Wives of Henry VIII
A soap opera like no other
Henry VIII
Catherine of Aragon( Wife #1 )
Catherine of Aragon’s Mary Tudor
• Lots of lost children; only survivor is daughter: Mary
• No Son: So Henry wants a divorce.
Pope rejects annulment
• Pope fears the reaction of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V - who happens to be the nephew of Catherine of Aragon
Reformation Parliament1529 -1536
• Parliament that passed and enabled the major pieces of legislation leading to the English Reformation.
1534 Act of Supremacy
• Made Henry VIII the Head of the Church of England
• Catholics that refused to accept the Act of Supremacy were executed for treason.
• Most notable: Sir Thomas More
Anne Boleyn( Wife #2 )
Anne Boleyn’s daughter: Elizabeth
• Gives birth to a daughter: Elizabeth.
• No one knows it, but Elizabeth will be the greatest ruler of all Henry VIII’s children.
Death of Anne Boleyn
• Royal marriage fell apart when Anne failed to produce an heir to the thrown.
• False charges of adultery surfaced after Catherine’s death.
• Henry VIII had her beheaded in 1536
Jane Seymour( Wife #3 )
Death of Jane Seymour
• Gives birth to Henry’s son and heir Edward!
• She dies 12 days later.
• Thank you for the son, sorry you died!
Anne of Cleves( Wife #4 )
Never met before the wedding
• Wedding was arranged as part of an alliance against Emperor Charles V
• Their first night as husband and wife was not a happy one; within a few hours he came from the room and announced: "I like her not.”
• Marriage was quickly annulled.
Catherine Howard( Wife #5 )
Catherine executed for adultery
• She was beheaded after less than two years of marriage to Henry on the grounds of treason, meaning adultery committed while married to the King.
Catherine Parr( Wife #6 )
Nurse-Maid or Respected Queen?
• Stories have it that she was a kind lady that cared for the fat and sick Henry VIII until his death in 1547.
• Historians have questioned this rumor.