Name: Henry VIII Tudor
State: England
Field of activity: King of England
Greatest Achievement: Reformed the church. Under the reign of Henry VIII, the Church of England separated from the Church of Rome.
Henry VIII, the English king, became famous for marrying six times, beheading two of his wives, and also brought about the Reformation in the country, separating the English church from the Roman one.
Childhood of Henry VIII
Henry VIII Tudor (June 28, 1491 – January 28, 1547) was born at Greenwich Palace, London. His parents, King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, had six children, but four survived: Henry himself, Arthur, Margaret and Mary. Athletic developed, the boy was keenly interested in art, music and culture in general, and even wrote. He was witty, with the help of private teachers and educators he received a good education.
A lover of gambling and knightly tournaments, he held countless feasts and balls. His father saw Arthur as king, and Henry was preparing for a church career. Henry's fate might have turned out differently, but in fact he inherited a kingdom that had just ended the Wars of the Roses.
Coronation
In 1502, Prince Arthur married the Spanish Infanta Catherine of Aragon. Without having lived in marriage for four months, Arthur died at the age of 16, leaving the throne to the ten-year-old Henry.
In 1509, 17-year-old Henry VIII ascended the throne. He was good-natured, but soon got a taste of power, indulging his every desire. Two days after his coronation, he arrested two of his father's courtiers and quickly executed them.
The English Reformation and the role of Henry VIII in its formation
When Henry realized that Queen Catherine was unable to bear him an heir, he attempted to divorce her. He asked for permission from Pope Julius II, but according to church canons, if the pope did not find reasons not to enter into this marriage, then now he could not give permission for a divorce.
Henry convened Parliament and brought up the issue of annulment for discussion. The officials who gathered at the meeting were ready to reform the church, but could not agree on exactly how it would look like. Time passed, but things did not move. Then the king decided to accuse all the English clergy of encroaching on royal power.
In 1534 the English Church separated from the Roman Catholic Church. The King was declared "the only Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England".
These macro-reforms have changed everything beyond recognition. Henry ordered the clergy to preach superstition, miracles, and pilgrimages, and to remove almost all candles from religious observances. His 1545 catechism abolished the saints.
Completely separated from the pope, the Anglican Church was located, not Rome. From 1536 to 1537, the great northern uprising, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace, began, during which 30,000 people rebelled against the reforms.
This was the only serious threat to Henry's authority as a monarch. The leader of the rebellion, Robert Aske, and 200 others were executed. When John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and Henry's former Lord Chancellor, refused to swear an oath to the king, they were sentenced to death.
The result of these reforms was the loss of power in the territory of England by the pope, and the population got the opportunity to read the Bible in their own language.
But Henry achieved his main goal - he divorced Catherine of Aragon and now he could make decisions independently of Rome.
Catherine of Aragon
They were married at Westminster Abbey. Henry VIII's father wanted to confirm his family's union with Spain, so Henry had to agree to this marriage. The families asked Pope Julius II to grant permission for their marriage, which was concluded 8 years later when Henry VII died in 1509.
After two stillborn children - a girl and a boy - Catherine gave birth to a daughter, Maria. Her fourth pregnancy ended in the death of another girl. Henry demanded an heir from her. Realizing that there was no more hope for the birth of a son, he decided to divorce. The discussion, during which Catherine fought to maintain her position and that of her daughter, lasted six years.
Ann Bolein
Mary Boleyn introduced the King to her 25-year-old sister Anne. Heinrich and Anna began to secretly meet. Catherine was 42 years old, and the hope that she would conceive a child evaporated, so Heinrich began to look for a woman who would give birth to his son, and for this he needed to officially become single.
Henry decided to defy the pope's permission, and in January 1533 he secretly remarried. Soon Anna became pregnant and gave birth to a girl whom she named Elizabeth. Meanwhile, the new Archbishop of Canterbury announced that the king's first marriage was annulled by a court decision. However, the new queen was also unable to give birth to a living heir. She miscarried twice and the king switched to Jane Seymour. Now it was necessary to get rid of the second wife. They fabricated a complicated story, accusing her of adultery, incestuous relationships and attempted murder of her husband.
