For the six part mini series, see The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Divorce, Beheaded, Died, Divorce, Beheaded, Survived. And none of them today are alive...
The wives of English king Henry VIII as Henry tried to make a legitimate male heir. Every British person (and Anglophilic American) can remember what happened to them — "divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived". Technically his "divorces" were annulments where the marriages never happened in the first place. Henry's desire for a male heir led to his quest to annul his first marriage with Catherine of Aragon. The Pope's refusal to grant the annulment resulted in Henry's break from the Roman Catholic Church. This led to the establishment of the Church of England, with the monarch as the head, a move known as the English Reformation.
- Henry's Marriages:
- Catherine of Aragon (m. 1509–1533): Henry VIII's first wife, a Spanish princess, and the daughter of the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. She was previously married to Henry's older brother, Arthur, in an alliance arranged by the boys' father, Henry VII, but was soon widowed. Henry VIII did not marry her until after he had become king. The marriage was annulled due to consanguinity on the grounds of this previous, short-lived marriage to Arthur, but really because of Catherine's inability to produce a male heir. The marriage produced one surviving daughter, Mary I, and lasted longer than the subsequent five put together. She died, probably of cancer or heart disease, in 1536, just a few short years after the end of her marriage. Until then, Catholics (including Catherine herself) believed that she remained Henry's true wife.
- Anne Boleyn (m. 1533–1536): Henry's second wife and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I, descended on both sides from powerful English and Irish aristocrats tracing their ancestry back to Edward I. Anne was executed on charges of adultery, incest, and treason after failing to provide a male heir.
- Jane Seymour (Royalty) (m. 1536–1537): Henry's third wife, and the one with the humblest origins, a member of the gentry with no real connection to the royal family (despite claiming shared descent from Edward III), and the only one to provide him with a male heir, King Edward VI. Jane Seymour died shortly after childbirth.
- Anne of Cleves (m. 1540–1540): Henry's fourth wife, a political match arranged with the Duke of Cleves, a powerful (and Protestant) German prince, making Anne the second of his "royal" wives. The marriage was annulled due to Henry's dissatisfaction with her appearance. She died into the reign of her ex-stepdaughter, Mary Tudor, surviving her ill-fated marriage by 17 years. She was the last of Henry's wives to die.
- Catherine Howard (m. 1540–1542): Henry's fifth wife, a member of the powerful Howard family, House of the Dukes of Norfolk (and a cousin of Anne Boleyn). A brief and ill-fated marriage. Catherine Howard was executed on charges of adultery.
- Catherine Parr (m. 1543–1547): Henry's sixth and final wife, a widow twice (and childless both times) before marrying Henry. His closest relative among his queens; both were descended from the same daughter of John of Gaunt, son of Edward III, and accordingly Parr's family enjoyed high status at court, with the lady being named for her godmother, Queen Catherine of Aragon. Catherine Parr outlived Henry and later married again after his death, surprisingly finding herself pregnant almost immediately. She is known for her regency during the minority of Henry's son, Edward VI. She died either in childbirth or very shortly after it, delivered of a daughter who probably did not survive infancy.
