The Six Wives of
Henry VIII
Who was Henry VIII?
Henry Tudor, named after his father, Henry
VII, was born by Elizabeth of York June
28, 1491 in Greenwich Palace.
 He took the throne when he was 18 and
married Catherine of Aragon (his brother’s
wife).
 When they were married, she had a son
and named him Henry. Soon after he was
born, he died.
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Who was Henry VIII? Cont.
After Catherine had a string of
miscarriages, he decided that he wanted a
divorce.
 Catherine had one child, Mary. Henry
wanted a male heir to the throne.
 Henry had fallen for Catherine’s lady-inwaiting, Anne Boleyn.
 Thus starts the strings of wives of Henry
VIII.
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England’s Political/Religious Scene
During this time, Henry was trying
desperately to change England’s religious
stance.
 England was affiliated with the Roman
Catholic Church. After Henry tried to
divorce Catherine of Aragon and the
church said no, he decided to form his
own church – the Church of England. This
is where we get protestant churches of
today.
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Catherine of Aragon – Wife #1
Youngest child of Isabella and Ferdinand of
Spain. Anyone remember them?
 At 16, she married Arthur (Henry’s brother). Six
months later, Arthur died.
 When Henry was 18, they married and she was
crowned queen.
 Soon after the marriage, she had a still-born
daughter. After that, she had a son named
Henry that died 52 days after he was born.
Catherine had 3 other miscarriages and one
other child that lived – Mary.

Catherine of Aragon Cont.
King Henry was upset with no male heir,
but remained a “devoted” husband.
 When Catherine reached the age of 42,
Henry began to petition for a divorce from
the church.
 Eventually Henry won and she was
demoted to Princess Dowager instead of
Queen.
 She died in 1536.

Anne Boleyn – Wife #2
No one knows exactly when she was born.
She spent most of her life attending to the
Royal Court in France and England.
 Anne was not pretty. It was rumored that
she had a sixth finger and had a large
mole or goiter on her neck.
 Anne was very pushy when it came to
being queen.
 When she and Henry started having their
“relationship,” she pushed him to get rid of
Catherine of Aragon.

Anne Boleyn Cont.
Anne wasn’t popular with the people of England
either. The King was starting to give her more
precedence than his own sister.
 She was finally made queen in 1533. She had
her first child in August that year. The child’s
name was Elizabeth.
 She knew to secure her place as queen, she
needed to have a boy. After Elizabeth, she had
several miscarriages. She also knew she needed
to have a boy because her husband’s eyes were
starting to wonder.

Anne Boleyn Cont.
Henry needed to way to “get rid” of Anne
because of his affections to Jane Seymour.
 Anne was charged with treason, adultery
and plotting to murder the King.
 Anne was executed on May 19, 1536.

Jane Seymour – Wife #3
Jane was Anne’s lady-in-waiting. Her favor
grew with the King toward the end of
Anne’s reign.
 Within 24 hours of Anne’s execution,
Henry and Jane were engaged.
 Jane had a son, Edward, in 1537.
 She died two weeks after he was born.
 She was the only wife to be buried with
King Henry.

Let’s REVIEW!
Anne of Cleves – Wife #4
After Jane died, Henry remained single for
2 years. His court wanted him to marry a
foreign bride to give him an alliance.
 Henry sought brides who supported
church reformation. He sent one of his
advisors to seek brides for him.
 Henry married Anne of Cleves (from
France) and wanted out of the marriage
from the start, saying she was ugly.

Anne of Cleves Cont.
Soon after, Henry fancied Anne’s lady-inwaiting, Kathryn Howard. He wanted the
marriage annulled quickly.
 Anne knew not to fight it, considering
what happened to his other wives. Anne
accepted the title as “King’s Sister.” She
lived away from the court the rest of her
time.
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Kathryn Howard – Wife #5
Kathryn was Anne Boleyn’s cousin (remember
her?) She was Anne of Cleves’ lady-in-waiting.
She was 19 when she met Henry.
 Sixteen days after Henry divorces Anne, he wed
Kathryn.
 Less than year after their marriage, rumors
spread that she was cheating on him.
 Enough evidence was gathered to convict her
and she was executed in 1542.
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Katherine Parr – Wife #6
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Katherine and Henry married in 1543. Not much
is known about how they met or their courtship.
Since Henry was so old, she was more of his
nurse than anything.
Katherine was more of a mother figure to her
step-children than any other wife. She made
sure they had the best education.
Henry died in 1547 and Prince Edward became
King (Edward VI).
Katherine remarried and had a son in 1548, but
died soon after childbirth.
Henry VIII’s Family Tree
Catherine of
Aragon
Anne
Boleyn
Jane
Seymour
Mary
Elizabeth
Edward
Anne of
Cleves
Kathryn
Howard
Katherine
Parr
The Children of
Henry VIII
Edward VI
When Henry VIII died, Edward became
king at 10 years old.
 His uncle, Edward Seymour, became his
Protector. His ulterior motive was to
control England. Many in England feared
that when Edward died, Mary would take
over and return England back to
Catholicism.
 Edward died from tuberculosis in 1553,
when he was 16.

Mary I (aka Bloody Mary)
Mary was crowned queen after the death
of Edward.
 Mary began searching for a suitable
husband. She married Prince Philip of
Spain (her cousin’s son.)
 There were also several plots to kill Mary
and put Elizabeth as queen.

Mary I Cont.
Mary hung nearly 100 rebels and arrested
Elizabeth. She was imprisoned in the Tower of
London.
 After she took care of the rebels who plotted
against her life, she decided that England should
return back to its original religious state –
Roman Catholicism. She burned, hung,
imprisoned anyone who was deemed a heretic
(a person who practiced Protestant faith.)
 In all about 275 people died.

Mary I Cont.
Mary died when she was 58 from a
ovarian cyst. Before she died, she named
Elizabeth as her successor.
 Mary had hoped Elizabeth would keep
England as a Catholic country, but many
others rallied behind Elizabeth to return
England to its Protestant state.
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Elizabeth I
When Elizabeth was crowned queen, she
restored England to its Protestant state.
 She did not marry, even though the
country wanted her to. There isn’t one
reason why she didn’t marry and there is
much speculation as to why she didn’t.
 During Elizabeth’s reign, the arts
flourished among other things. Some call
her reign a Golden Age.
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