Henry VIII His Wives His Children His Legacy

Henry VIII His Wives, His Children, His Legacy PART ONE

Henry VIII One of the best known members of British royalty, Henry VIII was never intended to be king of England. The legacy of Henry, his six wives, and his three children changed the face of British history and religion forever.

Henry VIII Henry’s older brother, Arthur, was trained from birth to take his place as king. In order to form a military alliance, Henry VII arranged for Arthur to marry the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand, king and queen of Spain. Her name was Catherine of Aragon.

When Catherine sailed for England in 1501, she was almost sixteen. She married Prince Arthur in St. Paul’s Cathedral on November 14, 1501.

Less than six months later, Arthur was dead, perhaps of what was known as “sweating sickness. ” BUT, Henry VII still had one son left, one who had always been more healthy and robust than his brother….

Fourteen months after her first husband’s death, Catherine, now 17, was betrothed to Henry VIII, who was almost twelve at the time. The marriage was not to be readily accepted by the Catholic church, which considered such a match to be incestuous.

After Catherine swore to Pope Julius II that she and her first husband, Arthur, had never consummated their marriage, Julius granted a bull of dispensation allowing the marriage to proceed once Henry reached marriage age.

In 1505, when Henry VIII had reached marriage age, his father no longer had any interest in a military alliance with Spain. However, in 1509, one of Henry VIII’s first acts as king was to marry Catherine. They were crowned in a joint ceremony on June 24, 1509.

Henry’s first concern is to father a son to ensure continuity of the royal line. During the first nine years of their marriage, Catherine conceived at least nine times. The only child to survive infancy was Princess Mary, born in 1516. Catherine’s last recorded pregnancy was in 1518.

For eighteen years, Henry remained a devoted and loyal husband. In 1527, Catherine was 42, past childbearing years, and Henry had fallen for the charms of one of the queen’s maids. Henry attempted to gain an annulment on the grounds that his marriage had never been valid.

Pope Clement VII could not issue such an order without angering Charles V, the holy Roman emperor and Catherine’s nephew. The legal battle raged for six long years before Henry VIII broke all ties with the Catholic church and created the Church of England. He declared himself head of the church and got his annulment.

Anne Boleyn In 1532, Anne was pregnant and forced Henry to action in ridding himself of Catherine. In January 1533, Henry and Anne were married. The British never liked Anne and threw garbage at her as she proceeded to her coronation.

On September 7, 1533, Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth. Knowing she was in danger without a male heir, Anne was eager to be pregnant again. Two pregnancies, one in 1534 and one in 1535, ended in miscarriage, and Henry’s eye had strayed to one of Anne’s ladies in waiting, Jane Seymour

The Fall of Anne In 1536, many men who knew Anne were arrested, including her brother. In May of that year, Anne herself was arrested and informed of the charges against her: adultery, incest, and plotting to murder the king. Four men were tried, not allowed to defend themselves, and found guilty of treason. The sentence- hanging, cut down while still alive to be disembowled and quartered.

Anne and her brother were tried separately and convicted. The sentence pronounced- burning at the stake or beheading, at the discretion of the king. Anne’s marriage to Henry was dissolved at his order.

Anne was afforded a private execution, beheaded by an expert swordsman. She was buried in an unmarked grave in the Chapel of St. Peter

One annulled , one beheaded Two wives down, four to go!!!!!!

Jane Seymour Jane had been at court during all of Henry’s earlier drama. She had first served as lady in waiting as Catherine, then was maid to Anne Boleyn. Henry “noticed” Jane while paying a visit to her parents in 1535.

Within 24 hours of Anne Boleyn’s execution, Jane Seymour and Henry VIII were formally betrothed. They married on May 30, 1536. Seeing that Anne’s coronation was sooo disastrous, Jane never had a formal coronation. Perhaps Henry was waiting for her to prove herself by giving him a son.

Less than two months after the marriage, Henry’s quest for a son became even more desperate when his only son, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, died at the age of 17. Although by British law, Richmond could never have inherited the throne, he had been Henry’s last hope.

In early 1537, Jane became pregnant. Henry indulged her every whim, convinced that his first “true” wife was carrying a son. In October, a prince was born at Hampton Court Palace. On October 15, 1537, Prince Edward was christened with his half sisters in attendance.

POOR JANE She had done her duty in giving Henry a son, but Jane’s fairy tale came to an abrupt end when she died just two weeks after her son was born due to complications from the birth. She is buried beside Henry VIII in his tomb at St. George’s Chapel within Windsor Castle.

At the time of Jane’s death, Henry was no longer a young man, being 46. He remained without a wife for two years, some say mourning for Jane. For his fourth wife, Henry decided to forgo a love match and return to a match of political diplomacy. However he insisted his next wife must be personally pleasing to him…. .

The Candidates Four real candidates emerged in the running for queen: 1. Mary of Guise who decided she much preferred to pledge herself to Henry’s young nephew, James V of Scotland.

2. Mary’s younger sister 3. Christina, duchess of Milan, great-niece of Catherine of Aragon, who blamed Henry for the deaths of all three previous wives. She was quoted as saying if she had two necks, she might put one at the king’s disposal!

Anne of Cleves 4. Anne was the sister of Duke of Cleves, German royalty who was seen as a powerful military ally against France. Based upon a portrait alone, Henry became betrothed to Anne in 1549.

Anne and Henry married on January 6, 1540. On the wedding day, Henry was already looking for ways to get out of the match due to Anne’s lack of physical beauty. Henry eventually got an annulment in July of 1540.

Oh, well…. NEXT WIFE PLEASE! Anne was given Hever Castle, the former home of Anne Boleyn, and awarded the title “King’s sister. ” She then retired from the political scene and led a quiet country life. However, the man who arranged the match was not so lucky. Thomas Cromwell, one of Henry’s most trusted advisors, was beheaded for treason just for arranging the marriage!

Kathryn Howard Lovely Kathryn came to court at the age of nineteen, to be lady in waiting to Anne of Cleves. When compared to the “Flanders Mare, ” Kathryn was quite a dish and caught Henry’s eye.

Sixteen days after Henry was free of Anne, he wed Kathryn. He was 49, and she was 19. Less than a year into the marriage, rumors of Kathryn’s infidelity began. One couldn’t fault her for seeking the company of handsome young men her own age, but a flirtatious queen is dangerous.

Kathryn didn’t help her own situation when she naively appointed one such young man as her personal secretary. Archbishop Cranmer gathered evidence that the queen had been promiscuous before her marriage, and persuaded Henry that she may have been unfaithful to him.

Poor Kathryn On February 13, 1542, Kathryn suffered the same fate as her cousin, Anne Boleyn. Kathryn was buried near Anne in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London.

Katherine Parr The last of Henry’s wives was a different choice for the aging king- the widowed daughter of a country squire. Katherine was known for her education and overall sensitivity. Not exactly Henry’s usual taste.

Eighteen months passed after the execution of Kathryn Howard before Henry married Katherine Parr on July 12, 1543. Katherine was more a nurse to Henry in his declining health than a wife. She, too, bore him no sons. Henry died on January 28, 1547, leaving Katherine Parr as the only wife to outlive him.

SO LET’S REVIEW Wife #1 Catherine of Aragondivorced

Wife # 2 Anne Boleyn – Before After

Wife # 3 Jane Seymour – died of natural causes

Wife # 4 Anne of Cleves – annulment

Wife # 5 Kathryn Howard

And the winner is…. Katherine Parr