The Wives Of Henry Viii

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

The death of King Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field began the reign of the Tudor dynasty. One of the most crucial Tudor monarchs is King Henry VIII.  He was the second son of King Henry VII of England. He became heir to the English throne at the age of ten, after Arthur, his elder brother, died. King Henry VIII was known as a ruthless, selfish human being – a tyrant. He was obsessed with having a son so as to secure his dynasty’s place on the throne and remained one of the most controversial but also one of the most powerful kings not only in the history of England but in the history of the world as well. Henry VIII is perhaps most notorious for his six wives whose fates can be remembered as a famous mnemonic "Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived." that serves as the proof of the King’s tyrannical nature.

Henry VIII’s first wife was Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish Princess, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Her parents immediately started looking a royal husband for her in order to secure peace of their country. Thus three-year-old Catherine was betrothed to the eldest son of King Henry VII, Arthur, the Prince of Wales. Around the age of sixteen, Catharine set off for England. The wedding took place in London and Catherine accompanied her husband to Wales where, unfortunately, he died of sweating sickness. The marriage lasted less than six months and it was supposed never to have been consummated, which would later prove to be a very important factor for tackling the matters of paramount importance, the matters that would make the King the ruler of the Church and thus make England pave its religious destiny on its own. Catherine was then betrothed to Arthur's younger brother, Prince Henry in order for the kingdom to keep her dowry and good relations with Spain. Eighteen-year old Henry became king in 1509 and married Catherine with whom he lived together happily for many years. Her mother, Isabella, who herself was a great Spanish queen, gave her a good education to be able to use her powers in the state affairs, which proved beneficial as Catherine was made regent when Henry invaded France in 1513. However, her most important role seemed to be unfulfilled, since she failed to produce a male heir to the throne. Catherine gave birth to six children, two of them were boys, but they were all stillborn or died in infancy, except for Mary, the famous Bloody Mary, who was born in 1516. Still, Henry was desperate for a male heir. Rumours started circulating that the King was cursed because of his marriage to his brother’s wife and he started believing it. He found a passage in the Bible that backed the belief that it was God’s punishment for having married his brother’s wife. Moreover, another woman entranced him. As Catherine’s poor condition indicated it was not likely she could produce any more children and never had England had a female ruler, reigning in her own right and alone, the King became desperate in his wish to have a male heir. The divorce was illegal at the time and the King needed the Pope’s annulment. Here is where the question of Catherine’s virginity when she married Henry became essential: if he could prove that she had slept with his brother Arthur, Henry would have been given the permission to divorce. Catherine fought against this, claimed that the marriage with Arthur was not consummated and wanted to deny Henry an annulment. She wanted to secure her and her daughter Mary’s position. The matter was urgent for the King and he was growing impatient. Since the Catholic Church refused to grant the annulment, Henry declared himself head of the English church, a new church. Catherine was banished from court and died in January 1536. Until the very end, Catherine considered her destiny to be Henry’s queen and would not accept any other. Her last words were in a letter sent to the King where she expressed her forgiveness and a wish for the King to take good care of Mary. The King did not express any regret or sorrow whatsoever, what is more, he was thankful because now when Catherine was dead there was no fear of war. In my opinion, Catherine was a brave woman, a religious, educated woman loved by the English people, a woman who stood her ground despite the unfortunate destiny and, instead of succumbing to the victim mentality, in the end she showed her courage by expressing compassion for all that had wronged her.

Who is the woman who succeeded in turning England upside down by making the King leave his wife of 24 years, risk his reputation and the country’s interests abroad, introduce new religious views and, finally, give birth to the greatest English queen – Queen Elizabeth I?

