The Six Wives of Henry VIII The Tudors. Henry viii - a bloodstain in the history of England

One of the most prominent political figures of the 16th century is undoubtedly King Henry VIII of England (1491-1547). He ruled the country for almost 38 years. During this long period of time, he proved himself to be a despotic and cruel ruler. It was under him that the "law on vagrancy" was adopted. Ruined peasants who lost their property were simply hanged. It was much easier than helping people get back on their feet and regain their material wealth.

For the sake of his own interests, this king broke off all relations with the Roman Catholic Church. He declared himself head of the English Church. Monasteries were closed and their lands confiscated. Part went to the state, and the other was sold to the nobles. The Bible was recognized in the country only in English. But not only with these terrible sacrileges, from the point of view of Catholics, the ruler of Foggy Albion became famous.

He was extremely loving. Only official wives of His Majesty, there were 6. At the same time, two of them were beheaded. That is, the person did not know how to hold on to anything. He indulged his passions and desires, which he put above the interests of the state. His actions were often inconsistent and contradictory. The king did not put a penny on human life. Under him, people were executed for the slightest offense.

In 1577, the work of the English chronicler Raphael Holinshed was published under the title Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland. It said that during the reign of the mad king in England, 72 thousand people were executed. The tortures of the holy inquisition and the oprichnina pale before this figure. However, we will not take on faith everything that was written in the writings of people who lived in the 16th century. Many of them were biased towards the cruel ruler and could not objectively reflect the true state of affairs.

Brief biography of Henry VIII

The future King of England was born on June 28, 1491. Place of birth - Greenwich. At that time it was a suburb of the British capital. It was not yet the prime meridian. Such was the case in the 17th century, when the Greenwich Observatory was established in 1675.

The father of the newborn child was the English King Henry VII (1457-1509) - the founder of the Tudor dynasty. Mother was Elizabeth of York (1466-1503). In total, this woman gave birth to 7 children, but only 4 of them survived. Two daughters became queens, and a son became a king. There was also the eldest son Arthur (1486-1502), who was supposed to ascend the English throne. But he died at the age of 15 during the life of his father.

As a result of all this, Henry VIII became King of England in 1509. At that time, the young man was 17 years old. Therefore, in the conduct of public affairs, he was initially helped by more mature courtiers. In fact, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1473-1530) ruled the country from 1515 to 1529. The king obeyed his advice, although in some matters he showed independence. In 1529, he ordered the arrest of a powerful courtier. The time has come for independent government, and the "grey eminence" began to interfere.

From 1512, the young king waged war with France. The hostilities continued for many years. Only in 1525 was a peace treaty signed. But he did not bring victory to England, and the state treasury was practically empty. In the same years, the country was filled with ruined poor peasants as a result of the policy fencing.

In the country, arable land belonged to the nobles, the church and the king. Peasants were not owners. They paid rent and owned land. The rent was purely symbolic, and people quietly worked on the land, sowing and harvesting crops. But, starting from the 15th century, there has been an increase in prices for wool on the world market. It became profitable to keep sheep, and they needed pastures.

As a result, landowners began to raise rents. Peasants could no longer pay for land, as the sums of money were very high and exceeded the profit for the harvest. As a result, thousands of peasant families were ruined and turned into beggars. And the feudal lords fenced the liberated lands and turned them into pastures for sheep. This is where the term "enclosure" came from, and in 1516 Thomas More immortalized in his "Utopia" the famous phrase: "Sheep devour men."

Tramps were caught and hanged as if they themselves were to blame for their poverty. This showed the cruel nature of the king of England. And his folly resulted in a conflict with the Catholic Church. The reason was trivial. The king needed a divorce from his wife, as she could not give birth to a male heir.

This unfortunate woman was Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536). In 1510 she gave birth to a healthy boy, but he died before he was 2 months old. In 1516, the woman gave birth to a daughter, the future Queen Mary the Bloody. But England needed a boy heir. In 1518, Catherine gave birth again. But a girl was born who lived only a few hours. After that, the woman no longer tried to give birth.

In 1527 the king wished to divorce his wife. But the Catholic Church, which did not want to give a divorce, opposed. Then the crowned man declared himself head of the English church and divorced his wife. It happened in 1533 on May 23, and on May 28 the new wife of the king came out to the people. She became Anne Boleyn (1507-1536). She also gave birth to a daughter, and then she was accused of treason to her husband and cut off her head in May 1536.

After this sad event, the crowned lady married 4 more times. Third wife Jane Seymour (1508-1537) gave birth to an heir. They named him Edward. But the woman herself died of puerperal fever, and the boy left this world at the age of 15.

The last 10 years of the reign of Henry VIII were characterized by tyrannical forms of government. In 1542, the 5th wife of the king, Catherine Howard (1521-1542), was executed. Went to the chopping block and many noble nobles, members of the political opposition. The situation was aggravated by illness.

The crowned man became very fat. There is speculation that he suffered from gout. Old wounds received in previous years on the hunt began to make themselves felt. All this caused irritation and depression. Every day the king felt worse and worse. At the age of 55 he died. It happened on January 28, 1547 in London at the famous Whitehall Palace. This majestic building was considered the largest in Europe. Burned down in 1698. After the death of the ruler, troubled times began in the country, until the Virgin Queen Elizabeth I came to power in 1558.