She soon appeared before the court. Anna, regal and calm, denied all accusations against her. Four days later, the marriage was declared invalid and annulled. Anne Boleyn was then taken to Tower Green, where she was beheaded on May 19, 1536.
Jane Seymour
11 days after the execution of Anna, Henry VIII officially married for the third time. However, Jane never went through the coronation ceremony. In October 1537, she gave birth to the king's long-awaited son, Edward. Jane died nine days later from an infection. Since she is Henry's only wife to have given birth to a son, he considered her his only "real" wife. The people and the king mourned her for a long time.
Anna Klevskaya
Three years after Jane Seymour's death, Henry was ready to remarry, as having only one son was risky. He began to look for a suitable bride. He was offered Anna, the sister of the German Duke of Cleves. The German painter Hans Holbein the Younger, who served as the king's official painter, was sent to paint her portrait. The king liked the portrait, but when Anna arrived at the court, Henry was furious - she turned out to be not as pretty as she was described to him, and did not look like a portrait at all. However, they married in January 1540, but Henry divorced her six months later. She received the title of "king's sister" and lived all her life in the castle given to her.
Catherine Howard
Within weeks of his divorce from Anna of Cleves, on July 28, 1540, Henry married Catherine Howard. She was a cousin of his second wife Anna. The king was 49 years old, Catherine 19, they were happy. By this time, Heinrich was very stout, his leg wound festered and did not heal, and his new wife gave him life. He generously endowed her.
But here, too, happiness did not last long. It turned out that Catherine was more interesting in the company of her peers, and this also extended to her bedroom. After an investigation, she was found guilty of adultery. On February 13, 1542, she repeated the fate of Anne Boleyn on Tower Green.
Catherine Parr
Independent and educated, twice a widow, Catherine Parr was Henry's sixth wife. Their marriage took place in 1543. Her mother, Lady Maud Green, named her daughter after Queen Catherine of Aragon. The king, already seriously ill, still hoped for the birth of an heir, but their marriage remained childless. Catherine survived the king by only a year. 
Children of King Henry VIII
The fate of the three surviving children turned out to be very different.
Mary Tudor
Henry's first child to survive infancy. Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, was born on February 18, 1516. Following her half-brother Edward in 1553, Mary ascended the throne and ruled until 1558, until her death.
Elizabeth
On September 7, 1533, the second daughter, Elizabeth, was born. Although she was born a princess, Henry declared her illegitimate, as she was the daughter of Anne Boleyn. After the death of Mary Tudor, she ascended the throne under the name of Elizabeth I and remained there until 1603.
Edward
The only son of Henry VIII, born to his third wife, Jane. In 1547, 10-year-old Edward (b. 12 October 1537) assumed the throne under the name Edward VI after the death of his father and died in 1553.
Death of Henry VIII
Toward the end of his life, Heinrich suffered from gout. His skin was covered with festering abscesses, and an unhealed wound, which he received as a result of an accident, opened on his leg. In addition, he was obese and could not move without assistance, not to mention physical exercises and training, which he loved very much in his youth. He continued to overeat excessively, accustomed to eating a lot of fatty meat, possibly due to stress. There is speculation that, in addition, he had type II diabetes. On January 28, 1547, Henry VIII died at the age of 55. 
He is buried in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle next to Jane.
Tudor and his 6 wives for almost 550 years has been of interest not only to historians, but also to people of art. And this is not surprising, since even without any adjustments it is in no way inferior to the plots of the most popular soap operas.
Many books have been written and dozens of films have been made on the topic of the monarch's numerous marriages. However, not all of them are true, so it will certainly be interesting for you to read documented facts that shed light on the relationship between Henry VIII Tudor, his wives and heirs, and why the king could not find a woman who could make him become an exemplary family man.
First marriage
Henry VIII ascended the English throne after the death of his father at the age of 17. He entered into his first marriage shortly before that. Moreover, this marriage was not only not out of love, but even its expediency from the point of view of strengthening England's position in Europe was questionable both by the father of the young king and his advisers.
