The Wives of Henry VIII By: Emily Stephens

EQ: What was the relationship of Henry VIII and his wives?

Catherine of Aragon 1485–1536 Catherine was arranged to marry Prince Arthur son of King Henry VII. She married Arthur in 1501, soon after in 1502 Arthur died. After Arthur’s death she was wed to his younger brother Henry. Who later became Henry VIII. Catherine gave birth to six children,but only one survived. They only had one surviving daughter and her name was Mary Tudor. Henry VIII wanted a son, so he decided to end his marriage with Catherine and move on to his next wife.

Catherine of Aragon contd. Henry VIII first asked the Pope if he would annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. The Pope said no! Henry believed his marriage was cursed by God, because she was his brothers wife. He would not bless them with a son. So Henry took charge and had Thomas Cranmer, the archbishop of Canterbury annul his marriage. (Sound familiar) Cranmer also declared King Henry VIII head of the Church of England. This lead to the separation of the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church. In 1536, at the age of 50 Catherine of Aragon died of natural causes.

Anne Boleyn 1501–1536 2nd wife of Henry VIII After his annulment to Catherine, he wanted to marry Anne. In 1533 they were married. Months later she became pregnant with their only daughter Elizabeth 1. After Elizabeth, Anne had two more pregnancies but both babies were stillborns. One year in their marriage, Henry started having an affair with Anne’s maid Jane Seymour. Following this Henry had Anne locked in the Tower of London on several counts of incest, conspiracy against the king, and adultery. May 15, 1536, Anne went on trial. Four days later she was beheaded.

Jane Seymour 1509–1537 3rd wife of Henry VIII. She was also the maid-of-honor to Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Jane & Henry married 11 days after Anne’s execution (Fun Fact: She was never officially crowned Queen). Jane gave birth to Edward VI (Edward 1) in 1537. She died 9 days later from puerperal fever, which is a post childbirth complication. She was buried at Windsor Castle in St. George’s Chapel. Henry waited until 1540 to remarry. Fun Fact: Jane was the only spouse to be buried in the same tomb as Henry VIII after his death.

Edward I 1537-1553 Edward became King at the age of 9 years old. Before his father died he set up a council to oversee Edward, since he was very young at the time. During this time, Edward’s uncle Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, was in charge of the council. He and the council were trying to turn England into a Protestant State. This caused a rebellion. Edward died in July of 1553 due to tuberculosis. Mary, his half sister later takes the throne. Which is the Reign of Bloody Mary.

Anne of Cleves 1515–1557 4th wife of Henry VIII. Anne of Cleves and Henry VIII marriage was a political arrangement between her father and King Henry VIII. Anne was not brought to Henry VIII standards. She had a concentrated on domestic skills and not music or literature like most women. Their marriage was quickly annulled, because their marriage was never consummated. Anne also received the name “King’s Sister”. Fun Fact: He given Anne the land and the castle that formerly belonged to Anne Boleyn.

Catherine Howard 1521-1542 5th wife of Henry VIII. 16 days after he annulled Anne of Cleves. He married Catherine Howard she was 19 years old and he was 49 years old! Less than a year in the marriage rumors began to start about her having an affair with men her own age. By 1541 there was enough evidence against her. She was executed in 1542. Fun Fact: She was buried right next to her first cousin Anne Boleyn in the Chapel of St. Peter.

Catherine Parr 1512-1548 6th wife of Henry VIII She was promised to marry Thomas Seymour brother to Jane Seymour 3rd wife to King Henry VIII. The King asked for her hand in marriage. Catherine felt like it was her duty to marry him. She was very close with her step children Elizabeth and Edward. She was major key to the children’s education. When Henry died in 1547, months later Catherine married Thomas Seymour. She died in 1548 due to complications of childbirth.

Works Cited “Anne Boleyn”. Biography. 22 April 2016. Web. 3 November 2016. http://www.biography.com/people/anne-boleyn-9218155#early-life “Anne of Cleves”. TudorHistory. 1 February 2012. Web. 3 November 2016. http://tudorhistory.org/cleves/ “Catherine of Aragon”. Biography. 8 July 2014. Web. 3 November 2016. http://www.biography.com/people/catherine-of-aragon-38666#queen-of-england “Catherine Howard”. TudorPlace. 9 July 2012. Web. 3 November 2016. http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/aboutCatherineHoward.htm “Catherine Parr”. TudorHistory. 11 March 2012. Web. 3 November 2016. http://tudorhistory.org/parr/ “Edward VI”. BBC. 13 March 2014. Web. 3 November 2016. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/edward_vi_king.shtml “Jane Seymour”. Biography. 20 September 2016. Web. 3 November. http://www.biography.com/people/jane-seymour-39675