Henry VIII Tudor 1491-1547

An outstanding statesman and warrior, patron of the arts and sciences, poet and musician? Or a woman-killer, a daring apostate, an executioner of the opposition, a vile and ruthless man, ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of his own interests and for the good of the dynasty? Opinions about Henry VIII are as contradictory as he himself was.

He was born at Greenwich on June 28, 1491. The youngest son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, he was not first in line for the throne. But his elder brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, died shortly before his 16th birthday, a few months after his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, who was a year older than him. So Henry became the heir to the throne, which he ascended in April 1509.

The young king, strong and energetic, rode and archery well, was known as a brilliant swordsman and wrestler.

His passion was hunting, he participated in jousting tournaments. At the same time, he had a lively mind, was interested in mathematics, knew Latin, spoke French, understood Italian and Spanish. In addition, he wrote poetry and was a talented musician: he played the lute and clavichord and even composed pieces of music. According to legend, the king wrote the famous song "Green Sleeves" for one of his wives - Anne Boleyn. He knew how to be witty and even rudely cheerful. It is not surprising that he was admired by both his subjects and foreigners. One Venetian wrote: "Love for the king embraces everyone who sees him, for this most noble man gives the impression of being not earthly, but descended from heaven." Erasmus of Rotterdam wrote about the king that he was “a comprehensively gifted genius. He is constantly learning; when he is free from public affairs, he devotes himself to reading or debating - which he loves - with admirable courtesy and unusual calmness. The appearance of Henry VIII was also evaluated positively. Here is one of the descriptions: “His Majesty is the most beautiful among all the powerful lords whom I have ever seen, above average height, with ideally shaped calves, his skin is white and without flaws, his hair is chestnut, smoothly combed and cut short in the French fashion, and round face - so gentle that it would suit a beautiful woman, his neck is long and powerful.

Portrait of Henry VIII. Hans Holbein the Younger, he. 1540, National Gallery of Ancient Art, Rome

Catherine of Aragon

Ann Bolein

Jane Seymour

However, so that the image of the monarch does not turn out to be too ideal, it should be added that towards the end of his life he stopped taking care of himself and became stout. He also had shortcomings. Henry VIII was careless, and his generosity sometimes turned into extravagance. He was gambler, liked to play cards, dice and bet with high stakes. Over time, suspiciousness and rigidity became more and more manifest in his character. He was merciless both to political opponents and to people close to him - especially to his wives ...

At first, Henry was reluctant to take over the administration of the state, shifting matters to trusted people. When Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was his chief adviser, diplomats said that the country was ruled by a cardinal, while the king was busy only with hunting, intrigues and entertainment. Over time, everything has changed.

Henry VIII quickly abandoned his father's cautious foreign policy by allying against King Louis XII of France and going on the offensive. Despite the victory won at Gingate together with Emperor Maximilian in 1513, as well as the capture of the cities of Tournai and Terouan, he did not achieve the desired success. Nevertheless, he proved himself to be an active and courageous ruler, who himself took part in sieges and battles.

Henry achieved success in Scotland, which traditionally sought help against England in alliance with France. The Scots got involved in a war with England with a deplorable outcome for themselves. At the Battle of Flodden on September 9, 1513, forces under the banner of the white and blue cross of St. Andrew were defeated by the troops of the regent Catherine of Aragon, and James IV, King of Scotland, fell along with the color of the Scottish aristocracy. England soon made peace with France, reinforced by the marriage of Louis XII of Valois to Henry's sister Mary.

Anna Klevskaya

Catherine Howard

Catherine Parr

The English monarch continued to actively intervene in conflicts on the continent, first directing his forces against King Francis I of France, and then taking on the role of arbiter in the French-Habsburg strife. Thus, he revived the policy of maintaining the balance of power on the continent, begun by his father. One of the brightest episodes of the foreign policy of the first period of the reign of Henry VIII was the meeting on the Field of Golden Brocade with Francis I in June 1520. Kings tried to dazzle each other with splendor. Many days of negotiations filled with gallantry alternated with feasts and tournaments in which both monarchs measured their strength. During the meeting, traditional hostility also made itself felt. The kings did not trust each other, and one Venetian diplomat heard one of the English aristocrats say that if there was even a drop of French blood in him, he would open his veins to get rid of it.

To evaluate Henry VIII, his marriage alliances and attitude towards wives, inextricably linked with politics, are important. With the first chosen one, the king married immediately after his accession to the throne. She was the widow of his older brother Catherine of Aragon, the youngest daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. Catherine's marriage to Arthur Tudor was concluded to secure an alliance with Spain. After the death of his son, Henry VII himself was ready to marry Catherine, but her mother did not agree to this. Then the idea arose of the union of a young widow with the brother of her late husband. After the engagement in 1503, the wedding was postponed several times: first due to the death of Queen Isabella, and then for various political reasons.

