The Tragic Lives of the Wives of King Henry VIII

Immediately after his annulment to Anne of Cleves was arranged, Henry VIII was also arranging to wed his fifth wife. She was Catherine Howard (or Katherine). She was also the first cousin of Henry’s second wife Anne Boleyn. Sadly, Catherine Howard would soon follow in Anne’s dubious footsteps. Henry and Catherine Howard were married in 1540 among rumors that she was pregnant with his child. Catherine never bore King Henry any children. Henry soon showered his new bride in expensive jewels and other gifts. Catherine, however, was disgusted with Henry, who at age 50 had become quite obese and suffered from ulcers on his thigh which had to be drained daily. Catherine decided to engage in a romance with King Henry’s favorite male courtier whom she had been attracted to when she was introduced to court two years earlier. This and other bad decisions led to her arrest and trial on the same charges that had ended in the execution of her cousin Anne Boleyn six years earlier.

Catherine Howard was stripped of her title as Queen and imprisoned in late 1541. She was detained in one of the out of the way homes to keep her from court until a law was passed that made the intent to commit adultery (treason when done by a Queen) a crime, one that Catherine Howard was completely guilty of. She was executed on 13 February 1542. It is said that she was killed with one stroke, just as her cousin Anne Boleyn had been. She was also buried without fanfare in the chapel on the grounds of the Tower of London, the same chapel where Anne Boleyn was buried. Francis the I of France wrote of Catherine Howard’s misdeeds “She hath done wondrous naughty.”

Catherine Parr (1543-1547)

The last of Henry VIII’s wives was one of only two to outlive the King (the other being Anne of Cleves). Catherine Parr also has the distinction of having the most husbands of any English Queen. Her marriage to Henry VIII was her third and she went on to marry once more after the King’s death. King Henry first took notice of Catherine Parr in the household of his daughter Mary (by Catherine of Aragon). He superseded his claim for her hand in marriage over her suitor Thomas Seymour (brother of Henry’s third wife Jane Seymour). They were married on 12 July 1543. Catherine Parr was the first Queen consort to enjoy the title of Queen of Ireland after King Henry added King of Ireland to his long list of titles. This was a marriage of intellectual ideals rather than any real physical connection. Catherine was known to engage in religious debates with her husband, a habit which nearly had her arrested and executed. She managed to get out of trouble by vowing to Henry that she only engaged in the debates to keep his mind off the pain in his ulcerated leg. Catherine had no children with Henry VIII although she later had a daughter with Thomas Seymour during her brief fourth marriage (she died of infection after childbirth, the same infection that had also killed Queen Jane Seymour).

Catherine Parr was also a capable regent whom Henry trusted to run the kingdom when he went on his last ill fated campaign in France in 1544. Catherine was also the reason that Henry VIII allowed both of his daughters Mary and Elizabeth to be declared legitimate which allowed them back into the succession for the throne after their half-brother Edward. She made every effort to reconcile the next generation of the Tudor dynasty. It has even been said that Catherine Parr’s strength of character, noted dignity, and religious convictions, greatly influenced her step-daughter, the future Elizabeth I.