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See portraits of the six women in Henry's life.
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Meet the women in Henry's life
Divorced, Beheaded, Died; Divorced, Beheaded, Survived.
Portrait of Kateryn Parr painted by an unknown artist, possibly a follower of Hans Eworth, in the 16th century.
Oil on panel. Collection of Appleby Castle.
© Philip Mould Ltd
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Katherine of Aragon
Born and raised to be a queen by the formidable Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, Katherine of Aragon had a very strong sense of responsibility and duty. Devoted, loved and admired, Katherine was more than just the First Wife. Rejected by Henry after 20 years, she still never stopped calling herself Queen Katherine.
Portrait, by an unknown artist in the 1530s.
Oil on panel. Collection of Appleby Castle.
© Philip Mould Ltd
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Anne Boleyn
Still today, nearly 500 years after her death, Anne Boleyn and her tragic rise and fall captivates and intrigues us. Astute enough to hold out for seven years before giving in to Henry's advances, her time as wife and queen lasted just three years. Passion, arguments, accusations of adultery and witchcraft, and still no heir…
Portrait, by an unknown artist in the 16th century.
Oil on panel. Private collection.
© Private Collection
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Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour, attendant to Anne Boleyn, caught Henry's eye as his marriage to Anne soured. He married Jane only 11 days after Anne's execution. Jane achieved more than any other wife by giving Henry his ultimate prize - a son. Henry and the nation triumphed, but Jane made the ultimate sacrifice - she died 12 days later at Hampton Court Palace.
Portrait painted in about 1536, by an artist from the ‘Cast Shadow Workshop’.
Oil on panel. Collection of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
©The Society of Antiquaries of London / Bridgeman Art Library
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Anne of Cleves
Henry chose his fourth wife from a painting – a Tudor version of online dating! But Henry came to believe that Anne of Cleves might have been legally betrothed to someone else, and soon wanted a way out of the marriage. Anne, painfully aware of the terrible fate of her predecessors, was clever enough to take what was offered and retire gracefully.
Portrait, attributed to Barthel Bruyn, and painted in the 1530s.
Oil on panel. Collection of Trinity College, Cambridge.
© The Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge
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Catherine Howard
Henry's midlife crisis took him to the bed of flirty teenager Catherine Howard. Catherine was besotted with the idea of being queen, but not with the sick old man that Henry was fast becoming. She also had a past, and spent the two years of their marriage attempting to resist fresh temptations. She may not have succeeded. Like his revenge on her cousin Anne Boleyn, Henry would make another example of a wife who had made him look stupid.
Portrait, probably painted in the 17th century, after an original by Hans Holbein.
Oil on panel. Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 1119).
© Collection of the National Portrait Gallery
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Kateryn Parr
The queen that survived Henry’s last days. Stepmother and guide to his dysfunctional family with her own secret love story.
Intelligent, active, pious. Kateryn even became the first English queen to publish under her own name.
Portrait painted by an unknown artist, possibly a follower of Hans Eworth, in the 16th century.
Oil on panel. Collection of Appleby Castle.
© Philip Mould Ltd
