Henry VIII
The Tudor King of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and, in particular, his efforts to have his first marriage annulled. His disagreement with Pope Clement VII on the question of such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority. He appointed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries, for which he was excommunicated. He liked to chop people's heads off for some reason
Catherine of Aragon
Divorced - known for marrying Henry VIII and his brother Prince Arthur
The daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, Catherine was three years old when she was betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the English throne. They married in 1501, but Arthur died five months later. By 1525, Henry VIII was infatuated with Anne Boleyn and dissatisfied that his marriage to Catherine had produced no surviving sons, leaving their daughter, the future Mary I of England, as heir presumptive at a time when there was no established precedent for a woman on the throne. He sought to have their marriage annulled, setting in motion a chain of events that led to England's schism with the Catholic Church.
Anne Boleyn
Beheaded - she is my favourite of all Henry VIII's wives
Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of King Henry VIII. Their marriage, and her execution for treason and other charges by beheading, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the English Reformation. Anne Boleyn was born and lived at Hever Castle, which is close to where I live with my family
Jane Seymour
Died
Jane Seymour (c. 1508 – 24 October 1537), also known as Jane Semel, was Queen of England from 1536 to 1537 as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consortfollowing the latter's execution in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of her only child, a son who became King Edward VI. She was the only wife of the King to receive a queen's funeral, and his only consort to be buried beside him in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Anne of Cleves
Divorced
Anne of Cleves was Queen of England from 6 January to 9 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII.
Anne arrived in England on 27 December 1539 and married Henry on 6 January 1540, but after six months, the marriage was declared unconsummated and, as a result, she was not crowned queen consort. Following the annulment, Henry gave her a generous settlement, and she was thereafter known as the King's Beloved Sister. She lived to see the coronation of Queen Mary I, outliving the rest of Henry's wives.
Catherine Howard
Beheaded
Catherine Howard was the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She secured her a place in the household of Henry's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, where she caught the King's interest. She married him on 28 July 1540 at Oatlands Palace in Surrey, just 19 days after the annulment of his marriage to Anne. He was 49, and she was still a teenager, at about 17 years old. Catherine was stripped of her title as queen in November 1541. She was beheaded three months later on the grounds of treason for committing adultery with her distant cousin Thomas Culpeper.
Catherine Parr
Survived
Catherine Parr was the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII, and the final queen consort of the House of Tudor. She married him on 12 July 1543, and outlived him by a year and eight months. With four husbands, she is the most-married English queen. She was the first woman to publish under her own name in English in England
