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Wives of Henry VIII

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Wives of Henry VIII

In common parlance, the wives of Henry VIII were the six queens consort of King Henry VIII of England between 1509 and his death in 1547. In legal terms (de jure), Henry had only three wives and no divorces during his life, instead three of his marriages were annulled by the Church of England. Annulments declare that a true marriage never took place, unlike a divorce, in which a married couple end their union. Henry VIII was granted annulment by the church in England, instead of annulment by the Pope, as he desired, for his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, substantially leading to the English Reformation. This legal action was later revoked during their daughter Mary I's reign. Along with his six wives, Henry took several mistresses.

Tables

· Overview
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
No.
1
Name
Catherine of Aragon
Lifespan
16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536
Marriage dates and length
11 June 1509 – 23 May 1533(23 years, 11 months and 12 days)
Fate of marriage
Annulled (annulment posthumously reversed)
Issue and fate
Mother of Queen Mary I.Died 7 January 1536.
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
No.
2
Name
Anne Boleyn
Lifespan
c. 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536
Marriage dates and length
14 November 1532 (1st wedding)/25 January 1533 (2nd wedding) – 17 May 1536(3 years, 6 months and 3 days/2 years, 11 months and 19 days)
Fate of marriage
Annulled 2 days prior to Boleyn's execution
Issue and fate
Mother of Queen Elizabeth I.Beheaded 19 May 1536 at the Tower of London.
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
No.
3
Name
Jane Seymour
Lifespan
c. 1508 – 24 October 1537
Marriage dates and length
30 May 1536 – 24 October 1537(1 year, 4 months and 24 days)
Fate of marriage
Ended with Seymour's death
Issue and fate
Mother of King Edward VI.Died 24 October 1537, due to complications (childbed fever) twelve days after giving birth.
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves
No.
4
Name
Anne of Cleves
Lifespan
28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557
Marriage dates and length
6 January 1540 – 12 July 1540(6 months and 6 days)
Fate of marriage
Annulled
Issue and fate
No children.Did not remarry.Outlived Henry and the other wives.Died 16 July 1557.
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
No.
5
Name
Catherine Howard
Lifespan
c. 1523 – 13 February 1542
Marriage dates and length
28 July 1540 – 13 February 1542(1 year, 6 months and 16 days)
Fate of marriage
Ended with Howard's execution
Issue and fate
No children.Beheaded 13 February 1542 at the Tower of London.
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
No.
6
Name
Catherine Parr
Lifespan
c. July/August 1512 – 5 September 1548
Marriage dates and length
12 July 1543 – 28 January 1547(3 years, 6 months and 16 days)
Fate of marriage
Ended with Henry's death
Issue and fate
No children.Widowed by Henry VIII.Remarried to Thomas Seymour (brother of Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII)Died 5 September 1548.
No.
Name
Lifespan
Marriage dates and length
Fate of marriage
Issue and fate
1
Catherine of Aragon
16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536
11 June 1509 – 23 May 1533(23 years, 11 months and 12 days)
Annulled (annulment posthumously reversed)
Mother of Queen Mary I.Died 7 January 1536.
2
Anne Boleyn
c. 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536
14 November 1532 (1st wedding)/25 January 1533 (2nd wedding) – 17 May 1536(3 years, 6 months and 3 days/2 years, 11 months and 19 days)
Annulled 2 days prior to Boleyn's execution
Mother of Queen Elizabeth I.Beheaded 19 May 1536 at the Tower of London.
3
Jane Seymour
c. 1508 – 24 October 1537
30 May 1536 – 24 October 1537(1 year, 4 months and 24 days)
Ended with Seymour's death