Wives of Henry VIII

The king broke up with Catherine of Aragon because she did not bear him a son. The second wife, Anne Boleyn, he sent to the scaffold. 11 days after her execution, he married Jane Seymour. It was she who in 1537 gave birth to the long-awaited heir Edward, but died 12 days later. The king wanted to marry again. After hesitation, he chose Anna of Kyiv. It was a political move that served anti-French intrigues. Before signing the marriage contract, Heinrich saw only an embellished portrait of the chosen one. Her true appearance disappointed him. He did not break the agreements and married Anna in 1540. But when the political situation changed, he annulled the supposedly unconsummated marriage. In the same year, he married Anne's lady-in-waiting, Catherine Howard, cousin of Anne Boleyn. Like her relative, she was accused of treason and had her head cut off in 1542. The last wife of Henry VIII is a widow who survived two husbands, Catherine Parr, whom he married in 1543. She almost repeated the fate of Anna and Catherine, having entered into conflict with her husband on religious issues. She was saved by a demonstrative display of humility. She later nursed the aging sick king.

Henry VIII with Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon watching them. Marcus Stone, 1870

AN 1870 PAINTING BY MARCUS STONE CATHERINE OF ARAGONSKAYA, FIRST WIFE OF HENRY VIII, STANDS ON THE THRESHOLD AND LOOKING INTO THE HALL. THE KING AND HIS SECOND WIFE ANNE BOLAIN (WITH A LUT) ALSO OBSERVED BY COURISTS AND CARDINAL WALSEY (BEHIND THE MONARCH).

This union was for Henry the first of those that were concluded not only because of political necessity, but also according to the inclination of the heart. The relationship of the spouses outwardly looked impeccable, at first the young people spent a lot of time together. Gradually, however, the problem of inheritance became the most important issue of royal policy. Catherine, who became pregnant several times, did not give her husband a son. The birth of Mary's daughter in 1516 greatly disappointed the king. Heinrich understood that a wife who was six years older than him would not bring him an heir. It was not only the personal ambitions of the ruler and a stain on his honor, but also politics: England, barely recovering from the chaos of the Wars of the Roses, was again threatened by a storm. The desperate king even considered the possibility of passing the throne to his illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy.

In dire need of an heir, Henry eventually began to take steps to have the marriage invalidated. The pretext was Catherine's previous alliance with his brother. This required papal permission. Attempts to annul the marriage were unsuccessful. The pope was too dependent on Catherine's nephew, Emperor Charles V. The futility of diplomatic attempts led to the demolition of Henry's close ally, Cardinal Wolsey. His place as chancellor was taken by the famous humanist, author of "Utopia" Thomas More, then Thomas Cramner and Thomas Cromwell became advisers to the king. Henry VIII was driven to action not only by the desire to have an heir, but also by love for Anne Boleyn (according to many sources, she was not distinguished by outstanding beauty at court). After the removal of Wolsey, the king took drastic measures to subjugate the Church of England and thus annul the marriage. In the end, having learned that Anna was pregnant, the king secretly married her on January 25, 1533. On May 23, Parliament issued a decree annulling the marriage with Catherine, and soon Anna was crowned. The king experienced another disappointment when in September his new wife gave birth to a girl - the future Queen Elizabeth I. He lost interest in his wife, who never gave him the desired son (subsequent pregnancies ended in miscarriages). Time drove on. The king felt this painfully in 1536, when he was wounded during a jousting tournament. He even began to suspect that the absence of a male descendant in an alliance with Anne was a punishment for an incestuous relationship: a few years earlier, Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister, had been his mistress for quite some time. The fate of the new queen was finally decided when, in early 1536, she gave birth to a dead boy. Anne Boleyn was accused of adultery and conspiracy against the Crown, in addition, she was accused of incestuous relationship with her brother and the use of witchcraft to seduce the king. The main inspirer of the intrigue against the Queen was Thomas Cromwell. According to the will of the king, Anna was sentenced to death by burning at the stake, but her husband changed the cruel sentence to execution by decapitation. The sentence was carried out on May 19, 1536.

With the matrimonial vicissitudes of the king, his most decisive political step is connected - a break with the Catholic Church. Back in 1521, he received the title of Guardian of the Faith from the Pope for a theological treatise that was a polemic with the views of Martin Luther. However, Cardinal Wolsey, who was pressing for the annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine, warned Clement VII that in case of refusal, England would be lost to Rome. In addition to the personal ambitions of the king (however, many Englishmen considered the desire to produce an heir to the throne a matter of national importance) there were other prerequisites for reforms in the country. Within a few years, the king and Parliament announced a series of decrees establishing innovations, one of which was the subordination of the clergy to the king as head of the Church of England. The persecution of the opposition began. It should be noted, however, that during the reign of Henry VIII the Anglican Church did not stray too far from Catholicism in the dogmatic realm. The king personally saw to it that doctrinal differences were not strong.

Henry VIII Cruel?

Henry VIII was the main culprit in the murder of his two wives, he was also involved in the death of about half a thousand of his political opponents! However, he himself did not seem to like cruelty, did not tolerate the sight of blood and the atmosphere of execution - it happened that during the sentencing of the court or the execution of his own wives, he preferred to go hunting or engage in other entertainment, so as not to be a witness to horrific scenes and upset your own nerves.

Despite personal ups and downs, Henry VIII was involved in big politics. He took care of the security of England, controlling the balance of power in Europe and not allowing the isolation of the island. He achieved the accession to England of Wales and Ireland, as well as the recognition of himself as king of Ireland. Thanks to his deeds, he managed to gain the authority of such a monarch, which England had never dreamed of before. However, he was also capable of unexpected actions - for example, to disgrace his associates: in particular, Thomas Cromwell, who helped him in carrying out church reforms, was demoted in July 1540. Over time, Henry VIII's penchant for tyranny and his suspicions began to manifest themselves more and more. In total, during his reign, about 500 people died for the Catholic faith - more than the number of victims of the infamous Mary I Tudor, nicknamed the Bloody.

