So King Henry VIII married Anne of Cleves but divorced her only after a year to marry Catherine Howard. Jane Seymour gave him a son (finally!) who was named Edward. She was beheaded, dying with all the other innocent victims of Henry VIII sexual adventures. To get rid of Anne Boleyn, he manufactured false evidences of Anne’s alleged infidelities and had her sentenced to death together with her own brother (whom she also allegedly fucked). Henry thereafter got tired of her and his amorous eyes now rested upon another lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour. Her pregnancies were all unsuccessful except for one, but she had a daughter, not a son, who was named Elizabeth. Henry had him imprisoned and later beheaded.Īnne Boleyn, however, failed to give the king a son. Many also opposed the divorce decreed by the new Church of England and among those who denounced it was Henry VIII’s childhood friend and lifetime adviser Sir Thomas More (now a saint). The people considered Anne Boleyn close to a harlot who had bewitched the King. Henry VIII would none of this, however, so he proceeded to marry Anne and when the pope threatened to excommunicate him for this, Henry VIII initiated a break from Rome which led to the founding of the Protestant Church of England.Ĭatherine of Aragon was a well-loved queen. But the pope dithered and refused to give judgement for fear of offending Catherine’s nephew, the Emperor Charles who controlled most of Europe. So he sent emissaries to Rome to have papal dispensation by way of having his married to Catherine declared null and void so he could marry his new love. The trouble is, he couldn’t marry Anne because he was already married to Catherine of Aragon. The latter was not particularly pretty, pale with a pointed chin, but the King was smitten and wanted to have Anne Boleyn as his new queen. His wayward eyes fell on one of the ladies-in-waiting serving his wife named Anne Boleyn.

King Henry VIII, like all kings, wanted to have a son which Catherine of Aragon failed to give him. When Henry was 18, his father King Henry VII himself died, so he was crowned King Henry VIII and married his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon. When the child was 10, his older brother Arthur married Catherine of Aragon. In 1491 an English Prince was born to the first Tudor king, Henry VII.

Anne Boleyn and Me by Alison Prince