The wife of the future king was Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish infanta, who, moreover, was the widow of Henry's older brother, Arthur. She was older than her husband and their marriage was opposed by the Catholic Church, which considers them close relatives. In order to get permission from the pope, Catherine even had to take an oath that she, despite being married to the Prince of Wales, remained a virgin. Based on these testimonies, the Spanish Infanta's first matrimonial union was declared invalid.
Absence of an heir
Having become king, young Henry completely obeyed his wife in matters foreign policy. At the same time, the queen was most concerned about the interests of her native Spain. At the same time, everyone expected the birth of an heir from Catherine, but she only gave birth to dead children, or they died immediately after birth.
Finally, in 1516, 7 years after the wedding, the queen became the mother of a healthy girl, who was named Mary. According to the marriage contract of Catherine and Henry, in the absence of a couple of sons, the throne was to pass to the daughter. However, the king was afraid even of the thought that a woman would be on the throne of England. He continued to hope that Catherine would give him a son, but the next and last pregnancy of the queen ended in the birth of another dead boy, which made the threat of a dynastic crisis real.
Extramarital affairs
While the queen unsuccessfully tried to become the mother of the heir to the throne and was constantly pregnant or moving away from a difficult birth, Henry sought solace on the side. His most famous mistresses at that time were Bessie Blount, who gave birth to the king's son Fitzroy, and
Interestingly, in 1925, the first boy was given the title of Duke of Richmond and His Majesty did not even hide that he was the father of this child, while he did not recognize children from his second mistress, although everyone was sure that they were not born without his participation.
Ann Bolein
According to historians, all the wives of Henry 8 Tudor loved this extraordinary person to one degree or another. However, he did not idolize any of them, and subsequently hated them as much as Anne Boleyn.
The girl was the younger sister of his mistress Maria, but she was distinguished by exceptional ambition. She received an excellent education in Brussels and Paris and shone at court. Noticing signs of attention from the king, she met with him with pleasure for intellectual conversations, but was in no hurry to accept his advances.
Perhaps the reason for her impregnability was the fate of her sister, who became Henry's concubine, and then was rejected and forgotten by him. The refusal only kindled the king's love ardor. To achieve her favor, he offered Anna the role of the wife of Henry 8 Tudor, although he already had a legal wife.
Divorce
To receive the status of the wife of Henry 8 Tudor was an honor for any girl, and Anna could not help but appreciate the sacrifice that Henry decided to make for her. She encouraged him in every possible way and set him against the pope, who refused to divorce the king and Catherine of Aragon.
As a result of long negotiations with the pontiff, the latter agreed to an investigation. The judges had to decide on the annulment of the marriage of Henry VIII with the Spanish infanta, as sinful, if it is proved that he was concluded between relatives.
The trial did not produce results, so the angry king and his advisers found a way out: Parliament passed laws according to which the power of the pope no longer extended to the territory of England. Moreover, in 1534 the entire Catholic world shuddered when they learned that the Act of Supremacy had been signed in London. In this document, Henry VIII was proclaimed the head of the English church, which meant a complete break with Rome.
Second marriage
Anna Klevskaya
Although England already had an heir to the throne, after the death of Joan Seymour, ambassadors were sent to many European capitals. They were ordered to find candidates for the role of the wife of Henry 8 Tudor. Portraits of girls from royal families had to be brought to London so that the king would choose his bride. As it turned out, no one was eager to give their daughter as a wife to a man who had two annulled marriages behind him and who executed the mother of his child.
With great difficulty, the ambassadors managed to persuade Duke Wilhelm of Cleves to marry his sister Anna to Heinrich. At the end of 1539, the princess arrived in Calais, where she met her fiancé. The king was disappointed, as the bride did not look at all like the girl from the portrait that had been sent to him. He returned to London in a rage and unleashed his anger on the courtiers, who betrothed him a "Flemish mare."
Nevertheless, he had to marry, but he declared publicly that he did not touch his wife. Despite this, Anna of Cleves won universal love at court and became a good stepmother for the three children of the king. Henry soon decided to cancel the barque. The queen did not resist, especially since her husband invited her to live in the palace as his "beloved sister".