On his deathbed on January 28, 1547, he expressed the hope that the merciful Lord would forgive his sins. According to the last will of Henry VIII, he rested next to his third wife Jane Seymour in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Tournament armor of Henry VIII Tudor. 1630s, Tower of London Collection

IN 1536, HENRY VIII WAS ON THE VOICE OF DEATH DURING A JEWELRY TOURNAMENT. HE WAS SERIOUSLY WOUNDED IN THE LEG IT WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL TO CURE THE WOUND, AND IN OLD HE WAS VERY LIMBING.

From the book History of England by Austin Jane

Henry VIII I think I would offend my readers if I suggested that the vicissitudes of this king's reign were less well known to them than to me. Therefore, I will save them from having to read again what they have already read, and myself from the obligation to state what I am not very good at.

From the book of 100 great monarchs author Ryzhov Konstantin Vladislavovich

Henry VIII Henry was the youngest son of Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England. His older brother, Prince Arthur, was a frail and sickly man. In November 1501, he married the Aragonese princess Catherine, but could not perform marital duties.

From the book Britain in Modern Times (XVI-XVII centuries) author Churchill Winston Spencer

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From the book History of England in the Middle Ages author Shtokmar Valentina Vladimirovna

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From the book History of the British Isles author Black Jeremy

Henry VIII (1509-1547) and the Reformation The growth of the national economy in England and Wales, responding to the needs of the prosperous south-eastern regions of England, corresponded to the political importance of this part of the country, which dominated both England itself and the British Isles. It's in

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From the book Underestimated Events of History. The Book of Historical Fallacies the author Stomma Ludwig

Henry VIII Henry VIII (ruled 1509–1547) - King of England, son and heir of King Henry VII, the second British monarch from the Tudor dynasty, one of the most prominent representatives of the English

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From the book The Formation of the Tudor Dynasty by Thomas Roger

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From the book England. Country history author Daniel Christopher

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From The Tudors author Vronsky Pavel

Henry VII Tudor 1457-1509

From The Tudors author Vronsky Pavel

Henry VIII Tudor 1491-1547 Outstanding statesman and warrior, patron of the arts and sciences, poet and musician? Or a woman-killer, a daring apostate, an executioner of the opposition, a vile and ruthless man, ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of his own interests and for the good

Wives of Henry VIII December 21st, 2016

Hello dear.
In the history of any country there is a ruler whom literally everyone has heard of. At the same time, the vast majority of people, accustomed to thinking in blocks, know just a little bit about such a historical figure, and God forbid that the truthful information, and not an element like "Marie Antoinette's brioches."
Now, if you ask people what they heard about the English king Henry 8, then many will remember that he was a polygamist, and someone will add that it was because of his wives that he took Foggy Albion from the hands of the Roman Curia to Protestantism. This is partly true (although not because of the numerous marriages, of course. Everything is deeper and more serious). It’s hard to deny the truth and female influence here :-)

But Henry VIII is a much more interesting figure (like all Tudors in general). And we can say that this bright and strong sovereign was until the end of his life "the cuckoo did not move out completely." There will be time and desire - read about his life. Well, today we will focus on more prosaic things - remember these same wives, and what they were like :-)

One of the many films about him...

Henry went down in history as the husband of 6 different wives. And they were really very, very different. They say that English schoolchildren are still learning not to confuse these queens with the help of the mnemonic phrase "divorced - executed - died, divorced - executed - survived." Comfortable:-)))
So, for the first time he married, having just taken the throne in 1509. Henry at that time was a noble and kind young man, and therefore he committed an act that he could well not commit - he married the widow of his older brother Catherine of Aragon.

"Catholic Kings"

It was like this ... In general, Henry should not have taken the throne, because he had an older brother, whose name was Arthur. Their father, the reigning king Henry VII, picked up for Arthur, as it seemed to him - a brilliant party - the youngest daughter of the unifiers of Spain, often also called the "Catholic kings" Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, Catherine. The marriage was generally strategic and beneficial to England. The girl was 16, the groom was 15. They managed to play the wedding, but they didn’t spend the wedding night. Arthur suddenly died of some infectious disease. Catherine remained at the British court as an innocent widow.
Despite the fact that she was 5 years older than him, Heinrich decided to marry. Either because of a sense of duty, or out of pity, or maybe love was involved there too.

Arthur Tudor

However, it should be noted that the life of the spouses did not immediately work out. They were too different. Cheerful and not shunning wine and women's society Heinrich and a devout Catholic Catherine. She seemed to have taken the worst traits from her parents - the religious fanaticism of her mother and the stinginess of her father. Especially there were problems with the earnestness of faith. In fasting and prayers, the young woman brought herself to fainting from hunger, which had a very bad effect on her health. She gave birth to 8 children, and only 1 boy, but of all of them only one child survived - Maria (the future Queen Mary the Bloody). Having suffered without an heir and having finally cooled down to his wife, Henry tried to get rid of her - but it was not there. Neither persuasion, nor attempts at bribery, nor threats worked. Then the king approached the matter legally. His jurists explained that marrying the widow of marriage is incest, which means that the marriage is void. It happened in 1529, after 20 years of marriage.

