Expert: Joseph Logue - 3/28/2007

Question
why did King Henry V111 kill all of his wives or divorce them i know the rhyme going divorce beheaded died divorced beheaded survived but why did he kill most of his wives?

Answer
Hello Nathan,

Short answer:  politics and pursuit of a son.

Longer answer:  Henry VIII married his first wife, Catherine of Aragon (who was the widow of Henry's elder brother Arthur), to cement an alliance with Spain.  Though Catherine had several pregnancies, only one child -- a girl named Princess Mary -- survived past infancy.  Henry and Catherine were married for many years and the King grew restive when it became obvious that Catherine would bear no more children.  In those days it was considered imperative that a son be born to a king, as there was no tradition of a daughter succeeding her father.

Henry divorced Catherine (which is another story altogether) and married Anne Boleyn.  Similarly, they had one surviving daughter, who was named Princess Elizabeth.  Evidence of Anne's unfaithfulness to Henry came to light; cheating on your husband who happened to be king was a treasonous offence and Anne was beheaded for it.  She may have been spared had she had a son, but by this time Henry found another young woman to help him produce an heir.

Jane Seymour did in fact have a son, named Prince Edward, but the birth was difficult, Jane never recovered from the ordeal, and the King mourned her to the end of his life.  (They are buried together.)

Henry's fourth wife, Anne, a daughter of the Duke of Cleves, was a political marriage dreamed up by Thomas Cromwell to help England's relations with Protestant powers in Europe.  The new Queen was not attractive and the King, though fond of her, would have nothing to do with her.  They were divorced after six months, but Henry did gave Anne of Cleves a graceful retirement and a generous pension.

The next wife, another Catherine, was the daughter of Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, the most powerful Catholic in the land.  Henry was as taken with Catherine's beauty as she was repulsed by his infirmities and his sagging body.  She too took lovers, one of whom was Thomas Culpepper, and both were soon beheaded.

The last wife, Katherine Parr, survived Henry; he married her most likely because at this stage he was used to having a wife and by all accounts she was a loving caregiver as his strength ebbed and his life ended.

Of his three children, his son came to the throne upon Henry's death as a boy king, Edward VI.  He was never in great health and died at the age of 16 in 1553.  Because Edward VI had no children, his elder half-sister came to the throne as Queen Mary I.  After all of Henry's efforts to secure a son, a woman had become queen in her own right after all.  Mary's reign was short and brutal as she sought to reestablish the primacy of the Catholic Church.  She died in 1558 and was succeeded by her younger half-sister, who was Queen Elizabeth I.  This queen had one of the most glorious reigns of all of Britain's monarchs.

So, Nathan, while Henry pursued a son at whatever personal cost, it is ironic that of only the six women who were or are queens in their own right, Henry was father to two of them.  (The others are Queens Mary II, Anne, Victoria, and Elizabeth II.)  

I hope this helps.  Thanks for visiting AllExperts.

Sincerely,

Joseph Logue