Anne Boleyn, the daughter of an ambitious knight and niece of the Duke of Norfolk, spent her adolescence in France and, therefore, was more a Frenchwoman than an Englishwoman in her manners. Perhaps this was why the King, or men in general, found her irresistible. Her manners, wit and knowledge about court life enabled her to manipulate the King, to make him work in her best interests, the greatest of which was "I am your queen." Anne was quite the opposite of what was considered natural for women in the 16th century: she was not demure, submissive or easy to control. She was confident, witty, charming, graceful and attractive. Her sister Mary became the King’s mistress while Anne became secretly engaged to Henry Percy. Apart from this, she was in service of Catherine of Aragon. Soon Henry VIII became attracted to her. He tried to make Anne his mistress but she knew better and refused, intending to manipulate him. But Henry was determined to win Anne and she would only accept that under one condition - that the king should marry her. She refused to be yet another of the court mistresses and waited nearly seven years for Henry to obtain an annulment. In 1533 they secretly entered the marriage and she soon gave birth to Henry’s second daughter Elizabeth. However, she was unable to give Henry the son he desperately needed and grew frustrated and ill of jealousy which would lead to her tragic end - she was executed on false charges of witchcraft, incest and adultery in 1536. Anne’s second greatest interest was to reform the Church of England. Her support to reformists was, along with her mysterious ways to ruin their beloved queen Catherine, what made the people of England despise her even more. This way she was not only an adulteress, but also a heretic causing the monasteries to be ruined. Anne was sharp-tongued and jealous, her wish was to completely remove Mary as a threat to her daughter Elizabeth’s inheritance and this was why she constantly humiliated Mary and made efforts to lessen Mary’s influence over the King. Anne’s second stillbirth enraged the King and he decided to get rid of her since she could not give him a son. What was attractive to Henry in Anne was later marked as irritating and unbearable during their marriage. She should have switched to be an obedient wife then but instead, unlike Catherine, she couldn’t ignore Henry’s infidelity. Ironically, Anne would live up to meet the same fate as her opponent Catherine in whose pain she took a great pleasure. Meanwhile, Henry was having an affair with his next wife – Jane Seymour. He made sure that the proof of Anne’s adultery and treason was found and she was charged with conspiracy and adultery with four men, among whom is her own brother. Anne’s downfall was the same as her rise – intense and short-lived: the flames of her great desires burned her.

Unlike aggressive and argumentative Anne, Jane Seymour, the next Henry’s wife, was docile, meek and sweet. Henry married Jane Seymour just 11 days after the death of Anne Boleyn. He was 45 years old, Jane was 27. This is the wife that gave the King what he wanted all along: a son. She fulfilled this most important queen’s duty and thus became the King’s most beloved wife. Still, she was never crowned as she died shortly after she gave birth to a boy, Prince Edward, in October 1538.

Jane was a typical 16th century woman: modest, shy, submissive. Unlike the former queens, she was not highly educated. However, she attracted the King’s attention and managed to learn about court’s management while she had waited on Catherine and Anne in the past. Jane did much good to Henry’s children: she tried to reaffirm Princess Mary’s right to be a fair heir to the throne. As a queen now, Jane wanted to get rid of Anne Boleyn’s influence and re-established virtuous principles of Catherine of Aragon. Her efforts to return the King to the Catholic Church were greatly appreciated by the English people as they wanted the return to the pre-Reformation Church. She sympathized with the rebels in the so-called Pilgrimage of Grace, the series of rebellions that shook the Kingdom at the time. However, Henry was angry for her interference in his affairs and he reminded her of the great misfortune of the former queens so Jane had to take the threat seriously and stop suggesting anything. Jane was buried in St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. The King considered the marriage with Jane Seymour the happiest time of his life and left instructions to be buried next to his most beloved wife.

After Jane’s death, Henry’s advisers and Chancellor Cromwell suggested a new marriage to him since England was now isolated from much of Europe and the bonds were to be tightened. Cromwell thought that another Protestant country was a good alliance and thus chose a German princess – Anne of Cleves. Moreover, Henry wanted another son to secure the future of the Tudor dynasty. The painter, Hans Holbein, was sent to paint the portraits of Anne and her sister so that the King could see how they looked like. The portrait and real Anne had few similarities. Cromwell was trying to convince the King that Anne was beautiful, a mistake that cost him life, since Henry’s angry words when he met her, the famous ones were: "I like her not! I like her not!" Anne only spoke German and the way in which she was raised was very different from the one typical of England, so she could barely fulfill the expectations in court. She had no dowry, no accomplishments, education, nor even looks. Her only advantage was her mild nature. She was the Queen for six months only and she was never crowned. Henry strongly disliked her and demanded that his ministers find him the way out of the marriage. The couple divorced and Anne of Cleves was moved away from the court. She quietly complied with Henry’s wishes regarding the arrangements made for her, by which she received valuable lands, should bear the title of the king's sister and not leave the kingdom. After the divorce, Anne spent considerable time with the King and his new queen – Catherine Howard, playing cards or eating dinner at court. She outlived Henry and died in 1557.

