The Wives and Children of King Henry 8 th

King Henry the 8th was born on 28th June 1491, the 3rd son of King Henry 7th.During his reign he had three children, Mary, Elizabeth & Edward.

Henry was married six times, his three children were born to his first three wives. Catherine of Aragon was the mother of Mary 1, Anne Boleyn the mother of Elizabeth 1 and Jane Seymour the mother of Edward V1.

Henry reigned for 38 years, on his death in June 1547 he was succeeded by his son Edward, aged 10 years old and not in good health. He was King for 6 years until July 1553.

Following Edward’s death, Mary became Queen. Mary being Henry’s Eldest child was 38 years old and like her brother not in good health. Mary reigned for 5 years until 1553.

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In 1553 Elizabeth was crowned Queen. She became one of Great Britain’s greatest monarchs, reigning for 45 years.

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Children of Henry 8th

Mary 1

Henry’s eldest daughter Mary, succeeded her brother Edward to become Queen on his death.

(18.02.1516-17.11.1558)

Elizabeth

Elizabeth, Henry’s second daughter became Queen on the death of her sister Mary.

(07.09.1533-24.03.1603)

Edward V1

Edward was crowned king on Henry’s death in June 1547.

(12.10.1537-06.07.1553)

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Wives of Henry 8th

Catherine of Aragon

Henry 8th married six times throughout his reign. His first wife was Catherine of Aragon(1509-1533). Catherine was married to Henry’s elder brother Arthur. When he died, Henry married her and made her his Queen. Henry and Catherine had six children, Mary being the only one to survive beyond childhood.

Henry needed a male heir to continue the Tudor line and when this didn’t happen, he divorced Catherine in 1533. Her reign as Queen lasted 24 years.

Anne Boleyn

Henry’s second wife was Anne Boleyn(1533-1536). Together they had two children, Elizabeth and a son (unnamed) who died at birth.

Anne was not a popular Queen with Henry’s subjects, and was under pressure to provide a male heir, when her son died Henry started to look for ways to find a new wife to give him a male heir.

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Anne’s reign came to an end in 1536 when she was beheaded. Anne’s reign lasted 3 years.

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Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour(1536-1537) became Henry’s 3rd wife two weeks after the death of Anne Boleyn. Jane provided the male heir that Henry longed for. Edward was born in 1536, this birth was to cause the death of his mother.

Anne of Cleaves

Three years after the death of Jane Seymour, Henry was talked into marriage for the fourth time.

Anne of Cleves(1540-1540), was a foreign princess who did not meet Henry’s expectations. As quickly as he married he arranged a divorce. Anne was replaced as Queen after less than 1 year.

Catherine Howard

Catherine Howard (1540-1542) became Henry’s 5th Queen. Being much younger than Henry, Catherine was expected to produce a son quickly. When this didn’t happen, Henry conspired to find a way out of the marriage. Treason charges were brought

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against Catherine, she was found guilty and beheaded in 1542. Her reign lasted two years.

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Catherine Parr

Henry was now aging, and looked for a wife who would be more a companion rather than someone who would provide him with any more children.

Catherine Parr (1543-1547) became his sixth and last wife. Catherine was Henry’s Queen until his death in 1547.

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Family Tree

This family tree shows the wives and children of Henry V111. Their dates of birth and death are shown as well as the length of their reign.

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Henry 111VBorn (1491-1547)Reign (1509-1547)

38 years

Catherine of AragonBorn (1485-1536)Reign (1509-1533)

24years

Anne BoleynBorn (unknown)

Reign (1533-1536)3years

Jane SeymourBorn (1508-1537)Reign (1536-1537)

1year

Edward V1Born (1537-1553)Reign (1547-1553)

6years

Anne of ClevesBorn (1515-1557)Reign (1540-1540)

1year

Catherine HowardBorn (1521-1542)Reign (1540-1542)

2years

Catherine ParrBorn (1512-1548)Reign (1543-1547)

4years

Mary 1Born (1516-1558)Reign (1553-1558)

5years

Elizabeth 1Born (1553-1603)Reign (1558-1603)

45years

This Graph Shows The Length Of each Reign for Henry, His Queens And Children.

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This chart shows the number of years each spent as King or Queen.

Henry

V111

Catherine

Of Aragon

Anne Boleyn

Jane

Seymour

Anne of

Cleves

Catherine

Howard

Catherine

Parr

Edward

V1

Mary

1

Elizabeth

1

38years

24 years

3 years

1 year

1 year

2 years

4 years

6 years

5 years

45 years

During Henry’s 38 years on the throne, his six wives had a total of 35 years as Queen. All reigns were of different lengths and could be used to work out the average time that one wife and each child was on the throne.M.Havard. 4/10/2023 11

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Conclusion

After Henry’s death, the son that he longed for was only King for 6 years. On Edward’s death his sister Mary became Queen, reigning for 5years. Elizabeth then became Queen, with her reign lasting 45 years, since which time history has pronounced her one of the most successful monarchs of all time.

The Tudor legacy was not as Henry envisaged. A female Tudor was to be remembered above all others and Elizabeth’s reign was to cover some of the most important aspects in British History.

Henry changed English law to please himself during his reign, which enabled him to divorce, marry and legally murder his wives. During his reign, Henry also changed the county’s religion from Catholic to Protestant, breaking away from the church in Rome to allow him to annul two of his marriages.

The Tudor reigns of Henry and his children are an important part of our history, as many changes were made to laws and religion at this time. They were also turbulent times.

Under Henry, Edward and Elizabeth the country was of the Protestant faith. Mary was

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brought up in the Catholic faith following her mother, and when crowned Queen she changed the country’s main religion to Catholicism.

This period in the country’s history continues to fascinate many people, with books, artwork, and buildings continuing to attract visitors to our historical sites, galleries and churches.

Sources:-

EALSMiddleages.wikispaces.com

Wikipedia.com

Nationalarchives.gov.uk

Lara E. Eakins/photos of paintings/Tudorhistory.org

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