Catherine of Aragon

This interpretation was not liked by Pope Clement VII, who did not give permission for a divorce, and in the end it became the starting point for the final displacement of Catholicism from England.

Clement VII in the world of Giulio de' Medici

Henry VIII by that time was enjoying the company of 3 mistresses at once - the Boleyn sisters (Anne and Mary), as well as Elizabeth Blount. The latter even bore him a son in 1525, whom the king subsequently granted the title of Duke of Richmond and Somerset. But he was a bastard, and the king needed a legitimate heir.

Late coat of arms of the Boleyn family

The divorce of the king and the whole situation of this trinity was best used by the youngest of the Boleyn sisters - Anna. At the time of her passion for the king, she was 32 years old. This lady did not have a very beautiful appearance, but she was quite popular. Everyone noted the refinement of her attire, pleasant voice, ease of dancing, fluent knowledge of French, good performance on the lute and other musical instruments, energy and cheerfulness. And most importantly, she was quite smart and cunning. Having played hard-to-reach in front of the king and rejecting at first all his courtship, she completely turned his head. She became the wife of Henry in January 1533, was crowned on June 1, 1533, and in September of the same year gave birth to his daughter Elizabeth (the future famous "virgin queen") instead of the son expected by the king. Subsequent pregnancies ended unsuccessfully. And the marriage quickly fell apart. King simply...executed his wife in May 1536, accusing her of 2 treason against the state and marriage at once.To all appearances, this is absolutely unreasonable.But the king was carried away by a new woman, and did not want a new divorce process.

Ann Bolein

A week after the execution of the wife of Henry VIII. whose mental health has already begun to falter marries the object of his passion - the former maid of honor of Anne Boleyn named Jane Seymour. It was Jane, even though she had been queen for a little over a year, who was able to give birth to the king's rightful heir - the son of Edward, who, albeit not for long, but ruled under the name of Edward VI. Jane herself died 2 weeks after the birth of her son - from puerperal fever.

Jane Seymour

It would be necessary for the king to stop - but no, despite his advanced age for those years, he set off in a new search for a wife. And found. He decided to intermarry with the Duke of Cleves (northwestern Germany) Johann III the Peaceful and betrothed his eldest daughter Anna. But it all turned out crooked. He did not see Anna, so he ordered her portrait - they brought him and he fell in love with the portrait. When the girl was brought to London, the king was disappointed and very much. She did not match the portrait. And strongly mismatched. Therefore, after six months of marriage, the king offered her a divorce, paid a generous allowance and the unofficial title of "beloved sister of the king." She continued to live in England.

Anna Klevskaya

I don’t know why Henry wanted to marry again, but he made an extremely strange choice. A certain 20-year-old former maid of honor and cousin of Anne Boleyn named Catherine Howard was a cheerful and peculiar lady. Right and left cuckolding her husband, and having at least 2 official lovers, including cheating on Henry with the king's personal page, she ended her life on the chopping block. For 2 years the king tolerated her, but on February 13, 1542, she ascended the scaffold. Because fire is no joke.

Catherine Howard

We can say that the king was lucky only in his last marriage. Despite the 20-year age difference, his last wife, Catherine Parr, tried to create conditions for a normal family life for him. She loved his children and himself, tried to extinguish his fits of rage and manifest mental illness. This marriage was her 3rd and she was twice a widow. Despite the fact that for 4 years of marriage, she was several times, as they say, on the verge of death, but honestly pulled the marital strap. It was under her, an ardent Protestant, that England lost the chance to return to the Catholic lodge. And it was Catherine Parr who buried the king. Henry VIII. January 28, 1547, at two o'clock in the morning, Henry VIII died at the age of 55 from gluttony.

Catherine Parr

Interestingly, Parr married for the fourth time - to Thomas Seymour, brother of Jane Seymour. thus for those times this woman is unique - after all, 4 marriages.
Here is such a story with the spouses of the loving King Henry VIII. I hope you were interested.
Have a nice time of the day.

So, we are with you at the Cathedral of Saints Peter, Paul and Andrew in Peterborough (UK, Cambridgeshire).

In addition to the magnificent facade (the temple was built 120 years at the beginning of the 12th century) and ancient interior decoration (massive columns, an organ at the top, a beautiful priest's chair, memorial plates on the walls and on the floor, on the stele are the names of all the priests who served in it, starting with those who served before the construction of the temple) of historical interest is the grave of the first wife of Henry VIII Catherine of Aragon - the left side of the Cathedral, on the grave - flowers and a postcard on Christmas, remember!).

Nearby is an exhibition-stand from the history of England and the Cathedral (apparently permanent: two years ago it was in the same place), a portrait of Henry VIII - a strong figure in a royal costume with regalia, a face expanding downwards, a portrait of his first wife Catherine of Aragon - a sweet female a rather strong-willed face, parted in the middle of the hair hidden under a light brown cap; downcast eyes. Brown dress, matching decoration - beads around the neck.

