The Wives and Children of Henry

I had self-studied English history for years and knew that, reigning for almost 38 years (until his death at age 55 in 1547), Henry VIII was arguably the best-known king in the history of England. I was particularly impressed by his denouncing of the supremacy of the papacy in Rome, resulting in the English Reformation, as well as the six wives he married during his reign, though I did not fully understand the details. Having visited England two months ago, I became more familiar with the historical setting of medieval and early modern England and can now better appreciate the related history and literature of that period.

To this end, I watched a documentary about the six wives of Henry VIII and the children he had with them, which was simply brilliant for me, as I love both the English language and its history. There are many fascinating details in the video, which is over four and a half hours long, and in this post, I'll cover only the profiles of these historical figures and some events or ideas that impressed me the most.

The first wife of Henry VIII was Catherine of Aragon, the youngest child of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. She was betrothed to Arthur, the direct heir to the English throne, when she was three years old. They married in 1501; however, Arthur died just five months later. She stayed in England and acted as the ambassador of the Aragonese crown to England in 1507, becoming the first recorded female ambassador in European history. She married Henry shortly after his accession in 1509. Their daughter Mary was born in 1516. Later, Henry became dissatisfied with his marriage to Catherine because it had produced no surviving sons, leaving their daughter Mary as the heir presumptive during a time when there was no established precedent for a female monarch. Catherine died in 1536, aged 51, and would become the longest-living of Henry's six wives.

In 1527, Henry VIII requested an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, arguing that the marriage was incestuous because Catherine had first been married to Arthur, his elder brother. Pope Clement VII refused Henry's request. In response, the Reformation Parliament (1529–1536) passed laws abolishing papal authority in England and declared Henry the head of the Church of England. As such, the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the bishops over the King, ushering in the English Reformation.

Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry. As a child, she was educated in the Netherlands and France and returned to England in 1522. She secured a post at court as maid of honour to Catherine of Aragon. In 1526, Henry VIII began pursuing Anne and, at the same time, focused on annulling his marriage to Catherine so he could marry Anne. Finally, in 1533, the Archbishop of Canterbury annulled Henry and Catherine's marriage, making the marriage between Henry and Anne, which had taken place secretly four months earlier, legitimate. Months later, Anne gave birth to Elizabeth, the future Elizabeth I. However, in 1536, Anne was convicted of charges she denied, including adultery, incest, and treason. Consequently, Anne was executed, aged 29 (or 35—her year of birth is disputed).

This is Tower Green, a space within the Tower of London where Anne Boleyn was executed. Several other notable women were also executed by beheading here, including Queen Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey. I visited this site during my trip to England two months ago and can now picture these sad executions taking place centuries ago.

Jane Seymour was the third wife of Henry. She married Henry in 1536 and became queen following the execution of Anne Boleyn. However, the following year, Jane died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of her only child, who would become King Edward VI. She was only 29 years old and was the only wife of Henry to receive a queen's funeral.

Among all children born to the wives of Henry, Edward, the son of Jane Seymour, was the only surviving boy under primogeniture, the system where the firstborn legitimate child inherits the parent's main estate. Though primogeniture theoretically applies to both sexes, it traditionally favored males. Wanting to secure a male heir to the throne was the primary, if not the sole, reason Henry married six wives.

During her short tenure as Queen of England, Jane also witnessed the Pilgrimage of Grace, a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536 and spreading to other parts of Northern England. Widely regarded as the most serious Tudor rebellion, it was a protest against Henry VIII's break with the Catholic Church and the dissolution of smaller monasteries, among other political, social, and economic grievances during his reign.

Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife of Henry. She was born in 1515 in Düsseldorf. Henry believed he needed to form a political alliance with her brother, William, a leader of the Protestants in Western Germany, to strengthen his position against potential attacks from Catholic France and the Holy Roman Empire. Without meeting Anne personally, Henry's marriage proposal was accepted, and months later Anne arrived in England. In December 1539, a week after her arrival in England, Anne married Henry. However, Henry disliked Anne, reportedly because she did not match the beauty depicted in her portrait. The marriage was declared unconsummated six months later, and Anne was never crowned as queen consort. Following the annulment of the marriage, Henry gave her a generous settlement, and Anne was thereafter known as the King's Beloved Sister. Anne stayed in England and outlived the rest of Henry's wives, dying in 1557 at the age of 42.

