1. The Six Wives of Henry VIII

2. Henry’s first wife was Catherine Of Aragon. She was born in 1485 and married Henry in 1509 and they had seven children, only one, Mary survived. Henry wanted a son to carry on the Tudor family name and wanted to divorce Catherine. The Pope refused to allow Henry to get a divorce so he broke away from the Catholic Church and declared himself head of the Church Of England. Henry divorced Catherine in 1533. Catherine died in 1536.

3. Anne Boleyn was born some time between 1501 and 1507. She married Henry VIII in 1533. Anne spent 2-3 years married to Henry with whom she had a daughter, Elizabeth and was the first of his wives to be beheaded in 1536. Anne spent the last years of her life locked in the Tower of London awaiting her execution!!!

4. Jane Seymour was the third of Henry’s wives and she was born in 1509. Jane and Henry became engaged 24 hours after Anne Boleyn was executed and they were married in May 1536. Jane and Henry had a son named Edward VI in October 1537. Unfortunately Jane became extremely ill after giving birth to Edward and died two weeks after he was born in October 1537.

5. The fourth wife of Henry VIII was Anne Of Cleves, which was his shortest marriage of all, lasting only 7 months!!! Anne was born in 1515 and married Henry in January 1540. According to legend, Henry did not find Anne very attractive and called her “The Flanders’ Mare”!! They were divorced in July 1540 and Anne died in 1557 in her family home. She is buried in Westminster Abbey in London.

6. Henry’s fifth wife was a first cousin of his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Katheryn Howard was born in England in 1521. At the time of their marriage in July 1540, Katheryn was only 19 whereas her soon to be husband was 30 years older than her!! After one year of marriage rumours started that Katheryn had been seen with gentlemen of her own age. When Henry heard of this, Katheryn was imprisoned in the Tower of London. She was beheaded 1542 and is buried alongside her cousin Anne Boleyn in the Chapel of St. Peter, near the Tower of London.

7. Katherine Parr was the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII. Katherine was born in 1512. Katherine’s mother was a close friend of Catherine of Aragon, Henry’s first wife and Katherine was named after Catherine of Aragon. She married her first husband, Edward Borough. He died shortly after the marriage and Katherine was left a widow. She came to the attention of Henry and a noble man called Thomas Seymour, brother of Henry’s third wife Jane Seymour. Katherine married Henry in 1543 and was widowed again after Henry’s death in 1547. After Henry’s death, Katherine married Thomas Seymour in secret and they had one child, Mary in 1548. Katherine died 2 months after Mary’s birth.