Henry VIII

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Wife #1 - Catherine of Aragon

Born - 16th December 1485

Died - 7th January 1536

Married to Henry VIII from June 1509 to May 1533

Parents - Isabella I of Castille and Ferdinand II of Aragon

At three years old she was betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales

They married in 1501, but Catherine was widowed 5 months later

She later married Henry, Arthur's brother

Coronation - 24th June 1509

In 1513, Henry went to France for 6 months (Battle of Flodden), and Catherine was left as regent for England

By 1525, Catherine had not produced a male heir for Henry, and he had strayed, becoming enraptured with Anne Boleyn, who was actually Catherine's lady in waiting

Whilst Catherine had given Henry his daughter Mary, that wasn't good enough for the king who needed a male heir to leave his throne to upon his death

Annulment - 1533

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Wife #2 - Anne Boleyn

Born - c. July 1501-1507

Died - 19th May 1536

Married to Henry VIII from 1533 until 1536

Parents - Lady Elizabeth Howard and Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

Coronation - 1st June 1533

Beheaded - 1536

Some said that Anne often resisted Henry's seduction attempts, playing a long game rather than a quick love

Despite this, within a year, Henry had proposed and Anne had accepted

Anne was a vivid supporter of the English Reformation, but also had a deep hatred of Cardinal Wolsey

She also had a great control over Henry, and he had given her a lot of power even before their marriage

Despite Henry's enamour over Anne, he was struggling to secure an annulment from Rome, as the Pope had been overrun by Charles, Catherine of Aragon's nephew, who opposed the annulment

Once Anne became pregnant, Henry was sure that he would be able to procure a son this time around

All but one of the royal physicians and astrologers had predicted a son, and friends and family had been informed, the French king had been asked to be his Godfather, and the official heir jousting tournament had been arranged

When Elizabeth was born, the announcements were all changed to Princes(s), and the tournament was cancelled

Elizabeth's birth had Mary sent to Hatfield Court, due to Anne's fears that she would pose a threat to the newest princess

Henry was desperate for a son, and after several miscarriages, started keeping company with Jane Seymour, angering Anne to the point that she ripped the locket that Henry had given Jane from her neck

After another miscarriage, Henry was fed up, and moved Jane into royal quarters

Anne was made out to be a witch and adulteress, and was sentenced to death

Anne was beheaded on Friday, 19th May 1536, after praying at the executioners stand

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Wife #3 - Jane Seymour

Born - c. 1508

Died - 24th October 1537

Married to Henry VIII from 1536 to 1537

Parents - Sir John Seymour and Margery Wentworth

Coronation - Jane never got a coronation as the Plague was rapidly spreading in London

On May 20th 1536, the day after Anne's beheading, Jane and Henry were betrothed

Jane was publicly proclaimed Queen of England on June 4th 1536

She was more reserved and conservative than the outgoing and public Anne

'Bound to obey and serve'

Jane grew very close with Mary, and tried to get her put back into the line of succession

Whilst this failed, she did manage to reconcile Mary and Henry, something that Anne had majorly failed to do

January 1537, Jane became pregnant, and went into confinement in September, after a relatively quiet pregnancy

Edward VI was born in the early hours of the morning of 12th October 1537, but it was soon apparent after the Christening that Jane was severely ill

On the 24th October 1537, Jane died of unclear circumstances

Jane was the only wife of Henry that ever received a Queen's funeral, probably due to her birthing of a male heir

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Wife #4 - Anne of Cleves

Born - 22nd September 1515

Died - 16th July 1557

Married to Henry VIII from -1540-

Parents - John III of the House of La Marck (Duke of Cleves) and Maria, Duchess of Julich-Berg

Coronation - The marriage was unconsummated, and so she was never officially Queen

In 1527, Anne was betrothed to Francis, heir of the Duke of Lorraine, but it was considered unofficial and cancelled in 1535

Thomas Cromwell urged on the pairing with Anne

They married on January 6th 1540, but Henry was reportedly already having doubts

On June 24th, Anne was kicked out of Court, and 6th July she was informed that Henry was reconsidering the marriage

Anne was asked for permission for an annulment, and agreed, with it taking place 9th July 1540

After the annulment, Anne was given the title of 'King's Sister' and was given property like Hever Castle, Anne Boleyn's old home, where she lived the remaining years of her life

Anne was also given precedence over all women in England bar Henry's wife and children out of Henry's gratitude for her lack of fight over their marriage annulment

She later attended the coronation of Mary I, her former step-daughter

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Wife #5 - Catherine Howard

Born - c. 1523

Died - 13th February 1542

Married to Henry VIII from 1540 to 1541

Parents - Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper

Coronation - Catherine never had one, but was instead Queen Consort

Catherine's uncle the Duke of Norfolk got her a place in Anne's household, and she quickly caught Henry's eye as he was extremely disinterested in Anne

As Cromwell was struggling to find a new match for Henry, Catherine's uncle took his chance, and Henry showed more and more interest as time went on

Within months of her arrival, Henry had showered Catherine with land and gifts

They married 28th July 1540, the same day that Cromwell was executed, Henry aged 49, Catherine 16

The Royal Court had preparations in place for a pregnancy announcement, in which Catherine would be crowned

Catherine may have been having an affair at this time with Thomas Culpeper, with meetings arranged by Jane Boleyn, the widow of Anne Boleyn's brother, George

They were later caught and exposed to Thomas Cranmer

A warrant for her arrest reached Henry on 1st November 1541

Catherine was taken in for questioning on 7th November, and was told to be 'pitiful'

23rd November, Catherine was stripped of her title

The Royal Assent by Commission Act 1541 allowed Henry to accuse Catherine of treason for not disclosing her full sexual history with him within 20 days of marriage, dismissing her claims of rape rather than adultery

Friday 10th February 1541, Catherine was taken, screaming and crying, to her execution point, the tower of London, where she was held in her cell for 3 days

7am, Monday 3th February 1541, Catherine Howard was executed at the Tower of London, supervised by Sir John Gage

Catherine was buried in an unmarked grave alongside her cousins Anne and George Boleyn

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Wife #6 - Catherine Parr

Born - 1512

Died - 7th September 1548

Married to Henry VIII from 12th July 1543 until his death in

Parents - Sir Thomas Parr and Maud Green

Coronation - Catherine also didn't have a coronation, but was proclaimed Queen on her wedding day

1529, Catherine married Sir Edward Burgh, who died in Spring 1533

1534, Catherine married John Neville, 3rd Baron Latimer, who died in 1543

Catherine and Henry shared many ancestors and were multiple cousins

Catherine was a part in keeping Henry reconciled with his daughters

After an argument, an arrest warrant was made for Catherine, but her and Henry reconciled and it was cancelled

Catherine stayed in court until Edward's coronation, and then retired on the £7,000 a year Henry had left her

6 months after Henry's death, Catherine married Thomas Seymour, the brother of her late-husband's third wife

Edward and Mary were unaware of this new marriage and were displeased when it became public

30th August 1548, Catherine gave birth to her only daughter Elizabeth Seymour, after her step-daughter Elizabeth

Catherine died 8 days later, probably from childbirth complications