Wives of Henry Viii
April 2011
Europe & the West: Modern Europe
Henry VIII & Catherine of Aragon
King Henry VIII of England is most famous for his six wives and desperate attempt to have a son in order to provide an heir to the throne. He spent 38 years of his life jumping from one wife to the next until his death in 1547. Perhaps none of this would have happened if his first wife Catherine was able to successfully give birth to a healthy son in the first place. In my opinion, their relationship is the most fascinating out of any of the other wives. Henry was married to her longer than the other five wives combined and there’s no doubt that they had a strong and romantic bond. However, this all ended with one of the most famous divorces in history. It all began with Henry’s older brother Arthur. When he was just two years old, he was already chosen to marry Catherine of Aragon. She was the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand who were the joint rulers of Spain (nndb). Immediately after she was born they began to search for someone with political rank to marry her. Since Arthur was eventually going to become the King of England, they decided that he was the best choice. The two married in 1501 shortly after Catherine made the three month long voyage to London (nndb). Catherine became a widow when Arthur died less than six months after they were married. Many people believe that he suffered from a disease called the “sweating sickness” which was well known in England at the time for killing it’s victims in just a few hours (Eakins). Arthur and Henry’s father Henry VII kept Catherine in his court for several months (nndb). Eventually Henry VIII became very interested in her and right after his father died, the two sought to get married. The only thing in their way was a church law that stated that a man was not allowed to marry his brother’s widow. Technically, Catherine and Arthur were never really married since the church stated that consummation must occur before it
Europe & the West: Modern Europe
Henry VIII & Catherine of Aragon
King Henry VIII of England is most famous for his six wives and desperate attempt to have a son in order to provide an heir to the throne. He spent 38 years of his life jumping from one wife to the next until his death in 1547. Perhaps none of this would have happened if his first wife Catherine was able to successfully give birth to a healthy son in the first place. In my opinion, their relationship is the most fascinating out of any of the other wives. Henry was married to her longer than the other five wives combined and there’s no doubt that they had a strong and romantic bond. However, this all ended with one of the most famous divorces in history. It all began with Henry’s older brother Arthur. When he was just two years old, he was already chosen to marry Catherine of Aragon. She was the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand who were the joint rulers of Spain (nndb). Immediately after she was born they began to search for someone with political rank to marry her. Since Arthur was eventually going to become the King of England, they decided that he was the best choice. The two married in 1501 shortly after Catherine made the three month long voyage to London (nndb). Catherine became a widow when Arthur died less than six months after they were married. Many people believe that he suffered from a disease called the “sweating sickness” which was well known in England at the time for killing it’s victims in just a few hours (Eakins). Arthur and Henry’s father Henry VII kept Catherine in his court for several months (nndb). Eventually Henry VIII became very interested in her and right after his father died, the two sought to get married. The only thing in their way was a church law that stated that a man was not allowed to marry his brother’s widow. Technically, Catherine and Arthur were never really married since the church stated that consummation must occur before it
Bibliography: Eakins, Lara E. "The Six Wives of Henry VIII." TudorHistory.org. 1995. Web. 16 Apr. 2011. . Jokinen, Anniina. "The Life of King Henry VIII (1491-1547). Biography of Henry Tudor, King of England." Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature. 2006. Web. 16 Apr. 2011. . Lindbuchler, Ryan. "QUEEN "BLOODY" MARY I." King 's College. Nov. 1998. Web. 16 Apr. 2011. . Royal Household. "Henry VIII." The Official Website of the British Monarchy. 2008. Web. 16 Apr. 2011. . Soylent Communications. "Catherine of Aragon." NNDB: Tracking the Entire World. 2011. Web. 16 Apr. 2011. .