lived!

Henry was not happy, he wanted a son to be his

heir.

By this time Catherine was 42 could no longer

have children.
 How Catherine of Aragon
died.
Henry was desperate to have a son, Catherine
could not have one, so, he asked the Pope to annul
their marriage so he could marry another wife.

The Pope said no, Henry was furious.

Henry set up the Protestant Church and divorced

Catherine in 1533.
Catherine and her daughter Mary were forced to
leave the court. Catherine died in 1536.
 Anne Boleyn
Anne was born some time between 1501 and
1507 but nobody knows the exact date.

Anne married Henry VIII in January 1533, she

was his 2nd wife.

Henry VIII had Anne

executed on19 May 1536.
 Anne Boleyn
and Henry VIII.
Henry had met and fallen in love with Anne
before he had divorced Catherine of Aragon.

When Anne and Henry got married in 1533 Anne

was already pregnant.

Anne was not popular with the people, they all

loved Catherine.

Legend says that Anne had six fingers on her

left hand, a large mole on her neck and a fiery
temper.
 Anne Boleyn
and her children.
Anne gave birth to a daughter Elizabeth on
August 16th 1533.

By 1534, Anne was pregnant again but the child

was either still born or miscarried.

She miscarried a boy in 1535.

Henry still desperately wanted a son but

Anne had not given him one.
 How Catherine of Aragon
died.
Anne knew that her failure to produce a living
male heir was a threat to her own life.

Anne’s enemies at court began to plot against her.

The King was asked to sign a document calling

for an investigation into Anne's treason.

Anne was arrested and charged with plotting to

murder the king.
 How Catherine of Aragon
died.
On the 19th May 1536, Anne was taken to the
Tower Green in London.

Here Anne was to be given a private execution.

The swordsman cut off her

head with one swift stroke.

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 Jane Seymour
Jane was born some time in 1509.

Jane married Henry VIII on 30 May 1536

and became his 3rd wife.

Jane died on the 24th October

1537.
 Jane Seymour
and Henry VIII

Jane Seymour first came to the King’s notice

while she waited on his second wife Anne.

Jane was very calm and gentle, Henry liked this

because his last wife was very bad tempered.

They were married on May 30th 1536.

Henry truly loved Jane Seymour.

 Jane Seymour
and her children.

Early in 1537 Jane became pregnant.

In October, to the delight of Henry VIII, a

prince was born. He was christened Edward.

Jane attended her son’s christening but died

two weeks after her son was born.
 Anne of Cleves

Anne was born in 1515.

Henry married Anne on 6 January 1540, she was

his 4th wife.
Anne was divorced from
Henry in July 1540.

On 16 July 1557 Anne of

Cleves died.
 Anne of Cleves
and Henry VIII.
Henry did not marry for over two years
after Jane Seymour died.
Henry started to look for a Bride to help
England, he turned to Germany.
Henry sent painters to Cleves to paint two sisters,
he chose to marry Anne. When Anne arrived she
did not look like her painting and Henry did not
want to marry her, but he had to because he did
not want to upset the Germans.
 How Anne of Cleves
died.

Anne was not happy being married to Henry so

they decided to get divorced.

Anne accepted the title as the ‘King’s Sister’ and

lived away from the court in the countryside.

Anne died in 1557.

 Kathryn Howard
Kathryn was born some time in 1521.

Kathryn married Henry VIII on 28th July 1540

and became his 5th wife.

Kathryn was executed on

13th February 1542.
 Kathryn Howard
and Henry VIII.
Henry met Kathryn when came to court when
she was 19. Henry was 49.

Kathryn’s uncle was The Duke of Norfolk. Henry

married her so he could gain more power and get
rid of his enemy Thomas Cromwell.

Henry married Kathryn only 16 days after

Anne of Cleaves left.
 How Kathryn Howard
died.

Less than a year after they were married,

Kathryn was found to be meeting other men.

This was against the law.

Kathryn was executed on the

Tower Green on February
13th 1542.

Back to contents page

 Katherine Parr
Katherine Parr was born in 1512.

She married Henry on 12 July 1543, she was his 6th

wife.

Katherine was widowed on

28 January 1547.

On 5 September 1548,
Katherine died.
 Kathryn Howard
and Henry VIII.
Katherine was a widow whose 1st and 2nd
husbands had died before she married Henry.
Katherine was well known for her learning and
overall sensitive and caring nature. She was more
like Henry’s nurse because he was very ill, he
married her to be his companion.
She brought Henry’s family closer together.
Mary, Elizabeth and Edward were encouraged
to become scholars.
 How Kathryn Howard
died.

Katherine was quick thinking which she

needed on many occasions to stay alive.

She outlived Henry who died 28th January

1547.

Katherine herself died in 1548.

Catherine of Aragon
Wife number: 1
Married for: Love, political
reasons and for an
heir.
Children: Mary
Marriage ended:Divorced /
Annulment
 Anne Boleyn
Wife number: 2
Married for: Love and for an
heir.
Children: Elizabeth
Marriage ended: Executed
 Jane Seymour
Wife number: 3
Married for: Love and for an
heir.
Children: Edward
Marriage ended: Died during child
birth
 Anne of Cleves
Wife number: 4
Married for: Political reasons
Children: None
Marriage ended: Divorced
Kathryn Howard
Wife number: 5
Married for: Love
Children: None
Marriage ended: Executed
 Katherine Parr
Wife number: 6
Married for: Companionship
Children: None
Marriage ended: Henry VIII died

.
 Time Line
House of
Edward VI Elizabeth I Stewart
Henry VII
Henry VIII Mary I
 

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