The wives of Henry the VIII

Learn more about his six wives and the fate of each woman he married.

Catherine of Aragon

Henry VIII's first wife was Catherine of Aragon. She was the daughter of Isabella, queen of Spain at the time. He was only 17 and she was 23 when they got married in 1509. This was his longest marriage, and it lasted 24 years. They had 6 children together but only one survived into adulthood, Mary the 1st.

However, since Catherine failed to give him a son, he wanted the marriage annulled. He left the Catholic Church and he joined the Church of England

Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn was Henry the VIII second wife, whom he married while being married to Catherine of Aragon. She was around 32 and he was 41 when they got married, but before that she had been his mistress for some time. In September that same year she gave birth to Elizabeth the 1st, who was their only child to survive. On May 19th in 1536, she was beheaded for treason, incest and adultery. These claims Henry the VIII made were most likely false and only made to free him from Anne Boleyn to marry Jane Seymour.

Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour was Henry the VIII third wife. They got married only a few days after Anne Boleyn's death in 1536. She was 28 and he 44, but their marriage only lasted about a year and a half. She died 12 days after the difficult childbirth in 1537, giving birth to Henry's long awaited son, Edward VI. Henry considered her his only true love and was later buried beside her

Anne of Cleves

Anne of Cleves was Henry the VIII's fourth wife and became the queen of England in 1540. Their marriage was a political alliance that Henry felt that he needed to form with her brother. Their marriage only lasted for 6 months and this was Henry's shortest marriage. After their divorce she received a generous amount of money from Henry, and since then was known for being the King's Beloved Sister.

Catherine Howard

Catherine Howard was Henry the VIII's fifth wife and they got married in 1540, 19 days after his divorce to Anne of Cleves. She was only 17 and he was 49 when she was crowned queen. However, she was accused of adultery and was beheaded three months later like her cousin, Anne Boleyn. These claims were most likely true, and she confessed to having an affair.

Catherine Parr

Catherine Parr was Henry the VIII's sixth and final wife. They got married in 1543 when she was 31 and he 52 years old. She helped unite Henry and his children and had a close relationship with them herself. she died only a year and eight months later after Henry’s death.

Song about his wives

If you want to learn about him in a more fun way you should check out this video down below explaining what happened to all his 6 wives.