Henry VIII and his Wives

Henry VIII 1536 Portrait of Henry by Hans Holbein the Younger  Madrid, the Thyseen-Bornemisza Collection

Catherine  Portrait of Catherine of Aragon by Michel Sittow  Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Henry VIII's marital woes led to the formation of the Anglican church in England.  One should remember, however, that he stayed married to Catherine of Aragon for 24 years before divorcing her.  Despite his reputation, however, Henry was not a Bluebeard.  Only two of his wives were executed, one for good cause.  To keep the wives straight, remember their fates:

Divorced, Beheaded, Died
Divorced, Beheaded, Survived

Henry's original divorce was sought after Henry's conscience began to bother him over his marriage to his brother's widow.  The following bible verse was interpreted by Henry as grounds for the annulment of his marriage to Catherine:

If a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an impurity; He hath uncovered his brother's nakedness;  they shall be childless.

Catherine of Aragon's Badge

Henry and Catherine obtained a papal dispensation before they wed to overcome this problematic verse and other religious objections.  Catherine insisted that her marriage to Arthur, Henry's brother, was never consummated.  Later, Henry reevaluated the verse when their marriage had produced only Mary and approximately 13 pregnancies that ended in stillbirths, miscarriages, and infant deaths soon after birth.  It should be noted that the bible also states that if a man dies without heirs his surviving brother should take his wife and their children shall be considered the issue of the dead brother; a biblical commandment that Henry was not troubled over when he sought to divorce Catherine.  At any rate, Catherine argued that their marriage was not childless, since they had Mary.  Pope Clement VII had refused to grant an annulment primarily because Catherine's nephew, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles, was a more immediate threat to the Pope, since he was personally present, along with his army, in Rome. Generally, an annulment would not have been a problem for any king seeking one.  Catherine's powerful familial ties were thus particularly infuriating to Henry.

For more information on Henry's first queen, read Garrett Mattingly's masterpiece, Catherine of Aragon.  More information about Henry VIII can be found in JJ Scarisbrick's Henry VIII and Stanley Baldwin's Henry VIII : The Mask of Royalty.
 

Henry VIII's Signature	Catherine of Aragon's Signature

Anne Boleyn

Artist unknown
At Hever Castle, Kent

Anne Boleyn's family was of middle-class origins.  Henry VIII, like his father, surrounded themselves with men of humble origins. The Boleyns, as well as the Seymours and the Howards, owed their success, and thus their loyalty, to the crown alone. Anne's father, Thomas, held a succession of positions in Henry's court.  Anne's sister, Mary, was most likely Henry's mistress prior to his involvement with Anne.  It has been suggested that Anne learned a lesson from this tryst and at one time said to Henry:

My Lord, your wife I cannot be because you have a Queen already. Your mistress I will not be.

With these words, Anne shrewdly laid her cards on the table.  Anne held Henry at bay until the ties with Catherine were well on their way to being truly dissolved.  She did not, however, wait for her wedding night, since evidence suggests that she was pregnant with Elizabeth when she wed.

Henry's reasons for dissolving England's ties with Rome are more complex than the love of a woman.  In a time of absolute monarchy, Henry believed that he embodied England.  To die ensuring a peaceful succession was unthinkable.  The War of the Roses, with all of its bloodshed over the crown, had shown how detrimental instability  was to the country.  To Henry, failing to provide a heir was truly an indication from God that he was sinful.  The fact that he had a healthy son by his mistress, Bessie Blount, further confirmed for Henry that God was displeased with his marriage to Catherine.  Henry took the unprecedented step of declaring Bessie's son to be legitimate and bestowing the title of Duke of Richmond on him.

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1475-1530) was also a man of humble origins and was Henry's chief religious council.  Although a servant of Rome, in reality Henry pulled his strings.   He needed to please Henry and to please Henry he had to find a way to get rid of Catherine.  Wolsey exhausted all avenues within the Catholic church but did not provide Henry with an out.   As a result of this failure, Wolsey did not live to see the reformation revolution.  He was convicted of high treason but died before reaching his London execution.  On his death he was heard to say,  "I have not served God as I have served the King."
 

Anne Boleyn's Badge

Cardinal Wolsey's successor was Thomas Cromwell.  It was Cromwell who originally proposed to Henry that he renounce the pope by convincing him that England had two rulers when it only needed one. The Act of Supremacy was issued to severe England's ties with Rome and make Henry head of the English Church. The Reformation Parliament was summoned to sever England's ties with Rome.  The Parliament was made up primarily of middle class men, many of whom had grudges against the tyranny of Rome.  These men were not heretics, but they did covet the power and wealth controlled by the Catholic church.  It was Henry's good fortune that his desires coincided with the jingoistic and anticlerical mood of England.  The parliament and Henry did not see themselves as protestant reformers but rather were moved to cleanse the church of its corruption.  Among the reforms that occurred in the span of 6 years were the following: (1) fees that the Church could charge for services were limited, (2) Henry was proclaimed Supreme Head of the Church of England, (3) the monasteries were dissolved and the riches disbursed, and (4) latin was replaced by the vernacular.

