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Britain has been home to many powerful and important monarchs, and King
Henry VIII was certainly no exception. Father of the well-known "Bloody
Mary," Henry was part of an exceptional dynasty including King Henry
VII, King Edward I, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and himself.
Despite his popularity while king, Henry was a
well-educated, yet ruthless man. Coming from a wealthy and
powerful family, King Henry VIII had no trouble assuming the role of
the King of England, and obtaining six separate wives.
Henry Tudor (1491-1547) was
one of the most famous kings ever to rule
England. His older brother, Arthur, was the future king until his
untimely death, which made Henry the heir to
the throne. At just 17 years of age, Henry was crowned King Henry
VIII of England. His youth and teen years were surrounded by the
wealth of the English renaissance, allowing him to excel in academics
and
develop fine skills in both music and sports. Henry's childhood
was considered quite privileged, even by today's standards.
Promptly following the death of Henry's brother, Arthur's widow,
Catherine of Aragόn (1485-1536)
was due to marry King Henry VIII.
They obtained a papal dispensation, a specific arrangement by the Pope
and Catholic Church, and were wed in 1502. Due to poor medical
attention, only one of Catherine's children survived birth, a girl who
they named Mary (1516-1558).
Catherine became governor of the
realm in 1513, but soon her reputation declined.
Eventually, Henry tried to have their marriage annulled because of his
affairs with another
woman, Anne Boleyn (1507?-1536).
Catharine, however, strongly denied
rumors that the marriage was invalid, and refused to join a religious
convent. Consequently, they were divorced and Catherine was
separated from her daughter. She later died of a prolonged
illness, her death disregarded by the public. Henry
was completely through with Catherine.
He showed little hesitation in marrying Anne Boleyn. They were secretly
wed
immediately proceeding the end of Henry's first marriage (January
1533). But Anne soon became an anything-but-acceptable wife.
Henry had plans of raising a male to inherit the Tudor throne, but
those hopes were thrown when in the fall of 1533 Anne gave birth to a
baby
girl, Elizabeth. King Henry was bitter and disappointed and
started having affairs with other women.
Anne became desperate to save
their marriage and her life after having two miscarriages with sons in
1536.
She was brought to trial on charges of adultery and incest. In a court
run by her uncle, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, Anne was sentenced
her to be beheaded. According to many historians, it is very
likely that Anne was innocent, but she was declared guilty by a
unanimous vote, and Henry was free to take another wife.
Jane Seymour (1509-1537), a
woman King Henry was involved with during
his second marriage and a daughter of one of the King's knights,
married Henry just ten days after Anne's execution. Henry was
very pleased with his new wife after she gave birth to a baby boy in
October 1537, Edward. The boy's half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, came
to his baptizing. Mary was now 21 years old, and
pronounced the godmother of her brother. Elizabeth, a mere
toddler, was to marry Thomas Seymour, her uncle, when she reached her
teens.
The birth of Edward was exhausting for Jane, and she
became very weak. Doctors bled her and the family satisfied her
cravings for wine and sweets. Jane's fever never ceased to rise,
and poor hygiene and false medical knowledge lead to her death in late
October of 1537.
Two years passed, and King Henry was ready to marry again.
Princess Anne of Cleves (1515-1557)
became the king's fourth
wife. For strictly political reasons, Henry and Anne were married
in January of 1540. Soon after they were wed, Henry sought a
divorce once more. He had fallen in love with another woman,
Catherine Howard. Henry claimed that his marriage simply was
uninteresting, and complained that Anne of Cleves was uncultured and
unattractive. She was fully aware of King Henry's previous
marriages, so she complied with the annulment and they were divorced
just six months after their marriage.
Just short of three weeks after the divorce, King Henry and Catherine
Howard (1520?-1542) were
married. This marriage resembled his
others when Henry became very irritated soon after their wedding
day. Henry believed that Catherine was having affairs with two
other men, Henry Mannock and Francis Dereham. He "allowed" Parliament
to
pass a bill declaring it treason for an adulterous woman to marry the
king. On February 14, 1542, two days after the bill was passed,
Catherine was beheaded in the Tower of London for crimes of treason.
Catherine Parr (1508-1549)
was King Henry's sixth and final bride.
Unlike Henry's other wives, she had much in common with the King.
She was very religious, highly educated, and had been widowed
twice. During the end of King Henry's reign, Catherine was very
influential. She brought the family closer than ever, and
developed great friendships with Henry's children. King Henry
VIII finally passed away in 1597, leaving his widow to remarry Thomas,
Lord Seymour of Sudeley.
Like Henry had always hoped, his son became
King Edward of England. But it was his daughter, Elizabeth who ruled
one of the greatest periods in the history of British royalty.
Though King Henry VIII was a savage husband, he was a strong
ruler. Whether his claims that two of his wives were adulterous
was true or not still remains questionable, but the fact that he was
harsh and greedy is undeniable. Two of his wives he divorced, two he
had beheaded, one died after childbirth, and finally Henry died too
soon to arrange for anything awful to happen to his last wife. Although
there have been
numerous notable monarchs in England, King Henry VIII's experience with
his wives was certainly unique.
Hendee, Allison; Williams, Jackie; Williams, Karen. Elizabethan England.
http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/sixwives.html.
(10 April 2004).
King Henry VIII.
http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/henryviii.htm. (10 April 2004).
Mattingly, G.; Luke, M.M. Katharine
of Arag??n.
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0827186.html. (10 April 2004).
Editor's
Note: Fabulous reporting, fabulous research and fabulous
citations there, penny305! This is a top-notch piece of work that all
aspiring writers to the Times would do well to check out and learn
from. Thank you!
Still wondering about Henry VIII? Check out "Masterpiece Theatre: Henry VIII" in this week's Media Menu!
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