King Henry VIII And His Wives

In 1509, Henry VII died and Henry, heir apparent, became King of England at eighteen years old. After the death of Henry VII and the accession of the throne by his son, Henry became Henry VIII and his first assignment was to execute his father’s ministers. It wasn’t until a few months after the death of his father that Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon (“Henry VIII King of England” 2). In the early years of Henry VIII’s reign, he was tall and handsome. Henry VIII was very talented in many things, including playing various musical instruments, being athletic, being a good linguist, dancing, hunting, and a musical composer among many other attributes (Fry 95). When Henry VIII first came to the throne, he had little to no interest in

After his failing business Henry married to Sarah Shelton 3 years later. She was the daughter of a local innkeeper, in 1754. When he married Sarah he received some land he tried growing tobacco, but this didn’t last but 3 years.

King Henry VIII, the second son of King Henry VII, was born at Greenwich, England in 1491. He succeeded the throne upon the death of his brother King Arthur in 1509. He married six wives in the hopes of getting a son as he could be the heir to the throne and become the next king of England. His first two wives failed to do so, but his third wife Jane Seymour, had given birth to a son and he was later named Edward VI. He then married three more wives, and his last wife Catherine of Parr, outlived King Henry who died in 1548. King Henry VIII was an tremendously important leader as he had greatly impacted the Renaissance by starting the English Reformation, the union between England and Wales, and he patronized the arts and literature.

The split from Rome had made England vulnerable and Thomas Cromwell had suggested his next wife to be of a political match, much like the first. Anne of Clebes was the chosen match. The marriage took place on January 6, 1540, and by then Henry was already looking for ways to get out of the marriage. The King did not find his new bride attractive and had found an attraction to a young Kathryn Howard. Anne gave the King no problems with his annulment proceedings.

Cramner appealed to Parliament to confirm that Henry’s marriage to Catherine was invalid. Henry secretly marries a lady in his court, Anne Boleyn, in 1533. He decides to officially break with the Catholic church the following year and makes himself the head of the Church of England. He appoints Cramner as his new Archbishop and Cramner publicly declares the marriage between King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon as invalid.

As king of England, Henry has the power and the unquestionable authority to act based off his own desires even if they are not legally or morally acceptable. Because his current wife, Catherine, who was also his brother’s widow, has failed to birth a son, he wishes to divorce her and take Queen Anne as his new wife. Without a male heir to the throne, Henry’s lineage will come to an end and England will be left without a successor. He admits this to More during their meeting in Act 1, saying,

Henry VIII was the second child of his family. Arthur, his older brother, died in April the year

An Independent and well-educated women, Catherine Parr was Henry's last and sixth wife. She a lady-in-waiting to Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon and was widowed twice. They were married in 1543. She attempted to ban all books in england a serious crime under her husband's rule. She later apologized and said she needed to create a circumstance to which he would tell her how to behave. King Henry took her apology and saved her from a horrible

At this point Henry started to look back to Catholicism after the horrendously failed marriage of Anne by Cromwell, and so the Catholic supporters at court urged marriage to the young Catholic Catherine Howard. Catherine was very young and very ‘bouncy’, which the king adored, but she was extremely inept and even more frivolous than the now-aging king. The king preferred to admire her rather than sleep with her, and so Catherine sought companionship with the King’s favorite, Thomas Culpeper. Once the affair was found out they were, shockingly, both executed and Henry once again turned his head back towards the Protestant reformation. Henry’s sixth and final marriage was again to a Protestant named Catherine Parr. Catherine was a peacemaker

a. Henry decided to take a new wife, Jane Seymour, and an annulment was filed against Anne Boleyn. (Anne Boleyn Bio, 2013)

Catharine of Aragon was Arthur’s widow, and seven years after his death Henry VIII married her on June 11, 1509 when he was seventeen years old . The new prince, Henry VIII, did not waste any time in experimenting with his new found power. He quickly found two ministers his father greatly disliked when he was alive, and he had them arrested and then executed. Execution soon became Henry VIII’s standard way of punishing anyone who crossed his path.

She was beheaded and buried near her cousin, Ann Boleyn. In 1543, the King married for the last time. Catherine Parr was a very good wife and stepmother. She encouraged Elizabeth and Edward in their lessons and in their interest in the protestant church.

Her marriage was tuff, although she loved him, Henry was more in love with his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, which he spent most of his time with. Diane gained a lot of influence in the governing of France. This bothered Catherine, but she kept her personal feelings to herself.

King Henry the VIII was born in 1491 to Henry Tudor VII and Elizabeth of York, making him their third child, but second son. He was named after his father, Henry VII, and since he was the second son, he was not expected to be King. King Henry VII eldest son Arthur, Prince of Wales was to take the thrown and become King of England, that is until his death unexpected death. When little Henry was ten years old, he attended Arthur and his bride Catherine of Argon’s wedding. Four months after the marriage began, it ended, with Arthur 's death. There was a signed treaty that stated Catherine would be allow to marry the next heir to the throne – Prince Henry. It was considered necessary for a papal exemption to be issued permitting Henry to wed Catherine because she was his dead brother’s wife, and this marriage was restricted in Leviticus. At the time, and for the duration of her life, Catherine denied that her marriage to Arthur had even been fulfilled, so no agreement was required. In any case, both the gatherings in Spain and England needed to make certain of the authenticity of the marriage, so consent from the pope was looked for and got. The marriage did not take place however. Henry became King Henry the VIII of England when Henry VII passed on April 22, 1509, which changed his life forever.

History remembers King Henry VIII and his many wives. Very few remember his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. She was known as being quite beautiful and a great queen. Despite how poorly treated she was Catherine remained strong. The beloved Catherine of Aragon was the most remarkable queen due to the way she led her kingdom.