Catherine Howard
By 1540, King Henry VIII Tudor of England and his wives were all over Europe. He could no longer hope to find a wife among the girls from the most august families, so he turned his eyes to the ladies-in-waiting of the fourth wife. Among them, he especially liked whom he married.
The marriage at first seemed happy, and Henry seemed to be 20 years younger. But the young wife was an anemone, and soon young people appeared in her retinue, with whom she was friendly before she became queen. Upon learning of his wife's infidelity, Henry ordered her to be executed in front of the crowd.
Catherine Parr
This woman happened to write the last chapter of the novel "Henry VIII and his six wives." At the time when the king proposed to her, she had already become a widow twice, and she was 31 years old. The king was over 50, and he told Lady Catherine that he hoped that she would be his comfort in old age. The new wife of Heinrich became friends with her husband's daughter Elizabeth and took up the education of his son Edward. The marriage lasted 4 years and ended with the death of the monarch.
Now you know some Interesting Facts about events in which the main characters were the English king Henry VIII and his six wives. Fortunately, today everyone is free to marry as many times as they wish, and for this it is not at all necessary to cut off heads or plunge the whole country into the abyss of religious and civil wars.
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Henry VIII has long attracted the attention of historians. This is due to his difficult life with six women who at one time or another were his queens.
Henry VIII is very well researched by historians. The story of Henry VIII is fascinating because he was married six times in his life. The following are short biographies all six of his wives.
1. Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon was a Spanish princess, the daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. Initially, she was married to Henry's brother Arthur, who died almost immediately after the wedding, leaving Henry as heir to the English throne. To maintain a friendly alliance with Spain, Henry married Catherine. His father, Henry VII, on the eve of his death, managed to quickly organize this marriage, which was concluded after his death, in 1509. Henry VIII was not yet eighteen years old, while Catherine was twenty-three years old.
Although Catherine was married to Henry for about 20 years, she gave birth to only one girl, Mary, who later became known as Bloody Mary because of the many Protestants she killed during her reign. However, Catherine had many miscarriages and stillborn children over the years. Since Henry VIII needed a son to succeed him, and his advisors believed that Catherine was past the age of childbearing, Henry tried to convince her to become a nun. Catherine refused, and after two years of arguing with the Pope about a divorce, in 1532 Henry appointed Thomas Cranmer as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, who declared their marriage annulled. Catherine was excommunicated from the court, while depriving her of her daughter. She is said to have died of a broken heart four years later.
Disagreements with the Pope had other important consequences. The new Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, was an ardent supporter of Protestantism. In 1534, the Act of Supremacy was passed by Parliament, proclaiming the king head of the English Church. The Pope no longer had any power in England. Monasteries were closed and church lands confiscated. The Bible became available in the native English language.
2. Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn was English noble birth. She spent some time in France and returned to England in the 1520s. She was the maid of honor of Catherine of Aragon and flatly refused to become another mistress of Henry (as, for example, her sister Maria). She had a very strong character, and, in the end, persuaded Henry to divorce Catherine and marry her, which happened in 1533.
Shortly after they married, Anne gave birth to Elizabeth (later to become Queen Elizabeth I). After the birth of their second daughter, their relationship with Heinrich began to deteriorate, and after she gave birth to his dead son, Heinrich became convinced that because of his divorce from Catherine, God considered this marriage of his wrong, and cursed him, not giving him son.
Henry accused Anna of high treason (of adultery with some courtiers and even with her own brother). False accusations were made against her, after which she was imprisoned in the Tower of London, and in 1536 she was executed by the sword.
3. Jane Seymour
Many historians believe that Jane was Henry's favorite wife. She bore him the desired male heir (who later became King Edward VI), and in the end, bequeathed to be buried next to her. She was also of noble birth and one of Anne Boleyn's ladies-in-waiting. He married Jane Seymour eleven days after Anne Boleyn's execution. Unlike Anna, she was very quiet, calm and gentle.
