History Explained: The Wives of Henry VIII

Henry VIII, Otherwise known as Henry the Eighth, was a king who reigned from 22 April 1509 – 28 January 1547. He was a normal king, in a sense, but what intrigued me the most was that King Henry VIII had 6 wives! Divorced, beheaded and died, divorced, beheaded, survived, in that order, was what happened to his six wives. Today we will be diving into the life of Henry VIII and his 6 wives.

The First, Original Heir, then The Unexpected Rise of Henry VIII

After the War of Roses, Henry VII of Lancaster and Elizabeth of York married, therefore forming the house of Tudor. They had 2 healthy children, Prince Arthur Tudor and Henry Tudor VII. Arthur was the heir to the throne, thus, Henry VII, his father made an alliance with Spain by making Prince Arthur of Tudor marry Catherine of Aragon. Unfortunately, Prince Arthur died just six months after the marriage. Henry VIII was then lined up as heir of the throne after Arthur died.

Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's 1st Wife

Henry VII, to maintain the alliance with Spain, somehow convinced the Pope to let Henry VIII to marry his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon and soon, Henry VIII also agreed to marry Catherine as her wife as he also loved her. The marriage was done and the alliance with Spain was tied. Catherine of Aragon was officially Queen. Henry's main goal would obviously be getting a male heir so someone could inherit the throne. Soon after Henry VII died, Henry VIII was now king. After about 6 pregnancies, Catherine of Aragon had produced only 1 healthy child, Mary Tudor I, who was a girl, all the rest of her kids died during infancy. Catherine of Aragon's marriage to Henry VIII was the longest compared to the other wives as Catherine of Aragon was a great Queen. Soon, due to Catherine of Aragon's inability to produce a male heir, Henry VIII grew more unhappy day after day. During the last years of Catherine of Aragon's marriage, Henry VIII began to complain about her every day.

The Divorce Trial and Introduction to Anne Boleyn

Henry VIII's eyes wandered onto another woman, it was Anne Boleyn. Henry really wanted to marry Anne, he even sent Anne a poem, saying he wanted to kiss her "pritty duckys" but Anne was like "Nuh-uh, not until I'm queen!" Henry then wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Thus, Henry told then Cardinal Thomas Wolsey who was now promoted to Lord Chancellor " Wolsey, I want a divorce, and as the representative of the Pope here in England, I expect you to sort it out QUICKLY and QUIETLY!" Thomas Wolsey then directed the case to the Pope, who was currently under the thumb of Charles V and now everyone knew that this was a Europe-wide scandal. Nevertheless, the divorce trial went on, with him defending the case using a part of The Holy Bible.

"And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness: they shall be childless."

-Leviticus 20:21

The trial dragged on for 2 years and the simple answer that the Pope gave summed up about the divorce was a "No!" After Cardinal Wolsey's failure, he was fired by Henry VIII, with a little influence of Anne Boleyn as well. Henry VIII, immediately cut ties with the Pope and he soon divorced Catherine of Aragon and married Anne Boleyn, who was immediately became queen.

Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's 2nd Wife

After monasteries were dissolved to pay for the parties that the King himself organised, likely influenced by his fairly protestant wife (again), people weren't too happy about it, which led to people who disagreed with him to be executed. One day, he fell due to a serious jousting, which caused a great amount of brain damaged, which made Henry's descent into tyranny quicker. Henry, was again furious, because for 3 years, Anne Boleyn still did not give Henry VIII a son. Instead, she only gave Henry a daughter, Elizabeth Tudor I.

The Fall of Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn then started to have a relationship with a court musician. Henry VIII's top man, Thomas Cromwell, forced the court musician to make a confession. From then on, charges came rolling in, Anne was charged with adultery, perversion and even incest and plotting to kill the King himself. She was also charged with Treason and on May 19 1536, Anne Boleyn lost her head in the Tower of London.

History Explained: The Wives of Henry VIII (Part 2) is COMING SOON!!! ;-)

BY: The Good Writer

A Sneak Peek at Part 2

Jane Seymour was able to produce a male heir! It was so surprising, Edward Tudor VI!

Anne of Cleves, a six month marriage, so short!

Catherine Howard fell to her demise the same way Anne Boleyn. "TREASON!!!" Henry VIII shouted.

Catherine Parr, the final wife before Henry VIII's demise, that survived...

So long...