Henrys 6 wives

By Dan Stokes

Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon was a Spanish princess (her badge shows a pomegranate - a symbol from Spain). She was the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, and was originally married to Henry's brother Arthur. Henry married Catherine to maintain the alliance with Spain after Arthur died, leaving Catherine a widow. This marriage was organized by Henry VII a short time before he died, but took place after his death in 1509, when Henry was almost 18 and Catherine was 23. After twenty years of marriage, she had only given birth to one girl, Mary, (although she had many miscarriages and still-births in that time). As Henry VIII needed a son to provide a male heir to the throne, and as his advisors deemed Catherine to be past the age of childbirth, After two years of arguments with the Pope, Henry created a new Archbishop (Thomas Cranmer) who was prepared to declare the marriage annulled in 1532. Catherine was then banished from the Court and separated from her daughter.

Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn was English, and of noble birth. Her badge shows a falcon. She spent some time in France and returned to England in the 1520s. She was Maid-in-Waiting to Catherine of Aragon and refused to be another of Henry's mistresses (of which he had many). She was a very confident character and finally persuaded Henry to marry her in 1533 (immediately after the marriage to Catherine was annulled). Shortly after they were married, Anne gave birth to Elizabeth. Their relationship after the birth of Henry's second daughter started to deteriorate, but when she gave birth to a still-born son, Henry was convinced that God thought that his marriage was wrong, because the annulment with Catherine had been wrong, and that he was cursing him by not giving him a son. He charged Anne with treason, after making up false evidence against her. She was finally executed at the Tower of London, where she was beheaded with a sword, in 1536.

Jane Seymour
Many historians have said that Jane was Henry's favorite wife. This is because he buried himself next to her, and she produced his much-desired male heir. She also was born of noble birth and was another Maid-in-Waiting to Anne Boleyn. Eleven days after he had executed Anne, he married Jane Seymour. She is depicted as being gentle, calm and quiet - quite the opposite to Anne. In 1537 at Hampton Court Jane gave birth to their son. Unfortunately, twelve days later, Jane died from the surgery at the child-birth and Jane was buried at Windsor Castle, later to be joined by Henry. The portrait on the right was painted by Hans Holbein.

Anne of Cleves

Henry was still in mourning for Jane when Thomas Cromwell, his Chief Minister, persuaded Henry to marry Anne of Cleves to make an alliance with Germany, as Anne's father was the Duke of Cleves. As Henry did not want to marry an ugly lady he sent the painter, Holbein the Younger, to paint a portrait of her so that he could see what she looked like. It was this portrait that persuaded him to marry her. However, when she arrived in England, Henry saw her as very different from her portrait - he found her ugly. He insulted her by saying that she looked like a horse! As Henry was very dissatisfied with her, he quickly arranged a divorce which they both agreed to amicably. Their marriage had lasted for only six months, but Anne of Cleves stayed at the Court and died in her bed in 1557, outliving Henry by ten years. The portrait on the left below is the one by Hans Holbein the Younger which was the basis on which Henry chose Anne to be his fourth Queen. The portrait on the right is one where recent X-rays have shown a longer nose under the top layer of paint.

Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard was English and born of a noble family. Her badge shows the Tudor Rose. She was a cousin of Anne Boleyn. When she married Henry in 1540 she was 19 and he was almost 50. She was also a Lady-in-Waiting at his Court. It is said that the time Henry spent with Catherine rejuvenated him. She was, however, accused (rightly) by his courtiers of having many lovers, and so was beheaded (along with the lovers) at the Tower of London in 1542 with an axe.

Katherine Parr
Henry married Katherine in 1543 because Henry needed somebody to look after him in his old age. She became a companion and nurse for Henry. She also re-united Henry with his three children who all came back to the Court. After Henry's death (in 1547) she married Jane Seymour's brother, and died in 1548. Katherine and Anne of Cleves were the only wives of Henry to outlive him.

Timeline
Married Married Died Divorced Beheaded 1533 1536 1537 1538 1542 Annulled Beheaded Married Married Married 1532 1536 1538 1540 1543

Henry VIII

Died 1547

Married 1509

Died 1548

Catherine of Aragon

Anne Jane Boleyn Seymour

Anne of Cleves

Catherine Howard

Katherine Parr