In 1537, at Hampton Court, Jane gave birth to an heir son. Unfortunately, twelve days later she died due to an unsuccessful delivery. Henry's heart was broken, and Jane Seymour was buried at Windsor Castle, where Henry later joined her.
4. Anna Klevskaya
Henry was still in mourning for Jane Seymour when Thomas Cromwell, his prime minister, persuaded him to marry Anne of Cleves, which would give him an alliance with Germany, since Anne's father was the Duke of Cleves. Since Henry did not want to marry an ugly woman, he sent the painter Holbein the Younger to the court of the duke to paint her portrait so that Henry could at least see what she looked like. It was this portrait that convinced Henry VIII to marry her. However, upon Anna's arrival in England, Henry saw how different she was from the portrait. He found her ugly and insulted her by saying that she looked like a horse! ( “a great Flanders mare” - a hefty Flemish mare).
Heinrich was very unhappy with her and quickly arranged for a divorce, to which they both amicably agreed. Their marriage lasted only six months, but Anna of Cleves still remained at court as the “King’s sister,” and died in her bed in 1557, outliving Henry by ten years.
5. Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard was an Englishwoman born into a noble family and was the first cousin of Anne Boleyn. She was driven to this marriage by her own ambitions, as well as the pressure of her influential family. When she, in 1540, married Henry, she was only nineteen years old, while he was already about fifty. King Henry VIII, no longer a young man, was rather obese, and could not heal from an old wound in his leg that caused him pain - in this state he could hardly be a romantic ideal for a young woman. They say that during the time that Henry spent with Catherine, he seemed to rejuvenate, and he called her his “rose without thorns”.
However, soon Catherine began to play tricks with young courtiers and, in the end, was caught and put on trial for treason. In 1542, she was beheaded with an ax in Tower Meadow (Tower Green - the territory of the Tower of London).
6. Catherine Parr
Catherine was a well-educated lady and an excellent writer, with a sharp mind and strong morals. Henry married Catherine in 1543 because he needed someone to take care of him in his old age. She became Henry's faithful companion and nanny. She also reunited Henry with his three children, who all returned to court.
After Henry's death (1547), she married Jane Seymour's brother Thomas, and died in 1548. Catherine Parr was a queen who survived all the court intrigues, the bad mood of the king and the general harshness of court life.
(Eng. Henry VIII; June 28, 1491, Greenwich - January 28, 1547, London) - King of England from April 22, 1509, son and heir of King Henry VII, the second English monarch from the Tudor dynasty. With the consent of the Roman Catholic Church, the English kings were also called "Lords of Ireland", but in 1541, at the request of Henry VIII, who was excommunicated from the Catholic Church, the Irish Parliament gave him the title "King of Ireland".
Henry VIII (Henry VIII). Hans Holbein (Hans Holbein the Younger)
Henry VIII was married six times.
His wives, each of whom was backed by a certain political or religious faction, were sometimes forced to make changes in their political or religious views.
Henry VIII. Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1536-37 
Catherine of Aragon (Spanish Catalina de Aragón y Castilla; Catalina de Trastámara y Trastámara, English Catherine of Aragon, also spelled Katherine or Katharine; December 16, 1485 - January 7, 1536) was the youngest daughter of the founders of the Spanish state, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile , first wife of King Henry VIII of England.
Portrait of his first wife Catherine of Aragon - cute female face, rather strong-willed, straight parting of hair hidden under a light brown cap; downcast eyes.
Brown dress, matching decoration - beads around the neck.
Catherine of Aragon, Dowager Princess of Wales. Portrait by Michel Sittow, 1503 
Catherine of Aragon arrived in England in 1501. She was 16 years old, and she was to become the wife of Crown Prince Arthur - the son of King Henry VII. Thus, the king wanted to protect himself from France and raise the authority of England among European states.
Arthur at the time of marriage was only 14 years old. He was a sickly, consumptive youth. And a year after the wedding, he died without leaving an heir.
Catherine remained in England as a young widow, but in fact as a hostage, because by that moment her father had not yet managed to pay her dowry in full, and besides, it seems that he was not going to pay. She lived in such uncertainty for the next eight years.