Henry's marriage to Anne lasted only 3 years.  Her first pregnancy resulted in a healthy but unsatisfactory girl.  Her second pregnancy resulted in the miscarriage of a male fetus.  It is likely that the fetus of this pregnancy was deformed in some way, which led to her conviction as a witch and adulteress.  At the time, miscarriages and deformities were often considered linked to evil spirits or sin on the part of the mother.  Anne was accused of sleeping with 5 men, including her brother, George, but none of the charges appear to be credible. At her execution, May 19, 1536, Anne is reported to have said:

Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul.

To Jesus Christ I commend my soul; Lord Jesu receive my soul.

The legend that Anne Boleyn had six fingers is a fabrication that originated in the Victorian era.  Aside from the fact that there are no contemporary references to what would have been a eminently noticeable deformity, had Anne actually possessed the sixth digit, she would never had been queen.  Such occurrences were viewed as evil omens, and Henry would never have been able to accept such a deformity in the potential mother of his children.

Two excellent books about Anne Boleyn are The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn: Family Politics at the Court of Henry VIII by Retha Warnicke and Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives.
  

Anne Boleyn's Signature

Jane Seymour

Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543)
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum

Jane Seymour was a maid of honor in both Catherine and Anne's court.  Her mousy disposition and plain looks set her far apart from Henry's first two wives.  She married Henry just 12 days after the death of Anne. As mother to Henry's only legitimate son, she had secured her position as Henry's queen but died only 14 days after Edward's birth, probably because of puerperal fever, which was a common cause of death following childbirth.  It is next to her that Henry was buried upon his death.
 

Jane Seymour's Badge

Before her death, Jane wrote to the Privy council to announce the arrival of her son, Edward. Right trusty and wellbeloved, we greet you well, and for as much as by the inestimable goodness and grace of Almighty God, we be delivered and brought in childbed of a prince, conceived in most lawful matrimony between my lord the king's majesty and us, doubting not but that for the love and affection which you bear unto us and to the commonwealth of this realm, the knowledge thereof should be joyous and glad tidings unto you, we have thought good to certify you of the same.  To the intent you might not only render unto God condign thanks and prayers for so great a benefit but also continually pray for the long continuance and preservation of the same here in this life to the honor of God, joy and pleasure of my lord the king and us, and the universal weal, quiet and tranquility of this whole realm.  Given under our signet at my lord's manor of Hampton Court the 12th day of October. Jane the Quene.

Further information on Jane Seymour can be found in Henry VIII and His Queens by David M. Loades

Anne of Cleves

Hans Holbein the Younger
It was on the basis of this portrait that Henry VIII chose her to be his fourth Queen.
Paris, Musee du Louvre

The succession settled with the birth of Edward, Henry's next marriage was made primarily for political reasons, although the ability to provide additional heirs was also an important consideration. Anne of Cleves was selected to ensure an English alliance with northern German protestants.  Anne has been said to have not met the expectations of beauty that were based on a Holbein portrait. It is more likely, however, that Henry was concerned that a previous marriage commitment made Anne a married woman. No contemporary of Anne's ever suggested she was anything but an attractive and virtuous woman. Henry did not, as is often reported, refer to her as "A great Flanders mare."  That particular quote was coined by Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury, who wrote "The History of the Reformation of the Church of England."
 

Anne of Cleves' Badge

Two factors led to the demise of Henry's fourth marriage. Political winds changed, making the match unnecessary. Henry had feared that the French and the Hapsburgs would ally against him. Finding this to be untrue, a match with Cleves was no longer essential. Henry also was unable to consummate his marriage. Psychologically, Henry was probably primarily effected by his deep-seated concerns that Anne's marriage contract with the Duke of Lorraine remained valid. For a man who considered himself to have been involved in two invalid marriages, the idea of entering a third questionable union was understandably unpalatable. When he faced Anne in their private chambers, Henry likely believed he was in the company of another man's wife.  The two divorced quickly and ironically Anglo-Cleves relations were not unduly damaged by the action. Thus the primary losers in the king's divorce were Cromwell, who lost his life as the primary scapegoat, and Anne.  Anne assented to the divorce, but it is likely that her failure in marriage was a source of deep humiliation for her.

