Who were the six wives of Henry VIII?
Henry VIII married six times. His wives were Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. Their fates are often remembered with the rhyme divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.
Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish princess, was married to Henry for more than 20 years. Henry wanted a male heir, and when the Pope refused to annul the marriage, he broke with the Catholic Church to divorce her.
Anne Boleyn, his second wife, was the mother of the future Elizabeth I. She was executed in 1536 on charges of adultery and treason, which most historians believe were false.
The later wives
Jane Seymour gave Henry his only legitimate son, the future Edward VI, but died shortly after childbirth in 1537.
Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves, a German princess, was annulled after six months. Catherine Howard, a young cousin of Anne Boleyn, was executed in 1542.
Catherine Parr, his sixth wife, outlived Henry, who died in 1547. She was a writer and helped reconcile Henry with his daughters.
The wives' stories have inspired books, films and the hit musical Six, which reimagines them as pop stars.