CATHERINE OF ARAGONSKAYA

She was the youngest daughter of the founders of the Spanish state, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England.
Catherine of Aragon arrived in England in 1501. She was 16 years old, and she was to become the wife of Crown Prince Arthur - the son of King Henry VII. Thus, the king wanted to protect himself from France and raise the authority of England among European states.
Arthur at the time of marriage was only 14 years old. He was a sickly, consumptive youth. And a year after the wedding, he died without leaving an heir, since he did not enter into an intimate relationship with his young wife.
Catherine remained in England as a young widow, but in fact as a hostage, because by that time her father had not yet managed to pay her dowry in full, and besides, it seems that he was not going to pay. She lived in such uncertainty for the next eight years.
She saw salvation in renunciation of the worldly bustle and turning to God (she had nothing but the title of dowager princess, a small allowance and a retinue exclusively consisting of Spanish nobles who came with her. She was a burden both for King Henry VII of England and for her father, King Ferdinand.Her mother, the brave Queen Isabella, has died.
By the age of twenty, she indulged in severe asceticism - constant fasting and masses. One of the courtiers, fearing for her life, wrote to the Pope. And an order immediately came from him: to stop self-torture, since it could be life-threatening.

In fact, the same state considerations as during the marriage of Catherine and Arthur contributed to the marriage of Henry, the youngest son of the King of England, and now the heir, to Catherine, who was six years older than the groom. Negotiations regarding their marriage began during the life of Henry VII and continued after his death. Catherine became Queen of England two months after Henry VIII's accession to the throne. However, before the wedding, Henry had to get permission from the Pope - Julius. Church law forbade such marriages, but the Pope gave the English king special permission, largely because Catherine and Arthur never actually became husband and wife.
Due to Catherine's lack of surviving sons, Henry insisted, after 24 years of marriage, on a divorce (more precisely, annulment) in 1533. This step was one of the reasons for Henry's conflict with the Pope, the break with the Roman Catholic Church and the reformation in England.
In May 1533 Henry married Anna. He never received the consent of either the Pope or Catherine. It was decided that from that moment on, the power of the Pope did not extend to England. Henry declared himself the head of the Church (since 1534), and the marriage with Catherine was invalid.

The people loved Queen Catherine: when Henry decided to fight the French, he longed for the glory of an outstanding military leader, he left Catherine as regent. At this time, taking advantage of the absence of the king, the Scottish lords, led by James IV, invaded the territory of England. The Queen personally designed much of the defense plan. On September 9, 1513, the Scots were defeated in the hills near Flodden, King James himself was killed. Catherine was proud of this victory.
Catherine did not recognize this marriage. She continued to call herself queen and answered all threats that she was the legitimate wife of the king of England.
Catherine spent two more years in obscurity, spiteful critics continued to pester her, she was not allowed to see her daughter. However, despite all the troubles in her heart there was a place for love for her husband. She wrote to the Pope, imploring him not to forget Henry and Mary.

She lived in a small room, the windows of which overlooked the moat, filled with rotten water, and the neglected hunting park of Kimbolton. Her retinue consisted of three ladies-in-waiting, half a dozen maids, and a few devoted Spaniards looking after the household. In 1535, she fell ill, as it later became known, incurably.
On January 7, 1536, Catherine felt that she was dying. She managed to dictate a will, according to which she left all the money she had to her close associates. Daughters (eldest daughter of Henry VIII from marriage with Catherine of Aragon - Mary I Tudor
(1516-1558) - Queen of England since 1553, Also known as Bloody Mary (or Bloody Mary), Mary the Catholic. Not a single monument was erected to this queen in her homeland) she bequeathed her furs and a gold necklace, which was part of her dowry brought from Spain. She also wrote a farewell letter to Heinrich. In it, she asked him not to forget his daughter, reminded him of her legal title and said that she still loved him.

Henry VIII was married six times.
His wives, each of whom was backed by a certain political or religious faction, were sometimes forced to make changes in their political or religious views.
In 1524, in the retinue of Catherine of Aragon, who was already rather tired of the king, the monarch noticed a new pretty face.

ANN BOLEIN -

Daughter of one of the king's dignitaries, Earl Thomas Boleyn. The engagement to her former fiancé, Lord Percy, is broken off and preparations are made for a new wedding.
In 1533, Henry married Anne Boleyn, in September their daughter Elizabeth was born. So, this passion of the king was worth the break with Rome, the elimination of Catholicism and its institutions in the country and the cooling of relations with Spain.
Only two years lasted love for Anne Boleyn. In his wife's retinue, Heinrich meets a new object of adoration - Jane Saymour. Possession of it becomes his goal for the near future. The wife, as luck would have it, does not give a divorce, it is worse for her. You have to understand that you can't command your heart. The king finds a way to gain freedom. If you do not disperse, then "remove" (in the modern language of criminal elements). The most convenient pretext is adultery. And "well-wishers", always ready to help their beloved king, begin to look for "evidence". At one of the balls, the queen drops her glove. She is raised and returned to her owner by Henry Noris, who is in love with her. The "Watching Eye" took note of this. Ease in communication with his brother, Lord Rochefort, provides a pretext for accusations of incest. Several more nobles are seen falling in love with the queen. One of them, Smytoks, promised to testify about adultery for a "moderate fee".
Apparently, Henry guessed that the church would not forgive him for a second divorce. In addition to divorce, only her death could free her from her former wife.
Henry called an executioner from France to execute his wife (the French succeeded in chopping off the head, because it was they who invented the guillotine - a device for quickly and painlessly chopping off the head). On May 15, 1536, the executioner cut off Anna's head not with an ax, but with a sharp and long sword, the first time. Anna did not suffer for long.
Her daughter Elizabeth was denied the right to inherit the throne.
Subsequently, the king, not without regret, remembered Anne Boleyn.

