Henry VIII and his six sorry wives

Why did Henry VIII have six wives?

Monarchs in the Tudor times rarely married for love. Often they married to link up families to other rich and powerful families both from England and from other important countries.

Henry had six wives because….

He had the first wife because he was betrothed to her by his father.

He had the second wife because he fell in love and also needed a legitimate male heir.

He had the third wife because he still needed a male heir.

He had the fourth wife because of diplomatic reasons.

He had the fifth wife because he fell in love again.

He had the sixth wife because he was old and sick and needed a companion and nurse who wouldn’t give him too much trouble.

Henry’s main aim

Henry’s main aim was to make sure that the Tudors would keep on ruling England after he died. Henry believed that only a boy could inherit his kingdom. But his son ,Edward , ruled only for six years.

Who were the six wives?

One of the six wives was Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn was next, and after that went Jane Seymour, fourth was Anne of Cleves, fifth was Catherine Howard, and the last, final wife was Catherine Parr.