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Jun 28, 1491
Birth of Henry VIII
Born 28 June 1491 at Greenwich Palace, Henry Tudor was the third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later assumed the Kingship, of Ireland, and continued the nominal claim by English monarchs to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty, succeeding his father, Henry VII. (Text http://bit.ly/1qfgIrg / Picture: http://bit.ly/1G) -
Period: Jun 11, 1509 to May 23, 1533
Marriage with Catherine of Aragon (Divorced)
The first of Henry VIII's six wives, Katherine of Aragon (1485-1536) was a Spanish princess who was married to Henry for 18 years before he began divorce proceedings in his desperation to re-marry and produce a male heir. Katherine had been pregnant six times but only one daughter, Princess Mary, later Mary I, had survived. Dying in 1536, Katherine wrote to Henry: 'Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things. Farewell.' (Source: http://bit.ly/1GPssMa) -
Period: Jan 25, 1533 to May 19, 1536
Marriage with Anne Boleyn (Beheaded)
The second of Henry VIII's six wives, Anne Boleyn (c1501-1536) was married to the King for only three years from 1533-1536. Instead of the sought after male heir, Anne was pregnant with another princess, Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I). Anne was supported by religious reformers but was also hated by many at court. After a miscarriage, her fate was sealed and she was arrested (and later executed at the Tower of London) for adultery and incest. (Source: http://bit.ly/1GPssMa) -
Period: May 30, 1536 to Oct 24, 1537
Marriage with Jane Seymour (Died)
ane Seymour (c1509-1537) was the third of Henry VIII's six wives and the only wife to provide the King with the much longed for son and male heir. Having married Henry in May 1536, she gave birth to Prince Edward (later Edward VI) at Hampton Court Palace in 1537 but died soon afterwards. Henry had his son but grieved: 'Providence has mingled my joy with the bitterness of the death of her who brought me this happiness.' (Source: http://bit.ly/1GPssMa) -
Period: Jan 6, 1540 to Jul 9, 1540
Marriage with Anne of Cleves (Divorced)
Anne of Cleves (1515-1557) was the fourth of Henry VIII's six wives and at 24 was half Henry's age when they married in January 1540. Henry first saw Anne of Cleves in a painting by Hans Holbein but in the flesh, Henry found Anne unattractive and began pursuing one of her maids of honour, Catherine Howard. After six months the marriage was annulled yet Anne remained in England and on good terms with Henry VIII. (Source: http://bit.ly/1GPssMa) -
Period: Jul 28, 1540 to Feb 13, 1542
Marriage with Kathryn Howard (Executed)
Henry VIII's fifth wife was an alluring teenager named Catherine Howard (c1522-1542). Married three weeks after his second divorce, rumours of Catherine's past and present love affairs reached a furious Henry. She was arrested at Hampton Court Palace and later taken to the Tower of London where she was beheaded in February 1542, aged about 21. (Source: http://bit.ly/1GPssMa) -
Period: Jul 12, 1543 to Jan 28, 1547
Marriage with Katherine Parr (Widowed)
Kateryn Parr (1512-1548) was the last of Henry VIII's six wives. Intelligent and devout, Kateryn loved Thomas Seymour but Henry's proposal could not be refused. She and Henry VIII married at Hampton Court Palace in July 1543. He was 52, she was 31. After the King's death in 1547, Kateryn was free to marry Seymour but she died 15 months later, aged 36, having given birth to their daughter. (Source: http://bit.ly/1GPssMa) -
Jan 28, 1547
Death of Henry VIII
Henry's obesity hastened his death at the age of 55, which occurred on 28 January 1547 in the Palace of Whitehall, on what would have been his father's 90th birthday. He allegedly uttered his last words: "Monks! Monks! Monks!" perhaps in reference to the monks he caused to be evicted during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. (Text: http://bit.ly/1qfgIrg / Picture: http://bit.ly/1D8YtaW)