Recently published a love letter from Henry VIII to his future second wife Anne Boleyn, in French, believed to be January 1528.
This letter has been kept in the Vatican for five centuries, it will be exhibited for the first time in the British Library in London.

"From now on, my heart will belong only to you."
“The expression of your affection for me is so strong, and the beautiful words of your message are so cordial that I am simply obliged to respect, love and serve you forever,” the king writes. “For my part, I am ready, if possible, to surpass you in loyalty and desire please you."
The letter ends with the signature: "G. loves A.B." and
the initials of the beloved enclosed in a heart.

After Pope Clement VII refused to invalidate Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon (in order to marry Anne Boleyn), the English monarch broke with the Vatican and eventually created the Church of England, independent of Rome.
The British monarch holds the title of Sovereign of the Church of England.

Anne Boleyn was executed in May 1536 in the Tower (the towers of the fortress were a state prison), where she was kept. After the execution, her body was hastily buried in the chapel of St. Peter, in the Tower. But the soul of the unfortunate queen did not calm down. Since then, her ghost appears regularly for several centuries at regular intervals, sometimes at the head of a procession heading to the chapel of St. Peter, sometimes alone in different places in the old fortress: at the place where the execution took place ...

JANE SAYMOUR

In September 1535, while traveling through the country, the King and Queen stopped at Wulfhall, the Seymours' hereditary domain. It was there that Henry first paid close attention to the owner's daughter, Lady Jane Seymour. She was the complete opposite of Anna, both in appearance and in character: a blond, pale, calm and modest girl. If Anna was compared to a witch - she was thin, dark-haired and dark-eyed, and besides, impudent and capricious, then Jane looked more like a bright angel, the embodiment of peace and humility.

Jane was educated just enough to be able to read and write. The main emphasis in the education of girls from noble families in the 16th century was on traditional women's activities, such as needlework and housekeeping.

She first appeared at court as a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon in the mid-1520s. Her older brother, Edward Seymour, by that time had already achieved some success in the career of a courtier: as a child, he served as a page in the retinue of the “French Queen” Mary Tudor, and upon his return to England, he held various positions under the king and cardinal Wolsey.

After the annulment of his marriage to Catherine and Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn in 1533, Jane and her sister Elizabeth moved into the new queen's staff.

Lady Jane's brothers, Thomas and Edward, on the contrary, were brought up at the king's court from childhood (they were pages), and subsequently occupied various lucrative positions. Therefore, there was nothing surprising in the fact that from the mid-1520s, their sister Jane was adopted as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon.

After Anne Boleyn became queen, Lady Jane passed "at the disposal" of the new lady.
On Christmas Day 1533, the King gave gifts to several ladies-in-waiting, Lady Seymour among those honored.

After Anne Boleyn "disappointed" the king - instead of the desired son she gave birth to a girl (the future Elizabeth I), relations between Henry and the queen began to noticeably worsen. Moreover, Anna was intolerant, quick-tempered and ambitious. Having made many enemies at court, the queen gradually turned Henry and Henry away from herself. The years 1534 and 1535 passed in family scandals, stormy showdowns and the vain expectation of another queen's pregnancy.

It was at this time, in 1535, that the king became interested in the modest maid of honor Seymour. She was the complete opposite of Anna: blond, pale, very quiet and in agreement with everyone. If Anna was compared with a witch, and even with a witch - she was thin, dark-haired and black-eyed, then Jane looked much more like a bright angel.

The King marries Jane Cymour. The royal wedding of 1536 was unusually modest. In the spring of 1537, Jane informed Henry of her pregnancy. The king surrounded his wife with unprecedented care and fulfilled all her requirements and whims.

The heir was born healthy, handsome and similar to both spouses. But only Jane was not destined to rejoice ...
For two days the young queen suffered in childbirth. I had to choose - mother or child. Doctors, knowing the explosive nature of the sovereign, were even afraid to hint about it. "Save the child. I can get as many women as I like,” was the decisive and calm answer.
Jane died of puerperal fever. According to Henry VIII, Jane Seymour was his most beloved wife. Before his death, he bequeathed to bury himself next to her.

Known is the portrait of Jane Saymour, the third wife of King Henry VIII Tudor of England (years of her life: c. 1508/1509 - October 24, 1537) by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1536-37
The famous ballad of the English group The Rolling Stones "Lady Jane" is dedicated to Jane Seymour and is based on the letters of King Henry VIII. The song also mentions Anna Boleyn (lady Ann) and Mary Boleyn (Mary). Each of the three women has their own verse.

ANNA KLEVSKAYA

In Europe, the monarch, so cold-bloodedly getting rid of his wives, began to be afraid.
In 1539, Henry VIII met his "beloved", Princess Anna of Cleves, from a portrait. The daughter of the Duke of Cleves - Johann III and Maria von Geldern - was born on September 22, 1515, in Düsseldorf.
The portrait of Anna, painted by the great artist Holbein, made an excellent impression on the 48-year-old Heinrich. He was not embarrassed by the fact that his chosen one was engaged to the Duke of Lorraine for a short time - according to English laws, a new marriage could not be considered legitimate.