She saw salvation in renunciation of the worldly bustle and turning to God (she had nothing but the title of dowager princess, a small allowance and a retinue exclusively consisting of Spanish nobles who came with her. She was a burden both for King Henry VII of England and for her father, King Ferdinand.Her mother, the brave Queen Isabella, has died.
By the age of twenty, she indulged in severe asceticism - constant fasting and masses. One of the courtiers, fearing for her life, wrote to the Pope. And an order immediately came from him: to stop self-torture, since it could be life-threatening.
In fact, the same state considerations as during the marriage of Catherine and Arthur contributed to the marriage of Henry, the youngest son of the King of England, and now the heir, to Catherine, who was six years older than the groom. Negotiations regarding their marriage began during the life of Henry VII and continued after his death. Catherine became Queen of England two months after Henry VIII's accession to the throne. However, before the wedding, Henry had to get permission from the Pope - Julius. Church law forbade such marriages, but the Pope gave the English king special permission, largely because Catherine and Arthur never actually became husband and wife.
Official portrait of Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England. Unknown artist, ca. 1525 
Due to Catherine's lack of surviving sons, Henry insisted, after 24 years of marriage, on a divorce (more precisely, annulment) in 1533. He never received the consent of either the Pope or Catherine. It was decided that from that moment on, the power of the Pope did not extend to England. Henry declared himself the head of the Church (since 1534), and the marriage with Catherine was invalid.
This step was one of the causes of Henry's conflict with the Pope, the break with the Roman Catholic Church and the reformation in England.
Mary I Tudor (1516-1558) - Queen of England from 1553, the eldest daughter of Henry VIII from his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Also known as Bloody Mary (or Bloody Mary, English Bloody Mary), Catholic Mary.
Anthony Mor. Mary I of England 
Master John. Portrait of Mary I, 1544 
In May 1533, Henry married Anne Boleyn (eng. Anne Boleyn, also spelling Bullen was used; c. 1507 - May 19, 1536, London) - the second wife (from January 25, 1533 until execution) of King Henry VIII of England. Mother of Elizabeth I.
Portrait of Anne Boleyn. Author unknown, 1534 
Anne Boleyn was Henry's unapproachable lover for a long time, refusing to become his mistress. She was crowned on June 1, 1533, and in September of the same year she gave birth to his daughter Elizabeth, instead of the son expected by the king.
Elizabeth I (September 7, 1533 - March 24, 1603), Queen Bess - Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from November 17, 1558, the last of the Tudor dynasty. She succeeded to the throne after the death of her sister, Queen Mary I.
William Scrots. Elizabeth I as a Princess (Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn, future Queen Elizabeth I) 
The reign of Elizabeth is sometimes called the "golden age of England", both in connection with the flourishing of culture (the so-called "Elizabethians": Shakespeare, Marlowe, Bacon, etc.), and with the increased importance of England on the world stage (the defeat of the Invincible Armada, Drake, Reilly, East India Company).
Portrait of Elizabeth I of England, c. 1575. Author unknown 
Anne Boleyn's subsequent pregnancies ended unsuccessfully. Soon Anna lost her husband's love, was accused of adultery and beheaded in the Tower in May 1536.
Anne Boleyn. Portrait by an unknown artist, ca. 1533-36 
Love letter from Henry VIII to his future second wife, Anne Boleyn, in French, believed to be January 1528.
This letter was kept in the Vatican for five centuries, it was first exhibited in the British Library in London.
"From now on, my heart will belong only to you."
“The expression of your affection for me is so strong, and the beautiful words of your message are so cordial that I am simply obliged to respect, love and serve you forever,” the king writes. “For my part, I am ready, if possible, to surpass you in loyalty and desire please you."
The letter ends with the signature: "G. loves A.B." and
the initials of the beloved enclosed in a heart.
Jane Seymour (c. 1508 - 1537). She was a lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn. Heinrich married her a week after the execution of his previous wife. She died a few days later of childbed fever. The mother of Henry's only surviving son, Edward VI (Eng. Edward VI, October 12, 1537 - July 6, 1553) - King of England and Ireland from January 28, 1547). In honor of the birth of the prince, an amnesty was declared for thieves and pickpockets, the cannons in the Tower fired two thousand volleys.
