Who was
Henry VIII?
And why
did he
have 6
wives?
The Tudors
• The Tudors were a royal
family who ruled
England from 1485 until
1603.
• The first Tudor king
was called Henry VII.
• He fought another king,
Richard III, at the
Battle of Bosworth in
1485. Richard was
killed, Henry became
king, and a new period
of history began.
Henry VII
The Tudors
This is the Tudor family tree. It shows when people were born,
when they died, who they married and how many children they
had.
Henry VIII
• Henry VIII was king of
England from 1509 until
1547.
• He was born in 1491, and
was only 17 years and 10
months old when he
became king.
• Henry composed music,
which we can listen to at
http://www.brims.co.uk/tudors/henry.html
Henry VIII
A description of Henry, by an Italian called Giustinian
His majesty is twenty-nine years old, and extremely handsome. Nature could
not have done more for him. He is much handsomer than any other
sovereign in Christendom; a great deal handsomer then the King of France;
very fair, and his whole frame admirably proportioned. On hearing that
Francis I (the King of France) wore a beard, he allowed his own to grow;
and as it is reddish, he has now got a beard that looks like gold. He is
very accomplished; a good musician; composes well; is a most capital
horseman; a fine jouster; speaks good French, Latin and Spanish; is very
religious; hears three masses daily when he hunts, and sometimes five on
other days. He is very fond of hunting, and never takes his diversion
without tiring 8 or 10 horses. He is extremely fond of tennis, at which
game it is the prettiest thing in the world to see him play, his fair skin
glowing through a shirt of the finest texture.
Look again at this picture of Henry. How would
you describe him now? Is he still young and
handsome?
How old do
you think he
is?
How can you tell he
is an important
person?
What sort of
clothes is he
wearing?
Describe the
expression on
his face.
What is Henry trying
to tell us about
himself in this
portrait?
Do you think
that Henry
really looked
like this?
Henry and his wives
• In England, the crown is passed from the
parent to the child when the parent dies.
Henry was desperate to have a son to pass
the crown on to.
• In order to have children, Henry had to find
himself a wife. But he married not once, not
twice, but SIX times!!
• Some of these wives died, some he divorced,
some he had killed and one survived him.
Let’s have a look at these wives in more
detail.
Wife Number 1
Catherine of Aragon
• Henry married
Catherine of
Aragon in 1509.
• Catherine was a
Spanish princess.
• They had one
daughter, Mary,
who later became
Queen of England.
• Henry
divorced
What happened?
Catherine.
Mary
Catherine of Aragon
Wife Number 2
Anne Boleyn
• Next, Henry fell for
Anne Boleyn.
• Henry and Anne were
married in 1533 in
secret – because
Henry hadn’t got rid
of his first wife yet!
• They had a daughter,
Elizabeth, who also
later became a
Queen of England.
• Henry
had Anne
What happened?
beheaded.
Elizabeth
Anne Boleyn
Wife Number 3
Jane Seymour
• After getting rid of
Anne, Henry married
Jane Seymour in
1536.
• Jane finally gave
Henry the son he so
wanted – Edward.
• Unfortunately,
Edward died when he
was just 16.
• Jane died after
Whatbirth
happened?
giving
to
Edward.
Edward
Jane Seymour
Wife Number 4
Anne of Cleves
• After Jane died, Henry
sent a painter, Holbein,
to Germany in 1540 to
paint a picture of Anne
of Cleves.
• He thought she looked
very pretty, but when
he saw her he hated
her!
• He thought she was very
ugly, and called her the
“Flanders Mare”.
• They had no children.
• HenryWhat
divorced
Anne.
happened?
Anne of Cleves
Wife Number 5
Catherine Howard
• Next came Catherine
Howard.
• She married Henry in
1540.
• They had no children,
mainly because she
didn’t like Henry and
had lots of other
boyfriends!
• Henry wasn’t very
happened?
happyWhat
about
this, and
she was beheaded in
1542.
Catherine Howard
Wife Number 6
Catherine Parr
• Henry married his final
wife in 1543.
• She is supposed to have
been very nice and kind,
and Henry seems to have
been quite happy with
her.
• They had no children, but
stayed married.
• Catherine Parr outlived
Henry What
– he happened?
died in 1547,
while she lived until 1548.
Catherine Parr
One king.
Six wives.
Three children.
WHY?