Wives of Henry 8 Tudor, King of England: names, history and interesting facts

The history of King Henry VIII of Tudor and his six wives has been of interest to historians and art people for almost 550 years. And this is not surprising, since it, even without any adjustments, is in no way inferior to the subjects of the most popular soap operas.

On the subject of the numerous marriages of the monarch, many books have been written and dozens of films have been shot. However, not all of them are true, therefore, for sure you will be interested to read documented facts that shed light on the relationship in which Henry VIII Tudor, his wives and heirs, and why the king could not find a woman capable of making him an exemplary family man.

First marriage

Henry 8 reigned on the English throne after his father's death at the age of 17. The first marriage he entered shortly before that. And this marriage was not only not for love, but even its expediency from the point of view of strengthening the position of England in Europe caused doubts in the father of the young king and his advisers.

The wife of the future king was Catherine of Aragon - Spanish Infanta, which, moreover, was the widow of Henry's elder brother Arthur. She was older than her husband and their Catholic church opposed them, considering them close relatives. In order to obtain permission from the pope, Catherine even had to swear that, despite being married to the Prince of Wales, she remained a virgin. Based on these testimonies, the first conjugal union of the Spanish infantile was declared invalid.

Absence of an heir

Becoming a king, young Henry fully obeyed his wife in matters of foreign policy. In this case, the queen was mostly concerned with the interests of his native Spain. At the same time, everyone expected Catherine the birth of an heir, but she produced only dead children or died immediately after birth.

Finally, in 1516, seven years after the wedding, the queen became the mother of a healthy girl, who was called Maria. According to the marriage contract of Catherine and Henry in the absence of a couple of sons, the throne was to move to her daughter. However, the king feared even the thought that on the throne of England there would be a woman. He continued to hope that Catherine would give him his son, but the Queen's next and last pregnancy ended with the birth of another dead boy, which made a real threat of a dynastic crisis.

Extramarital affairs

While the Queen was unsuccessfully trying to become the mother of the heir to the throne and constantly going pregnant or departing from difficult births, Henry sought solace on the side. The most famous of his mistresses at that time were Bessie Blount, who gave birth to the king's son Fitzroy, and Maria Boleyn.

It is interesting that in 1925 the first boy was given the title of the Duke of Richmond and his Majesty did not even hide that he was the father of this child, whereas he did not recognize the children from the second mistress, although everyone was sure that they were not born Without his participation.

Ann Bolein

According to historians, all the wives of Henry the Tudor to some extent loved this extraordinary man. However, he did not worship any of them, and subsequently hated him as Anna Boleyn.

The girl was the younger sister of his mistress Mary, but was distinguished by exceptional ambition. She received an excellent education in Brussels and Paris and shone at the court. Noticing the signs of attention from the king, she met him with pleasure for intellectual conversations, but was not in a hurry to accept his courtship.

Perhaps the reason for her inaccessibility was the fate of her sister, who became Henry's concubine, and then was rejected and forgotten by them. The refusal only kindled the king's love-fervor. To achieve her favor, he offered Anna the role of Henry's wife Tudor, although he already had a legal wife.

Divorce

Get the status of Henry's wife 8 Tudor was an honor for any girl, and Anna could not help but appreciate the sacrifice for which Henry decided for her. She encouraged him in every way and set against the pope, who refused to breed the king and Catherine of Aragon.

As a result of long negotiations with the pontiff, the latter agreed to have an investigation. The judges were to decide on the cancellation of the marriage of Henry VIII with the Spanish infantile, as sinful, if it can be proved that he was imprisoned between relatives.

The trial did not work, so the angry king and his advisors found a way out: the parliament passed laws that the pope's power no longer extended to the territory of England. Moreover, in 1534 the whole Catholic world shuddered when it learned that the Suprematist Act had been signed in London. In this document, Henry VIII was proclaimed head of the English church, which meant a complete break with Rome.

Second marriage

In the status of Henry's wife 8 Tudor, Anna Boleyn appeared before the people after the wedding in January 1533. This happened immediately after the King's first marriage was annulled. In the early summer of the same year, she was crowned, and in September she gave birth to a daughter, who later had to become Elizabeth the First, one of the most famous monarchs in world history.

The birth of the second daughter upset Heinrich, and as subsequent pregnancies ended with the birth of dead children, he felt disappointed and soon began to look for a reason to get rid of the annoying Anna. Soon the woman was accused of witchcraft and treason, arrested and imprisoned in the Tower. After the trial, in which she swore she did not seek the love of her husband with spells and had no lovers, she was still executed and buried in an unmarked grave.

Jane Seymour

This maid of honor, who took the vacant seat of Henry's wife Tudor, became his mistress even before the previous monarch's wife was sent to the block. In contrast to Catherine of Aragon and Anna Boleyn, she was illiterate, but her appearance corresponded exactly to the canons of beauty of that time. Family Seymour strongly encouraged the extramarital affair of Jane with the king, hoping to consolidate his position at court.

In the late spring of 1533, almost immediately after the execution of Queen Anne, Henry and Jane were married, but the girl was not crowned, as her husband doubted whether she could give birth to his heir. Four years later, Seymour gave Henry the long-awaited legitimate son, but she died a few days later from a maternity fever.

Anna Klevskaya

Although England already had an heir to the throne, after the death of Joan Seymour, ambassadors were sent to many European capitals. They were ordered to find candidates for the role of Henry's wife Tudor. Portraits of girls from regal surnames had to be brought to London, so that the king chose a bride. As it turned out, no one was eager to give the daughter to the wife of a man with two annulled marriages behind his back, and who executed his mother's mother.

With great difficulty, the ambassadors managed to persuade Duke Wilhelm of Cleves to extradite his sister Anna to Henry. At the end of 1539, the princess arrived in Calais, where she met her fiance. The king was disappointed, since the bride was not at all like the girl from the portrait that was sent to him. He returned to London in a rage and brought down the wrath of the courtiers, who wore him a "Flemish mare".

Nevertheless, he had to marry, but he said publicly that he did not touch his wife. Despite this, Anna Klevskaya gained universal love at the court and became a good stepmother for the three children of the king. Soon Heinrich decided to cancel the bark. The queen did not oppose, especially since her husband invited her to live in the palace on the rights of his "beloved sister".

Catherine Howard

By 1540, King of England Henry VIII Tudor and his wives became the talk of the town in the whole of Europe. He could no longer hope to find his wife among the girls from the august names, so he looked at the lady-in-waiting of the fourth wife. Among them, he especially liked Catherine Howard, on which he married.

Bark at first seemed happy, and Henry seemed to be 20 years younger. But the young wife was an anemone, and soon in her retinue appeared young people, with whom she was friendly before becoming a queen. Learning about the infidelity of his wife, Henry ordered her to be executed in front of the crowd.

Catherine Parr

This woman happened to write the last chapter of the novel "Henry VIII and his six wives." At the time when the king made her an offer, she had already become a widow twice, and she was 31 years old. The king was over 50, and he informed Lady Catherine that she hoped that she would be his consolation in old age. The new wife of Henry became friends with the daughter of her husband Elizabeth and engaged in the formation of his son Edward. The marriage lasted 4 years and ended with the death of the monarch.

Now you know some interesting facts about the events in which the main characters were the English King Henry VIII and his six wives. Fortunately, today everyone is free to marry as many times as he wishes, and for this he does not need to cut his head or throw a whole country into the abyss of religious and civil wars.