KATHRYN HOWARD: The Young Beauty

Today, we have Katheryn Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII.  After discovering that Anne of Cleves did not look like her portrait (and was somewhat lumpy and large-breasted) Henry VIII lost all interest in her.  Shortly after this, young Katheryn Howard caught Henry's eye.  She was fifteen at the time, and that seems highly inappropriate today because Henry was no less than fifty.  Not only was he fifty, but Henry was a very large man at this point in time.  He had thrombosis in his leg, and the sore needed to be drained daily and smelled awful.  This, Henry was not necessarily a catch at this point regardless of his wealth and power for a young girl from the affluent Howard family.  However, Henry had the fact that he was king, and it could be considered Kathryn Howard's duty to marry him.  He showered her with gifts including: jewels, a house, clothes, and money.  Because Henry was so fat and disgusting, Kathryn never had any real feelings for him.  Thus, she slept around.  While Henry usually demanded his wives be virgins, he didn't question Kathryn's virginity because she was so young.  In the end, he really should have checked it because she was not a virgin.  She had had various affairs with Henry Mannox while she was staying at her grandmother's (The Dowager Duchess of Norfolk) house, Francis Dereham (secretary for the Dowager Duchess), and Thomas Culpepper (a male courtier that was in Henry's favor).  In the end, her secret was revealed to Henry himself.  Originally, she was only accused of not being a virgin (which was not necessarily a crime, but it humiliated Henry).  Then, her affair with Dereham was revealed.  Because Dereham was later made her secretary, this lead to an avenue by which Kathryn could be charged with adultery.  She was tried and convicted of adultery (which was treason when it came from a queen).  She was beheaded on February 13, 1542.

Kathryn is not given a lot of credit.  She is considered relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of Henry's wives.  She was only married to him for two years, and very little happened in two years.  She is sometimes compared with Anne Boleyn because they were both beheaded.  Unfortunately, Anne sparked the English Reformation and Kathryn really appears to have only cheated.

Her Wikipedia Page

Her Tudor History Page

And for the next blog...

ANNE OF CLEVES: The King's Sister

Today we have Anne of Cleves.

After the death of Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, he had no appetite for a new wife.  The reason for this is because he finally had the son and heir he really wanted.  However, Henry was reminded by his advisors that even his own older brother had died before he could take the throne.  The position of the Tudor dynasty was only secure once he had the proverbial "Heir and Spare."  Thus, the search began for Henry's fourth wife.

A little side note that should be noted here is that Henry's wives were alternatively religious from Catholic to Protestant. Catherine of Aragon was a Catholic, Anne Boleyn was a Protestant, and Jane Seymour was, again, a Catholic.  This was because of a power struggle against the church ever since the Protestant Reformation began.  The Catholic's had largely expanded in power and place ever since the heir to the throne was born from a piously Catholic woman.  Thus, Anne of Cleves was the Protestant replacement for his fourth wife.

Anne was a german-born noblewoman who Henry believed to be attractive.  He was convinced to marry her by Protestant advisors.  Upon her arrival in England, Henry played out a fantasy where he dressed as a commoner and delivered a present to Anne.  Anne accepted the gift with gratitude, but she did not recognize her king in his costume (granted she had never seen him).  From that moment, Henry grew to despise her.  He claimed that she was unattractive with her swollen belly and large breasts.  Anne, who was very naive, believed that her marriage was consummated and kissing was enough to satisfy the sexual desires of her husband.

Henry was furious and sought a way out of the marriage.  In the end, Henry had the marriage annulled on the grounds of "non-consummation."  She was never actually crowned Queen Consort.  Anne lived the longest (in terms of the year she died, Catherine of Aragon had the longest life) of Henry's wives.  She got a good pension and was known as the "King's sister" for the rest of her days.

Her Wikipedia Page

Her Tudor History Page

Henry moved on to his next wife quickly...

JANE SEYMOUR: The Favorite Queen?

Today we have the third part in a six part series on the Wives of Henry VIII.

Jane Seymour was born 1508.  She was, like Henry's first wife, a Catholic.  After Anne Boleyn also proved unable to give Henry the son he so desperately wanted, he turned his eye to Jane Seymour.  Because Jane was a pious Catholic, she also refused to bed him until they were married.  She paraded her virginity and piety in front of Henry in order to drive him crazy with desire.  Henry, unable to afford the scandal of divorcing Anne, decided to have her beheaded because of high treason (as adultery in a queen was decidedly turned into).  He then married Jane.  Jane, it has been said, was presented to Henry to turn him away from Protestantism and back to Catholicism.  He refused this, but he did marry Jane.

Jane was soon pregnant after their marriage.  Finally, after three wives, Henry had the son he always wanted.  Jane, of all his wives, was secure in her position as queen.  Unfortunately, she died of an infection from the birth.  She was the only wife who was buried next to Henry as his consort.