Mother of King Edward VI.Died 24 October 1537, due to complications (childbed fever) twelve days after giving birth.
4
Anne of Cleves
28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557
6 January 1540 – 12 July 1540(6 months and 6 days)
Annulled
No children.Did not remarry.Outlived Henry and the other wives.Died 16 July 1557.
5
Catherine Howard
c. 1523 – 13 February 1542
28 July 1540 – 13 February 1542(1 year, 6 months and 16 days)
Ended with Howard's execution
No children.Beheaded 13 February 1542 at the Tower of London.
6
Catherine Parr
c. July/August 1512 – 5 September 1548
12 July 1543 – 28 January 1547(3 years, 6 months and 16 days)
Ended with Henry's death
No children.Widowed by Henry VIII.Remarried to Thomas Seymour (brother of Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII)Died 5 September 1548.
Coat of arms of the wives of King Henry VIII of England · Armorial bearings
Coat of arms
Armiger(Date as Queen)
Notes
Badges
Catherine of Aragon1509–1533
The Royal Arms, impaled with that of her parents the Catholic Monarchs. The blazon: Quarterly, 1st and 4th grand quarter; Quarterly, Gules, a castle Or (Castile), Argent, lion rampant Purpure (León). 2nd and 3rd grand quarter; Or, Four pallets Gules (Aragon), impaling, Or, Four pallets Gules, and in the flanks Argent, an eagle displayed Sable (Sicily). In the base point, Argent, a pomegranate slipped Proper (Granada). Supporters: Dexter: a lion guardant Or imperially crowned Proper. Sinister: an Apostolic eagle Sable (Eagle of Saint John), wings elevated, membered Or. Badges: The pomegranate, the rose and the sheaf of arrows. The sinister supporter came from the coat of arms of her father, Ferdinand II of Aragon, who displayed his shield on the breast of a single-headed Apostolic eagle displayed. Catherine's badges were a commemoration of the conquest of Granada from the Moors, when the superiority of the Spanish archers gained a victory. Both badges were combined with the Tudor rose (Henry's dynastic symbol).
Anne Boleyn1533–1536
The Royal Arms, impaled with that of her own arms as Marquess of Pembroke, which alluded to several of her ancestors, however remote. The blazon: Quarterly of six, 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarter, were Augmentations, 1st; Gules, three lions passant guardant Or, a label Azure, with three fleur-de-lis on each point Or (Duchy of Lancaster), 2nd; Azure, semé-de-lys Or, a label of three points Gules (Anjou-Naples), 3rd; Gules, a lion passant guardant Or (Aquitaine). 4th; Quarterly, I and IV, Or, a chief indented Azure (Butler), II and III, Argent, a lion rampant Sable crowned Gules (Rochford). 5th; Gules, three lions passant guardant Or, a label of three-point Argent (Thomas of Brotherton). 6th; Chequy Or and Azure (Warenne). Supporters: Dexter: a leopard gorged with a royal coronet pendant therefrom a chain reflexed, over the back Or. Sinister: a male griffin Argent, armed and tufted Or similarly gorged and chained. Badge: A crowned falcon holding a sceptre. The noted antiquarian and heraldist Charles Boutell commented that the: "Arms of Queen Anne Boleyn are the first which exemplify the usage, introduced by Henry VIII, of granting to his Consorts 'Augmentations' to their paternal arms. It is a striking illustration of the degenerate condition of Heraldry under the second Tudor Sovereign." The dexter supporter was intended to represent the leopard of Guyenne (Aquitaine). The sinister supporter was a heraldic creature from the badge of the Boleyn, as descended from Earls of Ormond (Butler). The falcon badge was granted to Anne as Countess of Pembroke, this badge was also used by her daughter Queen Elizabeth I.
Jane Seymour1536–1537
