The Ills of England marriages
Marriage in Royal families of England, The six wives of Henry VIII
Marriage is personal as well as social for the ordinary it was completely political in the Royal families.
You may not believe it unless you read story from the history of England. Is there anyone who does not know the name of Queen Elizabeth? This is the story of Elizabeth and her husband the Monarch of England Henry VIII. Do you know how many wives Henry VIII has? He had six wives.
Henry VIII parents
Henry VII of England and Elizabeth York got two sons Arthur and Henry VIII.
Henry divorced two of his wives (Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves), he had two of his wives executed (Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard) and one of his wives (Jane Seymour) died shortly after childbirth. His last wife (Catherine Parr) outlived him.
Henry VII chose Spanish princess Catherine Aragon the daughter of Spanish king Ferdinando and Isabella. Henry VII (the father) preferred Catherine Aragon to his son Arthur the Prince of Wales, because England was neither rich nor strong at that time. Most alliances among kings were taking places for political and economic reasons. Henry VII took huge dowry for his son Arthur. Arthur was married to Isabella. They married in 1501, but Arthur died five months later in 1502. But Arthur died months after his marriage leaving Catherine behind.
Father-in-law wanted to marry his daughter in-law.
Henry VII wanted to marry his son’s widow Catherine but her parents refused. in inevitable conditions Henry VII then proposed to marry Catherine to his younger son Henry VIII. But Henry VIII was 10 years old while Catherine was 16. Ferdinand’s refusal to pay the full dowry prevented the marriage from taking place until her fiancé assumed the throne as Henry VIII in 1509. The pope also permitted the marriage after Henry VIII attained 15 years.
Henry VIII refuses to marry
On his 15th Birthday Henry VIII declared that he would not marry Catherine. (Her mother Isabel died. Henry was not sure about her regency) Catherine lived miserably for two years. But later Ferdinand gave her a prominent role and made her ambassador. Then Henry VIII married her but his marriages did not stop with Catherine. In fact Henry VIII had six marriages.
Henry VIII first wife – Catherine Aragon, his brother’s wife.
Catherine gave birth to six children, including two sons, but all except Mary (later queen of England, 1553–58) died in early infancy. Henry’s desire for a legitimate male heir prompted him in 1527 to appeal to Rome for an annulment. For seven years the pope avoided issuing the annulment. He planned to marry Anne Boleyn.
Henry VIII Second wife – Anne Boleyn.
Henry VIII revolted against Church for his second marriage.
Henry VIII began his pursuit of Anne. She resisted his attempts to seduce her, refusing to become his mistress, as her sister Mary had previously been. Henry soon focused his desires on annulling his marriage to Catherine so he would be free to marry Anne but he failed to obtain an annulment of Henry’s marriage from Pope Clement VII. When it became clear that Clement would not annul the marriage, Henry broke the Catholic Church’s power in England and closed the monasteries and the nunneries. As a result of this marriage, the first break between the Church of England and Rome took place, and the king took control of the Church of England. Henry made Anne the Marquess of Pembroke and married her.
How and why Elezabeth was killed?
Anne was crowned Queen of England on 1 June 1533. On 7 September, she gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I. Henry was disappointed to have a daughter rather than a son but hoped a son would follow and professed to love Elizabeth. Anne subsequently had three miscarriages and by March 1536, Henry VIII had Anne investigated for high treason in April 1536. On 2 May, she was arrested and sent to the Tower of London, where she was tried before a jury of peers, including Henry Percy, her former betrothed, and her uncle Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk; she was convicted on 15 May and beheaded four days later.
Third wife: Jane Seymour: Henry was courting Jane Seymour. In order to marry Seymour, After beheading Anne he marriage Jane. Jane Seymour delivered a boy baby but died soon after delivery.
Fourth wife: Henry VIII married Anne of Cleves but he divorced her. Their marriage was not consummated. She went as king’s sister. Thankfully He did not kill her.
Fifth wife: Henry VIII married Henry Howard. but had her beheaded as she too failed to produce heir.
Sixth wife: A few months before death Henry VIII married Catherine Parr. He hardly lived a year after the marriage. After his death Catherine parr became the queen of England.
In the tales of England royal families are soaked in blood and tears. Marriage completely political and meant for protecting the kingdom from enemies and producing heirs