Most definitely, Jane was Henry's favorite wife.  Not only was she pious, quiet, and neat (as the ideal wife of the time was), but she also gave him the heir he always wanted.  After his marriage to Jane ended in her death, Henry had no appetite for a new wife.  However, as we know because he had six, he was convinced otherwise.

Her Wikipedia Page

Her Tudor History Page

Her Page in Luminarium


Next Time we Discuss....

ANNE BOLEYN: Forever the Second Wife

Hello, today we have Anne Boleyn.  Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII's second wife.  Though she was unaware of what this would do, her refusal to become Henry's mistress would become one of the most significant events in the entire history of England.  This could also be construed as one of the major events in American History, too!

Anne Boleyn was born in 1501 or 1507.  Her sister became Henry VIII's mistress, and though she did in fact bear him a son, Mary was thrown out the door soon after the birth of the child.  By this point, Anne had been in school in France for quite some time, and she returned to court.  Catherine of Aragon, the current queen (thus, the only one who could bear Henry VIII a legitimate heir), could no longer bear children and had become fat and less attractive due to many miscarriages and the stress of her status.  Anne, who was more seductive than beautiful (at least by the standards of the day), played Henry like a fiddle.  She paraded her virtue around and refused to give herself to Henry unless she be his lawful wife.  The Pope, who virtually ruled England and many other European nations by proxy, refused to allow Henry to divorce Catherine (mostly because he was under the control of Catherine's cousin, the Holy Roman Emperor).  Thus, Henry plunged England into an upheaval and broke from Catholicism.  He established the Church of England (which was so tyrannical that it lead some religious individuals to leave England for America) where the King of England was also head of the church.  He then granted himself a divorce and married Anne Boleyn.

Anne proved to be no more successful at producing a male heir than her counterpart, but she was not as lucid as Catherine.  Catherine had spent her over twenty years of marriage to Henry being the shy woman who let her husband pretty rage and feel his own power.  Unfortunately, Anne was far more independent, and often screamed at her husband and fought with him.  At the point of her last miscarriage, a son, Henry had grown tired of her temper and seeming inability to bear him a male heir.  Also, he was already interested in a woman named Jane Seymour.  Anne was beheaded on trumped up charges of adultery, incest, and high treason on May 19, 1536.  This was only days away from her third anniversary as queen of England.

In the end, Anne's responsibility for the Church of England will never be forgotten.  Also, her only surviving child with Henry would become Elizabeth I.  Elizabeth I would go very far in the monarchy.  She would become one of the greatest of English monarchs and certainly the mot effective ruler of Henry's children.

Read More:

Her Wikipedia Page

Her Tudor History Page

Henry VIII's Fight For a Divorce from Catherine



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CATHERINE OF ARAGON: The Forgotten First Wife

The previous picture was the wax figures of the first three wives of Henry VIII of England.  Thus, this post is the first in a line of six that cover the wives of the now famously multi-wedded king.  His first wife, covered in this post, was Catherine of Aragon.  She was followed by Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr

CATHERINE OF ARAGON

Catherine of Aragon was born December 16, 1485 in Spain.  She was the daughter of Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella (the same monarchs who were the financiers to Christopher Columbus).  The way she came to marry Henry VIII is very awkward.  At the age of three, she was betrothed to the current Prince of Wales, Arthur.  This would have been Henry VIII's brother.  After Arthur's death, some dealings were made that eventually allowed the much older Catherine to marry Henry, now Prince of Wales and future king of England.  As with all wives of the time, Catherine strove to give Henry that which he sorely wanted.  He wanted an heir to the throne.  Through many pregnancies, Catherine only produced one surviving child, a daughter named Mary who will be discussed later in this blog.  After it was revealed that Catherine could no longer bear children, Henry sought to find a replacement for his frumpy first wife.  Staunchly Catholic, Catherine refused to recognize any authority over her marriage except the Pope.  Well, a short time after splitting with the Catholic Church and creating the Church of England (where the Monarch supposedly had more power than God), Henry got his way.  He was divorced to hopefully conceive an heir with his younger second wife, Anne Boleyn.  His current daughter, Mary was disinherited of the throne, and Catherine was cast aside from her queenship.  She never really recognized any of this, and she kept referring to herself as queen even after her marriage was dissolved.  Henry, on the other hand, refused her the title of queen and gave her the title of "Dowager Duchess of Wales" (for being the widow of his older brother).  She confined herself to one room of the house she kept in the Mores, and lived out the rest of her life with little outside contact.

Catherine is a sad story on the role and power of women in Tudor England.  She tried in vain to save her own marriage and livelihood, but in the end, her husband won because the system was so cruel to her.

Her Wikipedia Page

Her Tudor History Page


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