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 3rd 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.
