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The six wives of Henry VIII

Anne knew her situation was turning dire. She had failed twice now to produce the son she had promised when she had Henry uproot England's faith to marry her. At this point Henry was not only frustrated, he was mad and felt betrayed. As such, his eye yet again began to wander and this time it landed on one of Anne's attendants, Jane Seymour. Henry began to wonder how he could leave Anne yet not have to return to Catherine. Then Henry received word in January 1536 that Catherine had died. When Anne miscarried a boy shortly after that was the beginning of the end for Anne.

All of the enemies that Anne had made at court over the years began to plot against her to bring her down now that the king had his eye on a new woman. By May Anne, her friends and her brother were all arrested and placed in the Tower. Anne and her brother were charged with incest and adultery, while everyone imprisoned was charged with murder plots against the king. There was no defense in the trial because they were charged with treason, and as such were all sentenced to death. Henry had an expert swordsman come from Calais to deliver Anne to her death quickly rather than the dull blade of the axe, which sometimes required more than one strike. On May 19, 1536 Anne was beheaded.

Jane Seymour. Wasting no time, Henry and Jane were betrothed some 24 hours after Anne's execution, and married ten days later. Perhaps because Henry wanted Jane to prove herself and her ability to give him a son she was never crowned Queen. It would be several months after their wedding that Jane actually became pregnant. Once Jane was with child she was constantly doted on and given her heart's every desire by Henry. On October 12, 1537 the long sought after Prince Edward was born. Jane attended her son's christening on October 15th, however her health rapidly declined and on October 24th she had died. Jane was buried at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle where Henry had already planned to be buried himself. As such she is the only one of his wives that is actually buried with him.

Anne of Cleves. Henry spent two years after Jane's death without a new wife. In some respects it appeared that he really did mourn the death of Jane and needed time to heal. After the separation from Rome Henry had done some damage to his foreign affairs so his next match needed to be based on becoming allies with another country. Henry sent out artists to paint portraits of possible wives, including his most respected painter, Hans Holbein,


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The six wives of Henry VIII

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    Henry VIII (1491-1447). His portrait is one of the most recognized of the kings of England. His brutality during the Protestant

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The six wives of Henry VIII

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