Catherine Howard was the fifth wife of Henry. She was a cousin of Anne Boleyn (the second wife of Henry VIII) and served in the household of Henry's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, where she caught Henry's interest. She married Henry on 28 July 1540, just 19 days after the annulment of his marriage to Anne. At the time of their marriage, Henry was 49, and she was approximately 17. However, only two years later, Catherine was executed at Tower Green for treason and adultery.

Catherine Parr was the sixth wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage in 1543 until Henry's death in 1547. Catherine enjoyed a close relationship with Henry's three children: Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward. She was personally involved in the education of Elizabeth and Edward, especially in fostering their Protestant education. She was also influential in persuading Henry to pass the Third Succession Act in 1543, which restored his daughters Mary and Elizabeth to the line of succession to the throne. After Henry's death, Catherine remarried Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley. In 1548, she died of "childbed fever," a postpartum infection caused by poor hygiene during childbirth, at the age of 37.

The Third Succession Act of King Henry VIII's reign, passed by the Parliament of England, returned his daughters Mary and Elizabeth to the line of succession after their half-brother Edward. Born in 1537, Edward was the son of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour, and heir apparent to the throne. Without this act, Mary and Elizabeth would not have become the future queens of England, and England's subsequent history would have been significantly different.

Edward was the only surviving son of Henry VIII by his third wife, Jane Seymour. After Henry VIII's death, Edward VI was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the first English monarch to be raised as a Protestant. During his reign, the realm was governed by a regency council, as Edward was too young to rule independently. He died of an illness, likely tuberculosis or a respiratory infection, in 1553 at the age of 15.

Jane Grey was a cousin of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. Although not named in Henry VIII's will, Jane was placed in the line of succession through Edward VI's letters patent. In June 1553, the dying Edward VI wrote his will, nominating Jane and her male heirs as his successors, in part because his half-sister Mary was Catholic, while Jane was a committed Protestant who supported the reformed Church of England. After Edward's death, Jane was proclaimed queen on 10 July 1553 and awaited coronation in the Tower of London. However, support for Mary grew rapidly, and most of Jane's supporters abandoned her to support Mary instead. Mary was proclaimed queen on 19 July 1553, deposing Jane. Jane was executed for treason at the age of 16 or 17 and is remembered in English history as the Nine Days' Queen.

Mary Tudor was the eldest child of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Crowned as Mary I, she was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death in 1558. Through her marriage to King Philip II of Spain, she also held the title of Queen Consort of Spain from January 1556. Mary was—excluding the disputed reign of Lady Jane Grey—the first queen regnant of England. She was a devout Catholic who sought to vigorously reverse the English Reformation initiated during the reign of her father, King Henry VIII. During her five-year reign, Mary ordered the execution of over 280 religious dissenters by burning at the stake during the Marian persecutions. This led to her being nicknamed "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents. Mary died of an illness, possibly influenza or uterine cancer, in 1558 at the age of 42.

Elizabeth was the only surviving child of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. When Elizabeth was two years old, her parents' marriage was annulled, her mother was executed, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate, like her half-sister Mary. Henry restored them both to the line of succession via the Third Succession Act of 1543, when Elizabeth was 10. She ascended the throne as Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Ireland, reigning from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603, a period known in history as the Elizabethan Era. Also known as the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I died of unknown causes, possibly pneumonia or blood poisoning, at the age of 69. She was the last monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeded by James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England, the first monarch of the House of Stuart.

Of Henry VIII's six wives, three were named Catherine, two were named Anne, and one was Jane. All of them died relatively young by modern standards. Two were executed on charges they denied, two died from childbirth-related complications, and three of Henry's marriages were annulled. From their stories, I can imagine the turbulent times and precarious situations faced by both kings and queens of England. Together, the lives of Henry VIII's wives shaped the Tudor period and influenced the modernization of England that followed. I look forward to studying Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII to explore this history further.