Portrait of Jane Seymour by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1536-37 
Portrait of Edward VI. Works by Hans Eworth, 1546 
Anna of Cleves (1515-1557). Daughter of Johann III of Cleves, sister of the reigning Duke of Cleves. Marriage with her was one of the ways to seal the alliance of Henry, Francis I and the German Protestant princes. As a prerequisite for marriage, Heinrich wished to see the portrait of the bride, for which Hans Holbein Jr. was sent to Kleve. Heinrich liked the portrait, the engagement took place in absentia. But the bride who arrived in England (unlike her portrait) categorically did not like Henry. Although the marriage was concluded in January 1540, Henry immediately began to look for a way to get rid of his unloved wife. As a result, already in June 1540, the marriage was annulled; the reason was the pre-existing engagement of Anna with the Duke of Lorraine. In addition, Heinrich stated that the actual marriage relationship between him and Anna did not work out. Anna remained in England as "the king's sister" and survived both Henry and all his other wives. This marriage was arranged by Thomas Cromwell, for which he lost his head.
Anna Klevskaya. Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1539 
Anna Klevskaya. Portrait by Bartholomeus Brain the Elder, early 1540s 
Catherine Howard Niece of the mighty Duke of Norfolk, cousin of Anne Boleyn. Henry married her in July 1540 out of passionate love. It soon became clear that Catherine had a lover before marriage (Francis Derem) and was cheating on Heinrich with Thomas Culpepper. The guilty were executed, after which, on February 13, 1542, the queen herself ascended the scaffold.
Portrait of Catherine Howard. Hans Holbein the Younger 
Catherine Parr (eng. Catherine Parr, born c. 1512 - d. September 5, 1548) - the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII of England. Of all the queens of England, she was in the largest number of marriages - in addition to Henry, she had three more husbands). By the time of her marriage to Henry (1543), she had already been widowed twice. She was a staunch Protestant and did a lot for Heinrich's new turn to Protestantism. After Henry's death, she married Thomas Seymour, brother of Jane Seymour.
Portrait of Catherine Parr (Catherine Parr). Master John, ca. 1545. National Portrait Gallery in London 
Portrait of Catherine Parr. William Scrots, ca. 1545 
Henry XVIII is called the most famous king of England. True, it was not military exploits or progressive reforms that brought him popularity, but a break with the papacy and a peculiar attitude towards marriage. The monarch was married 6 times. English schoolchildren memorize the fate of his wives with the help of a counting rhyme: "divorced - executed - died - divorced - executed - survived." This king never denied himself the pleasure of "marrying for love" and lived only by his own rules.
It should be noted that young Heinrich, a tall red-haired handsome man who was fond of physical exercises, especially archery, was really a conqueror female hearts. He became king in 1509, inheriting the throne at the age of 17 after his older brother died early. But along with the throne, he had, as they said in one beautiful cartoon, "marries his old wife" Catherine of Aragon. True, for this, the girl took an official oath that, despite her marriage, she remained a virgin - this was the only way to get consent to this marriage from the head of the Catholic Church. 
Young Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII in their youth, in the year of accession to the throne, the First wife "lasted" the longest. The couple lived together for about 15 years, after which the marriage essentially turned into a fiction, but formally lasted another 10 years. The main problem, as in many royal families, was the issue of the birth of an heir. Catherine had several children over the years, but all the babies died. Only one daughter Maria survived, but the king could not even think of transferring the throne to a woman. A dynastic crisis was brewing, and at the same time the new love king. No, of course, he had never denied himself pleasure before and constantly had mistresses. Heinrich even recognized one son from such a relationship, but with Anna Boleyn everything was different.
