EUROPE THE FIRST GLOBAL AGE The Wives of Henry VIII Henry VIII of England married six women; his decision to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, when she could not produce a male heir, went against the ruling of the pope, and led to England’s break with Catholicism, and the establishment of the Church of England. 1500 CATHERINE OF ARAGON (1485–1536) ● Married Henry in 1509. ● Daughter of Ferdinand II and Isabella I of Castile. ● Ruled as regent between 1511–1514 while Henry was at war in France. ● Had six children; only one, Mary (b. 1516), survived. ● After she could have no more children, and therefore no male heirs, Henry asked Pope Clement VII to annul (cancel) the marriage. The pope refused. ● Henry married Anne Boleyn in 1533, despite the pope’s ruling, and had his marriage to Catherine annulled by the Archbishop of Canterbury. ANNE BOLEYN (1507–1536) 1510 ● Married Henry in January, 1533. ● In the 1520s, she was court attendant to Queen Mary, wife of Louis XII of France. ● In 1527, Henry began writing passionate letters to Anne declaring his love. ● In 1532, she came to Henry’s court with her older sister Mary, one of Henry’s mistresses. ● Gave birth to daughter Elizabeth, future Queen Elizabeth I, September 7, 1533. ● Accused of adultery in 1536, and imprisoned in the Tower of London. ● Tried on May 15 1536, found guilty, and condemned to death. 1520 JANE SEYMOUR (c. 1509–1537) ● Married Henry on May 30, 1536. ● Lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. ● Met Henry for the first time on September 10, 1535; he fell in love with her, and sent her many presents. ● Died after giving birth to the king’s son Edward at Hampton Court Palace in 1537. ANNE OF CLEVES (1515–1557) ● Married Henry in January, 1540. 1530 ● Marriage never consummated and there were no children. It was annulled in July 1541. ● Anne stayed in England, supported financially by Henry, until her death in 1557. CATHERINE HOWARD (c. 1520–1542) ● Married Henry on July 28, 1540. ● Met Henry in 1539; the alliance was encouraged by opponents of Thomas Cromwell, who had arranged Henry’s marriage to Anne of Cleves. ● In 1541, accused of adultery with her music teacher, Henry Mannock, and her cousin, Thomas Culpeper. 1540 ● Charged with high treason, and beheaded in February 1542. CATHERINE PARR (1512–1548) ● Married Henry in 1543. ● When Henry proposed, Catherine was already engaged to Sir Thomas Seymour, brother of Jane Seymour. ● Catherine accepted the king’s proposal because she feared that if she refused her family would be punished. ● Catherine was a kind stepmother to Mary and Elizabeth. She acted as regent for Henry in 1544 when he was at the siege of Boulogne. ● After Henry’s death in 1547, Catherine married Thomas Seymour. She died in childbirth the following year. 1550 © Diagram Visual Information Ltd. Published by Facts On File, Inc. All electronic storage, reproduction, or transmittal is copyright protected by the publisher..