Lesson 34. Henry VIII and his Wives
Introduction to the Wives
1. Catherine was the youngest daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of
Spain. She was married to Henry’s elder brother Arthur who was heir to the English
throne, but he died less than six months after their wedding. Eight years later, in 1509,
Catherine married Henry. Catherine and Henry had six children, but only one
survived; a girl called Mary. After Henry met Anne Boleyn, he began believing that
he did not have a son because he had married his brother’s wife and God was
punishing him. Catherine refused to give Henry a divorce, so he made himself Head
of the Church of England, which meant that he did not have to obey the Pope in Rome
and he could do what he wanted – such as divorce Catherine. He did this in 1533 and
she died three years later.
2. Anne Boleyn was born in 1501, the year that Catherine had married Arthur. At the
age of 14 she was sent to the French Court. When she returned to England she caught
Henry’s attention. In 1533, after she became pregnant with his child, Henry divorced
Catherine and married Anne. She gave birth to Elizabeth that September and had two
further babies, but both were born dead. In 1536, she was accused of adultery and
executed.
3. Jane Seymour was a quiet 28-year-old when 45-year-old Henry married her almost
immediately after the death of Anne Boleyn. In October 1538, she gave birth to a son,
Edward, but she died a month later. On his deathbed, Henry asked to be buried next to
her.
4. Anne was the 24-year-old daughter of the Duke of Cleves, and Henry agreed to
marry her after seeing her portrait. They were married in 1540 before meeting, but
http://education.hodge.continuumbooks.com © Susie Hodge (2010)
Resources for Teaching History 11–14. London: Continuum.
when he saw her in the flesh, Henry said she looked like a horse and divorced her
immediately.
5. Henry married 15-year-old Katherine, a cousin of Anne Boleyn, in 1540, when he
was 49. She was young, lively and sociable. The King’s jealousy was roused and she
was accused of adultery and beheaded in 1542.
6. In 1543, Henry married twice-widowed Katherine Parr. She was kind and quiet, a
good stepmother to Henry’s three children and an excellent nursemaid to the King,
who had a bad leg. She outlived Henry VIII and finally married the man she loved,
Thomas Seymour, but she died in childbirth in 1548.
http://education.hodge.continuumbooks.com © Susie Hodge (2010)
Resources for Teaching History 11–14. London: Continuum.