The Royal Arms, impaled with that of her own arms and that of the Seymour family. The blazon: Quarterly of six, 1st; an Augmentation, Or, on a pile Gules, between six fleur-de-lis Azure, three lions passant guardant Or. 2nd; Gules, two wings conjoined in lure Or (Seymour). 3rd; Vair Azure and Argent (Beauchamp). 4th; Argent, three demi-lions rampant, Gules (Stiny). 5th; Per bend, Argent and Gules, three roses, bendwise countercharged (MacWilliams). 6th; Argent, on a bend Gules, three leopard's head Or. Supporters: Dexter: a lion guardant Or imperially crowned Proper. Sinister: Unicorn Argent. Badge: A phoenix rising from a castle, between Tudor roses. An alternative set of supporters for Queen Jane was reportedly: "Dexter a unicorn argent, crowned and unguled or, collared with a double wreath of white daisies and red roses; Sinister, a panther incensed, striped with various colours, gorged with a coronet of crosses patée and fleurs de lys alternately and chained or." The badge of the phoenix rising from the flames was granted posthumously by her son King Edward VI to his maternal relations (who became the Dukes of Somerset), who continue to use it as a crest in their coat of arms to this day.
Anne of ClevesJanuary–July 1540
The Royal Arms, impaled with that of her father John III, Duke of Cleves. The blazon: Quarterly of seven, four in chief and three in base, 1st; Gules, an Inescutcheon Argent, overall an escarbuncle Or (Cleves). 2nd; Or, a lion rampant Sable (Jülich). 3rd; Azure, a lion rampant crowned Or (Schwarzburg). 4th; Argent, a lion rampant double-queued gules, crowned Or (Limburg). 5th; Or, a fess chequy Argent and Gules (Mark). 6th; Argent, a lion rampant Gules, crowned Azure (Berg). 7th; Argent, three chevronels Gules (Ravensberg). Alternatively the arms of Cleves is used only, the blazon: Gules, an Inescutcheon Argent, overall an Escarbuncle Or (Cleves) Badge: a lion rampant Sable a escarbuncle Or The black lion badge was apparently derived from her mother Maria of Jülich-Berg, who was the sole heir of William IV the Duke of Jülich-Berg.
Catherine Howard1540–1541
The Royal Arms, impaled with that of her own as granted by the King. Her arms incorporated those of her family the Howards. Catherine's father Lord Edmund Howard, was the third son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. The blazon: Quarterly of four, 1st and 4th were Augmentations, 1st; Azure, three Fleurs-de-lys, in pale Or, between two flasches Ermine, each charged with a Rose Gules. 2nd; Gules, three lions passant guardant Or, a label of three-point Argent (Thomas of Brotherton). 3rd; Gules, a bend between six cross-crosslets fitchy Argent, for augmentation to be charged on the bend, the Royal Shield of Scotland having a demi-lion only, which is pierced through the mouth with an arrow (Howard). 4th; Azure, two Lions of England, the verge of the escutcheon charged with four half fleurs-de-lys Or. Supporters: Dexter: a lion guardant Or imperially crowned Proper. Sinister: a white horse of Howard.
Catherine Parr1543–1547
The Royal Arms, impaled with that of her own as granted by the King. The arms allude to those of her family and the titles of her father Sir Thomas Parr. The blazon: Quarterly of six, 1st; an Augmentation, Argent, on a Pile Gules, between six Roses Gules, three other Roses Argent. 2nd; Argent, two bars Azure, within a bordure engrailed Sable (Parr). 3rd; Or, three water-bougets Sable (Ross of Kendal). 4th; Vairy, a fesse Gules (Marmion). 5th; Azure, three chevrons interlaced in base, a chief Or (FitzHugh). 6th; Vert, three harts at gaze Or (Green). Supporters: Dexter: a lion guardant Or imperially crowned Proper. Sinister: a panther incensed, striped with various colours, gorged with a coronet of crosses patée and fleurs de lys alternately and chained Or. Badge: A maiden's head crowned, rising from a large Tudor rose. The sinister supporter was inherited from her maternal grandfather William FitzHugh, 4th Baron FitzHugh. Her badge was granted by the king, it combined the Tudor rose badge of Henry with a previous one used by the Queen's family. The House of Parr had assumed as a badge "a maiden's head, couped below the breasts, vested in ermine and gold, her hair of the last, and her temples encircled with red and white roses". This they inherited from the badge of Ross, of Kendal.

References

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