The Wives of Henry VIII

My history narration for Henry VIII 's many wives....

First Wife: Catherine of Aragon

Catherine was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain (The ones who sent Christopher Columbus on his epic journey).Catherine of Aragon had long golden hair and a Spanish accent and a great deal of patience. She and Henry were married for almost 20 years. Catherine also had many children but only one survived (Yes, I said only one survived), that child was Mary. Although Henry loved Catherine and Mary, he wanted a son. So he divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn.

Second Wife: Anne Boleyn

During the complications of divorce, Henry had his eye on a lively, young 15 year old girl named Anne Boleyn. Because Henry was still married Catherine, Anne would not become a Mistress or a girlfriend to him but when the divorce  actually happened, Anne loved Henry as a wife would and moved into his apartments, Anne soon became pregnant and when that happened Henry ‘secretly’ married her. After eight months Anne gave birth to a daughter named Elizabeth (Still no son.). With only 3 years of marriage with Anne Boleyn, Henry decided she was no good any more and also decided now would probably be a good time to accused Anne of adultery and without further ado, beheaded her. Now that was much simpler than a divorce. That brings us to a fine lady named Jane Seymour.

Third Wife: Jane Seymour

Henry’s 3^rd wife was named Jane Seymour. Strangely enough, she was at one time a maid in the king’s court! Who knows how long Henry had his eye on her! Anyway when it came to ‘dating’ Henry, she would only visit him with a chaperone. The people of England had a great respect for her. Seventeen months after the wedding, Jane gave birth to a, son! (Finally!) Henry was so delighted that he held feasts upon feasts, but sadly, Jane Seymour did not live to watch her son grow up. Don’t worry she wasn't beheaded or divorced! She had died from the complications of child birth. Henry’s heart was broken. But he married again! Yes again. He married Anne of Cleves.

Fourth Wife: Anne of Cleves

After the death of Jane Seymour, Henry married a German princess, her name was Anne of Cleves. Although, much to his disappointment poor Anne was not as pretty as her portrait was! She had hardly any hobbies, no musical background, she was way older than expected and she was very unattractive. When Henry first saw her, his face fell in disappointment. He went through the wedding but he never accepted her as a wife. They ate dinner together and played cards together but that was it. They were divorced, but parted as friends. Henry was decent enough to have Anne provided for and to saw to it that she was always safe.

Fifth Wife: Catherine Howard

And yes, Henry married again. But this time he married a teenager named Catherine Howard. Again this marriage failed as well…. But this time, it was against Henry’s wishes. You see, Catherine was young and pretty but also foolish and immature. All the attention to her as queen went to her head and she started doing stupid stuff. Although she gave Henry all the attention he wanted, she was unfaithful to him. No one knew what Catherine was doing but one day, Thomas Cranmer stumbled upon the story while snooping around her private life (Thomas Cranmer didn’t like Catherine and was trying to ruin her reputation.), he found that Catherine was involved with a man right there in court! Once her secret was let out, Catherine confessed to everything and in 1542 she was beheaded for her crimes. You could say that Henry was getting a taste of his own medicine.

Sixth Wife: Catherine Parr

A year and a half later, Henry married a woman named Catherine Parr. She was 31 years old, warm, caring and very intelligent. When they married, Catherine took in all of Henry’s children (Mary, Elizabeth and Edward) and treated them as if they were her own children and saw to it that they got a sturdy education. This very stable marriage lasted the rest of Henry’s life but was almost sent to the chopping block when Catherine tried to “teach” Henry of the protestant ways. She was temporarily confined. She learnt to keep her views to herself. Anyway that accident past and Henry was fighting a bad infection in his leg and he struggled against disease. It was only four years in their marriage before Henry died. He was 55 years old and he is buried at Windsor Castle next to Jane Seymour.