Her brother, William of Cleves, was not prepared to support his sister, leaving Anne with few choices except to reamain in England.  At the time of the divorce, she was granted an annual income and property in Sussex, Essex, and Suffolk, as well as Richmond Palace and Bletchingley Manor. She was also given precedence at court, as the king's "sister," before everyone except the king's future Queen consort and his children, a concession that meant little since Anne was rarely asked to court. Henry did, however, treat her kindly during his lifetime, granting her the estates of Kemsing, Seal, and Hever and ensuring that her expenses were met.

After the king's death, however, Richmond and Bletchingley were taken from her and replaced with two smaller estates, Penshurst and Dartford. Anne's alimony was further whittled down over the years to the point that she found it necessary to petition the council for support and warned her brother that she might have to return home. Anne eventually retired with a small income to the former Boleyn home, Hever Castle. She remained, unmarried, in England for the rest of her life.

For more information on Anne of Cleves, try Retha Warnicke's The Marrying of Anne of Cleves: Royal Protocol in Early Modern England.
  

Anne of Cleves' Signature

Katherine Howard

after Hans Holbein the Younger (1497 or 8-1543).
National Portrait Gallery, London
On display at Montacute House

Katherine Howard was a cousin of Anne Boleyn and like her cousin, she caught the king's eye when serving in the household of her predecessor. She married Henry just four days after his divorce from Anne of Cleves. Young and beautiful, she has been referred to as Henry's "rose without thorns." Her marriage to Henry was encouraged by her many relatives.
 

Katherine Howard's Badge

Her conviction and subsequent beheading for adultery was based on substantial evidence, unlike the charges against her cousin.  She had been raised in the household of her great-aunt, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. Accounts of that household suggest that chastity was unlikely to have been a virtue nurtured by Katherine in her youth. Several men were linked to her romantically before her marriage to the king, including Edward Manox and Frances Durham. What was most damning, however, was evidence of continued dalliances  once she became queen.  When confronted with the evidence, Katherine confessed all, which suggests above all else that she was a foolish young woman who did not understand the implications of her lifestyle.  Katherine and  was executed on Tower Green on February 13, 1542. When told of her fate, Katherine requested that the block be brought to her so that she might practice laying her head upon it gracefully.

There is no known verified portrait of Katherine Howard; this portrait could actually be Elizabeth Seymour, Jane Seymour's sister.  For more information on Katherine Howard, read about her in Karen Lindsay's Divorced, Beheaded, Survived: A Feminist Reinterpretation of the Wives of Henry VIII.

Katherine Parr

1545 by an unknown artist
National Portrait Gallery, London
On display at Montacute House

Henry was Katherine Parr's third husband.  Her first husband had been Sir Edward Burough and her second was Sir John Nevill, Lord Latimer.  Neither marriage produced any children.  Katherine was 31 years of age when she married the king.  She is often portrayed as a dutiful nursemaid and companion to the aging king.  As a humanist, Katherine championed learning for all of the royal children.  She was also interested in the new protestant religion. She wrote Prayers Stirring the Mind unto Heavenly Meditations and A Lamentacion or Complaynt of a Sinner, both of which reflect her status as a learned and pious woman.
 

Katherine Parr's Badge

She survived Henry's death and is remembered as being kind to all of Henry's children and for nursing Henry until his death.  Her close relationship with Elizabeth is evident in the letters that the young princess wrote to her widowed stepmother.  Three months following Henry's death, she married Jane Seymour's brother, Thomas (1508?-1549) and died giving birth to her only child, Elizabeth. When Thomas married Katherine, their household included Elizabeth (second in the succession) and Jane Grey (fourth in the succession).  Seymour promised Jane's parents that he would marry her to Edward.  Thomas appears to have had his eyes on the throne throughout this period, marrying the dowager Queen and alternately "courting" Elizabeth, Mary, and Jane.  He was executed for treason during Edward's reign after entering the king's bedchamber with a pistol, seemingly to seize the king.  For more information on Katherine Parr, try Susan James' book Kateryn Parr: The Making of a Queen.

 

Katherine Parr's Signature

Despite all of Henry's desperate attempts to secure the succession, 11 women formed the line of succession beyond Edward at Henry's death, the only male heir in line was Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley at position #7.

Children of Henry

1. Edward (1537-1553)
2. Mary (1516-1558)
3. Elizabeth (1533-1603)

Descendants of Margaret (Henry's eldest sister)
(bypassed by Henry's will and by Parliamentary Statute)

James V (1512-1542)
    5. Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587)
6. Margaret Douglas (? -1578)
    7. Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1546-1567) m. Mary Queen of Scots

Descendants of Mary (Henry's younger sister)

8. Frances Brandon Grey (died 1559)
     9.  Jane Grey (1537-1554)
    10. Catherine Grey (1532-1568)
    11. Mary Grey (1548-1578)

For more information on Henry's sisters, try
The Sisters of Henry VIII: The Tumultuous Lives of Margaret of Scotland and Mary of France by Maria Perry