Anne of Cleves was perhaps the least damaged Henry’s queen and her innocence turned out to be good as she protected herself from Henry’s ultimate cruelty. She didn’t even understand his rude remarks about her and was most of the time unfamiliar with what was actually happening in the court.

Catherine Howard was Henry’s fifth wife. She was a cousin of Anne Boleyn, a cousin of Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, and a lady-in-waiting for Anne of Cleves. Being only nineteen when she married the King who was nearly fifty, she refreshed life and youth in him. Catherine was cheerful, youthful and carefree, the attributes that drew the King towards her, but were to prove just as harmful as good at the beginning. She was described as a good-looking, kind-hearted but frivolous girl whose only care in the world was dancing. The King himself called her "his rose without a thorn". This Henry’s queen for 18 months only was known for her love of pleasure and luxury. She basked in the attention of men who could not have her and enjoyed dancing, balls and masques. This queen was not interested in any religious or political affairs, so she could not upset the King in these matters, but her crime was her silliness. Emotional and flirtatious, free-spirited and carefree, Catherine could not understand the consequences of her actions. Since Henry was old and overweight, she quickly became bored and sought attention from other men at court. Her past with other men was used by some of her "friends" to bribe her into giving them better positions at court. Naturally, she was more attracted to men her own age and soon she was arrested for adultery. Initially Henry refused to believe that Catherine was guilty, but the findings were soon confirmed and she was beheaded on February 1542.

Unlike Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard betrayed the King and he would not tolerate an unfaithful wife. It seemed that his rose had her thorns, after all. Her past, no matter how short it could have been, came to haunt her and she suffered the same deadly consequences as her cousin Anne.

Catherine Parr, the last of Henry’s wives, was twice-widowed when she married the King. She was a mild-mannered, , well-educated, sensible lady who brought the King closer to his children, her most significant achievement being Henry’s passing of an act that confirmed both Mary’s and Elizabeth’s line in succession for the throne. However, Catherine was in love with Thomas Seymour at the time when the King noticed her. Who could defy the King’s will? It was law so Catherine bowed to Henry’s demands with grace. She nursed the sickly King and proved a loving, devoted companion. She played the traditional queen: she could dance, play music, and talk intelligently to visiting ambassadors. She was interested in religion and also had a great talent as a writer. Henry believed her. He named her regent when he departed in July 1544 in yet another invasion of France. Lady Parr was the most married English queen – after the King had died, she married her love Thomas Seymour, her fourth husband. Catherine died in childbirth.

The survivor, the "winning" queen Catherine Parr had a tactic and that was what brought success. On his deathbed in January 1547 Henry was thankful for having such a faithful spouse and he made sure she inherited the possessions and her jewels as queen.

In the times when women were expected to be decoration in courts, obedient wives and loving mothers, the six women were chosen to be queens of one of the cruelest monarchs in history. These six women were pressured to be all of the aforementioned, but also to deal with the matters of great importance, such as religion and wars, to handle the impossible character of a tyrant king and to successfully float between family ties and demands and their personal wishes. However victimized by the King’s obsession with a male heir, they proved to be heroines of their time, in possession of great courage, strength and intelligence in the fierce game of thrones made of rivalry, jealousy, strategy and drama.

SOURCES:

Starkey, David. Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII, New York: Harper Perennial, 2004

Weir, Alison. Six Wives of Henry VIII, London: Pimlico, 1997

The Six Wives of Henry VIII – documentary series, 2001, available at: www.imdb.com/title/tt0358884/ - last seen February 27, 2013;

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMISgDjkaLo&feature=share&list=PLC248F5B46448FC88 - last seen February 27, 2013

The Six Wives of Henry VIII Online, available at: www.pbs.org/wnet/sixwives/index.html - last seen February 27, 2013

"Wives of Henry VIII", available at:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wives_of_Henry_VIII - last seen February 27, 2013