S T A T S

A B O U T

Henry The VIII, a Tudor king whose reign would have an incredibly controversial effect on England for years to come, had six wives - becoming the first king to legally obtain a divorce from his spouse. Of course, he had to create his own church to do so...

Divorced: Katharine of Aaragon (1485-1536): Henry's first wife, a Spanish princess and devout Roman Catholic who was truly devoted to her lusty young husband. Lost three children, including a celebrated son, before giving birth to Mary Tudor (the eventual Bloody Mary). Ten years passed, but there was no male heir, and Henry began looking elsewhere to fulfill his need for a son.

The Catholic church refused to grant Henry an annulment from Katharine - eventually, his mistress, Anne Boleyn, became pregnant, forcing Henry to reject the Pope's authority in England, forming the Church of England. Katharine's title as Queen were demoted to Dowager Princess of Wales. Despite these and other blows to her dignity, Katharine continued to find solace in her faith. Sepparated from her daughter, she died in 1536.

Beheaded: Anne Boleyn (aprox.1500-1536): The most controversial of Henry's Queens, Anne Boleyn is the reason The Church of England exists, and is perhaps the most popular of the wives. A lady in waiting to Katharine of Aragon, Henry first noticed her among his wife's attendants and was stricken dumb by her beauty. Henry's passion for Anne ran deep, but could not outlast Anne's failure to produce the desired male heir - though she did give birth to Elizabeth Tudor, the Virgin Queen and one of England's most golden political figures. By the time of Elizabeth's birth, Henry already had designs on Anne's lady in waiting, Jane Seymour - and when Anne miscarried of a male heir, the desire to replace the "seditious" Anne with the "virtuous" Jane became a deeply felt sentiment among courtiers. Intellectual, hotblooded with a strong amount of control over her husband, Anne eventually ran afoul of Thomas Cromwell, which signaled her end. Cromwell convinced Henry to open an investigation upon his wife, and Anne was charged with incest and adultery and was nearly burned at the stake before Henry demoted her death to a simple beheading in 1536. Showing some measure of love for her, Henry had the Executioner of Calais brought in to sever his wife's head with a modicum of mess. Ironically, her marriage to Henry was declared invalid hours before her execution.

Died: Jane Seymour (1509-1537): A member of the politically avaracious Seymour family, Jane was openly used as a pawn to court royal favor. Docile - perhaps by design- and posessing qualities of calmitude not found in Anne - Henry became besotted with the girl while she was lady-in-waiting to his second wife. Within twenty-four hours of Anne Boleyn's beheading, Jane and Henry were betrothed. Henry, believing Jane to be his "true wife", indulged and coddled her during her pegnancy - and indeed, she produced Henry's only living son, Edward. The birth, however, was a difficult one, and Jane was much weakened by it - possibly furthermore by the elaborate baptismal ceremony for her son - and died within two weeks of Edward's birth.

Divorced: Anne of Cleeves (1515-1557): Two years after Jane's death, Thomas Cromwell searched out this foreign bride for Henry - hoping to strengthen the vulnerable country militaristically. A French dutchess, Henry fell in love with Anne's painting - which was apparently flattering in the extreme. On meeting, Henry was disgusted with her appearence. While he forced himself to go through with the ceremony, their marriage was never consumated. Anne was treated abominably within the court, earning many cruel nicknames. Henry soon had marriage annuled, and Anne's title demoted to that of "Honerable Sister of the King". Anne returned thereafter to the Cleeves countryside and lived out her days in peace.

Beheaded: Katherine Howard (1521-1542): A pretty courtier, Katherine was no more than an innocent teenager when she married Henry. To the old king she was a source of lightness and joy, but being tied to a man twice her age was not something the pretty sixteen year old relished. Eventually, Katherine's flirtatiousnes caught up with her, and the Archbishop of Canterbury had her relationship with a court musician invesitgated. After a short trial, Katherine was beheaded for promiscuity.

Survived: Catherine Parr (1512-1548): A nurturing, intellectually inquistive woman, Catherine Parr was Henry's final wife. Henry selected her inspite of her love for Thomas Seymour, and despite that love she was a devoted wife to Henry when they married in 1544. Keeping Henry entertained with arguments of theology - she was nearly put on trial for showing interest in other religeons - Catherine even mended tears in the fabric of the royal family, drawing Elizabeth and Mary back to court and encouraging Henry's decision to have the order of legitimacy maintained, no matter the legacy of their mothers. Catherine survived Henry, who died of a rampant infection from a jousting injury incurred during his marriage to Anne Boleyn. Once free, Catherine went on to marry Thomas Seymour, eventually dying in childbed after giving birth to his daughter.

Fun Facts: The only wife burried with Henry is Jane.

R U L E S

We don't have that much in the way of rules to follow here; just follow these simple notions and you should be fine.

C O D E S

All made by me and Mitzie, unless otherwise noted. To donate, attach to an email and send Here!

50x50
By Mitzie:

By Alice

100x35
By Mitzie:

88x31
By Mitzie:

100x50
By Mitzie:

J O I N

To Join this listing, Click Here!
To edit your information, Click Here!

F A N S

To view members of this listing, Click Here!

L I N K S

Tudor History.org

A F F I L I A T E S

Tudor-Boards.com

If you'd like to affiliate, send a 50x50 to this address. I accept listings related to the album only!