Anne Boleyn, portrait by an unknown artist, c. 1533-1536 Anne was the younger sister of the former royal mistress Mary Boleyn. Probably, her unfortunate fate led Anna to the idea of how to interest the king for a long time. She simply refused to enter into a sinful relationship with him. Probably, for a noble seducer, this was a novelty, so the girl really tied the thoughts and feelings of Henry VIII very tightly to herself. For her sake, he began the divorce procedure, which at that time, of course, was almost impossible. The formal occasion for it was chosen with true royal disdain. The English monarch declared that marriage with ex-wife brother should be considered invalid, since he cannot marry his sister. Pope Clement VII, however, did not forget how his predecessor was proven otherwise 20 years ago, and refused to annul this union. However, this persistence cost the Roman Catholic Church dearly. As a result, with the support of Parliament, the Church of England separated from the papal throne, and the new Archbishop of Canterbury did everything that the enamored king needed - recognized the former marriage as invalid and blessed the new one. So Anne Boleyn became the second wife of Henry VIII and the creation of the Anglican Church began. The new wife was crowned in 1533, and in the same year she gave birth to the king's long-awaited child ... who again turned out to be a girl. By the way, it was this offspring who later became the famous Virgin Queen Elizabeth I. Anna's subsequent children were born dead, and clouds of royal discontent began to thicken over her. According to some reports, the last child was also born a freak, after which the queen was accused of witchcraft and treason. She ended her life on the block in 1536. In memory of this strange and tragic love, we are left with the most beautiful ballad Greensleeves (Green Sleeves). According to legend, Henry VIII himself composed it for Anne Boleyn (in addition to physical exercises, the king was also fond of fine arts). Despite the fact that there is no direct evidence of high authorship, the song was undoubtedly written at the English court during this period of time. The next wife of Henry VIII was the former lady-in-waiting of Anne Boleyn Jane Seymour. She finally managed to give birth to a viable male heir to the king. True, she herself did not survive childbirth.
Jane Seymour, portrait by Hans Holbein (junior) In the bloody king's later life story, modern psychologists find signs of several mental illnesses. He was plagued by paranoia, mental retardation, and emotional instability. All this resulted in a real nightmare for the subjects. It is believed that this monarch put to death more people during his reign than anyone before him or since. The deterioration in health that replaced physical perfection also did not add to the aging king Have a good mood. He injured his leg while hunting, and the wound, probably due to infection, became a non-healing rotting ulcer. A completely wild diet (for some reason, Heinrich ate practically only fatty meat) and immobility caused gout and terrible obesity. By the end of his life, with a height of about 185 cm, he weighed 180 kg. All this led to the fact that Henry VIII died at the age of 55, in a terrible state. However, over the last 10 years of his life, he still managed to marry three times. Deciding that he still needed a worthy wife, the English king began to send messengers to different countries. However, the monarchs were understandably skeptical about this flattering proposal. The bride was finally found in Germany. Anna of Cleves was the daughter of one of the German dukes. Her portrait by Hans Goldbein really liked Heinrich, but the original was completely disappointing. And although the marriage was concluded in 1540, after half a year the king simply canceled it (over time, he was more and more relaxed about such procedures). This time, Heinrich declared that he could not be the spouse of a previously engaged woman and he did not start a marriage relationship with her. It can be said that Anna of Cleves was more fortunate than other wives, since she remained in England as the "King's sister". In this case, Henry's first adviser Thomas Cromwell lost his head, who slipped such an unattractive wife to the king. 
Anna of Cleves, portrait by Hans Holbein (younger) And the king still wanted love. Now he found her in Anne Boleyn's cousin Catherine Howard. The almost 30-year age difference, of course, was not an obstacle, and for two years the young woman became queen. She was killed by connections on the side. It turned out that she had lovers both before marriage and after ... Her life also ended on the chopping block in the Tower 
Catherine Howard The last wife, who survived the restless king, was distinguished by prudence and a calm character. It is probably still possible to say that Henry VIII finally found the woman of his dreams, since this marriage of his can be considered quite successful. Catherine Parr was at that time already over 30 years old, and she herself survived two husbands. The new queen really tried to create good family relationships. She gradually won the trust of his children and gave attention to the ailing king. Despite this, she might also have become a victim of palace intrigues and Henry's developing paranoia. It is known that several times she was practically on the verge of death. However, the death of Henry VIII put an end to this crazy race. 
Catherine Parr and Henry VIII
