Henry VIII had the most famous marriages in the Royal Family. He had six wives, all in their own way, interesting characters, with interesting fates.
Divorced - Catherine of Aragon, mother of a son who died in infancy and one daughter, Mary
Beheaded - Anne Boleyn, mother of Elizabeth I
Died - Jane Seymour, mother of Edward VI
Divorced - Anne of Cleves
Beheaded - Catherine Howard
Lived - Catherine Parr
The Spanish princess was originally married to Henry's brother, Arthur. They married in Old St Paul's Cathedral on 14 November 1501. After the wedding, the couple moved to Ludlow Castle. However, after a year of marriage, Arthur died. The strategic alliance between England and Spain was threatened, and the King (Henry VII) did not want to her return to Spain and take her dowry with her. So she was betrothed to his younger brother Henry. The marriage was to take place when he was old enough to wed. However, prior to his death, Henry VII wasn't too keen on being allied with Spain and the young Henry was ordered to reject the betrothal.
Left: Anne Boleyn, the first of Henry’s wives to lose her head. Her only surviving child was Elizabeth I.
Above: Henry and Anne Boleyn.
After Henry VII died and Henry VIII became King, he married Catherine on 11 June 1509, with the Coronation being on 24 June. Henry and Catherine were married at Greenwich Church in a private ceremony. Catherine had a number of miscarriages and still-births. Only one child survived until adulthood - Mary. While the King tried to remain patient at her not producing a male heir, his attentions were wandering to a new lady named Anne Boleyn.
Anne was Catherine's maid of honour and was much younger than Henry. As the marriage to Catherine was producing no living male children, Henry was now looking for someone to produce some. So, Henry sought an annulment for his marriage to Catherine, but instead the Pope forbade Henry to marry again before Rome reached a decision. A plot ensued, and Catherine was banished from Court circles. Later, he secretly married Anne Boleyn as she had become pregnant. Henry wanted this child to legally become king. After a court hearing on 23 May 1533, the special court deemed Henry and Catherine's marriage illegal as it was never consummated. Then, they ruled that Anne and Henry's marriage was legal on 28 Mary 1533.
Anne did bear Henry a girl, born in September 1533. This baby was to become Elizabeth I. Henry was furious at the child being a girl. Anne later miscarried a son in 1536. She was executed on 19 May 1536 for alleged charges of witchcraft, incest and adultery. But probably the real reason was that she couldn't give him a son.
Above left: Anne Boleyn.
Above right: Jane Seymour, Henry’s favourite wife. Below: Henry VIII with Jane Seymour.
Henry married Jane Seymour within a day of Anne's beheading. Henry must have planned this marriage simultaneously with Anne's beheading, as while wedding cakes were baking and wedding clothes were being sewn, his second wife was being prepared for death.
Jane was Anne Boleyn's lady in waiting. Henry married her on 20 Mary 1536 at Wolfhall in Wiltshire. After a dinner, the bridal party went to Marwell, near Winchester. Henry gave this to the Seymours. Henry introduced the bride as Queen - although she was not crowed Queen at this point.
She was an unfortunate lady because she gave Henry what he wanted - a son, Edward - but died just twelve days after the birth. She was Henry's favourite wife and Henry wanted to be buried with her.
Anne was a pawn in an alliance. Her father, the German Duke of Cleves, had originally betrothed her to Francis, son of the Duke of Lorraine when she was twelve. When her father had a dispute with Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, it was decided that King Henry was a more suitable ally than the Duke of Lorraine. Anne's betrothal was shelved and Thomas Cromwell started matchmaking between King Henry and either Anne or her sister Amelia. In order that he could choose, the artist Hans Holbein the Younger was dispatched off to paint them (as we would take a photograph today). Although he preferred educated and sophisticated women, Anne caught his attention.
Anne of Cleves was divorced relatively quickly, having been referred to by Henry as the 'Flemish mare'. Holbein had been sent to Flanders to paint a likeness of her, which, if events are to be believed, was rather flattering of Anne.
When she arrived in Britain, Henry was so anxious to see her that he went to Rochester, rather than wait at Greenwich Palace. Unfortunately, Henry was not too enamoured with his new bride and tried to find a legal way to get out of the marriage without offending her family. However, he couldn't and they were married on 6 January 1540 at Greenwich Palace, and the marriage went from bad to worse. The wedding night did not go well and six month later Anne was told to leave the Court. Henry then sought an annulment, which Anne agreed to. As recompense, she received many properties including Richmond Palace. After a while, Anne and Henry became friends and he looked on her more as a sister than an ex-wife.
Catherine was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. She was also a cousin to Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn. Her father was not rich, and her uncle, Thomas, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, got his niece a place as lady-in-waiting to Anne of Cleves. As the King did not get on with his new wife, his wandering eye strayed towards Catherine and she became his mistress.
Henry married Catherine only three weeks after his marriage with Anne was annulled. After marriage, Henry did not really appeal to Catherine any more and they failed to produce a male heir. He was not ideal husband material any more, being overweight and foul-smelling due to an ulcer.
The start of her downfall came when Catherine had an affair with Thomas Culpepper. As this became known, she had to buy the silence of those in the know by offering them positions within the household. Two members of the royal household then made the situation known to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who in turn gave the King a letter with the accusations against Catherine. An investigation took place and she was found guilty of adultery. She was sentenced to beheading.
Catherine Howard was Henry's fifth wife. Committing adultery, Henry had her executed for treason in 1542.
Catherine Parr was married a total of four times in her short life (15121548). She had two husbands, both of whom died, before meeting Henry. She outlived him, marrying again after his death. She died in 1548 at Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire.
Henry VIII in his later years.
Catherine was seventeen when she first married Lord Borough, who was in his sixties. After he died, she then married Lord Latimer and attended the Royal Court with him. Catherine was still only in her early thirties when Latimer died and had fallen for Jane Seymour's brother. But King Henry intervened and she was not allowed to refuse. They married on 12 July 1543 at Hampton Court Palace.
Unlike his other wives, Catherine's main purpose was being a carer for the king and attending to his ailments. She was also step-mother to his children, and helped him to build a better relationship with his daughter, Mary. She also helped in the education of two of his children, Elizabeth and Edward.
The King died in 1547 after four years of marriage to Catherine. There should have been a happy end to this story, but after marrying Thomas Seymour, she died from puerperal fever, arising from childbirth. She was buried at Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire.
Henry VII being crowned at Bosworth, after the battle that saw the death of King Richard III.
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