On September 4, 1539, the marriage contract was signed. At the very beginning of 1540, Anna arrived in England. The first meeting of the bride and groom took place in Rochester, where Henry arrived as a private person.

One look at Anna was enough - the king was disappointed. Instead of the pale and graceful beauty that Holbein portrayed, Heinrich was confronted by a large, massive woman with rather rough features. Straightforward Henry took out all his anger on Cromwell, who allegedly "slipped him a hefty Flemish mare."
The original was quite disappointing. Probably, it was not Anna's appearance that was repulsive at all, but her stiffness, inability to stay in society, the cut of her clothes, unusual for the king's eyes, and the lack of proper grace.
"Where did you find this scarecrow? Send her back immediately! ”He got angry at Cromwell (the Protestant party, led by the favorite and first minister of the king, Thomas Cromwell, found the bride for the king). "It's impossible, Your Majesty! If you break the marriage contract, Europe may declare war on England."
Anna did not like Heinrich either, besides, she heard rumors about the ruined Anne Boleyn even in Kleve.
Heinrich resigned himself, but he could not fulfill his conjugal duty. For six months, the Princess of Cleves lived in England - her husband did not honor her with his attention.
Anna was a kind stepmother to both Prince Edward and Princesses Betsy and Mary.
She got used to the English court: she fell in love with music and dancing, got herself dogs and parrots.
The divorce of the spouses went, surprisingly, calmly. Anna, having judged everything sensibly and sorted out all the pros and cons, gathered the Privy Council to give an answer to the divorce proposal.
Heinrich left Anna in his family - as a "sister". This was dictated by a number of circumstances: Anna of Klevskaya fell in love with the children of the king, a number of courtiers found her an extremely amiable and pleasant woman. Heinrich did not want to come into conflict with Anna's brother, the Duke of Berg-Julig-Cleve, who was one of the most influential rulers of Germany. And Anna herself sincerely fell in love with her new homeland.

Henry proclaimed Anna his "sister" and thus she remained the most noble lady after the new queen and princesses Mary and Betsy. Anna received generous gifts from the king: the castles of Richmond and Hever, as well as a solid annual income.

The correspondence between Heinrich and Anna suggests that the former spouses lived very friendly. The king always signed his messages "Loving Brother Heinrich".

The instigator of this marriage, Thomas Cromwell, was arrested and placed in the Tower. He lived only to testify in the divorce case - on June 28, 1540, he was executed on charges of treason and heresy.
Anna did not remarry. She survived both Henry VIII and his son Edward VI. Anna von Cleve died on July 16, 1557 in London.

Anna of Cleves was buried in Westminster Abbey.

KATE HOWARD

In July 1540, Henry married 19-year-old Kate Howard. The wedding was modest.
After the wedding, Henry seemed to be 20 years younger - tournaments, balls and other entertainment resumed at the court, to which Henry remained indifferent after the execution of Anne Boleyn. He adored his young wife - she was incredibly kind, simple-minded, sincerely loved gifts and rejoiced at them like a child. Heinrich called Kate "a rose without thorns."
However, young Howard was extremely careless in her actions - Kate took all her "friends of youth" to court, and they knew too much about the queen's life before marriage. In addition, Kate renewed her relationship with Francis Dirham, whom she made her personal secretary.
Then another gentleman from the “past life” appeared at the court - Thomas Kelpeper (Kate's distant relative on the maternal side, whom she once wanted to marry).

However, the young woman had enemies at court (or rather, they were the enemies of her influential uncle Norfolk...
The innocence of the young "rose" began to irritate the elderly king.
When Heinrich was informed that his naive Kate was not such a "rose" at all, he was simply confused. The reaction of the king was quite unexpected - instead of the usual anger, there were tears and complaints. The meaning of the complaints boiled down to the fact that fate did not give him a happy family life, and all his women either cheat, or die, or are simply disgusting.
In early February 1542, Lady Howard was transferred to the Tower, and two days later she was beheaded in front of a curious crowd. The young woman met her death in a state of deep shock - she had to be carried to the place of execution.
After the execution, the body of Lady Kate was buried next to the remains of Anne Boleyn, another executed queen, who, by the way, was also a relative of the Howards.

Feeling in my heart that I am unloved,
Henry the Eighth executed his wives.

KATERINA PARR

Henry's sixth wife is Katherine Parr, daughter of a baronet, widow of the elderly Lord Edward Borough. Young Kat Parr was only 14 or 15 years old when she was married in 1526 to an elderly, sixty-three-year-old lord. The family life of the spouses was quite happy. Moreover, Catherine managed to become a true friend for the children of Lord Borough, who were almost twice as old as their stepmother. However, in 1529 Lady Borough became a widow.
In 1530, the young widow received a new marriage proposal. It came from John Neville, Lord Latimer, a widower. Accepting this offer, Lady Catherine moved to her husband in Snape Castle. Here she again found herself in the role of a stepmother - Latimer had a daughter, Margaret, from her first marriage.
In the second half of the 1530s, the Latimers were often at the court of the king, and Henry VIII treated this couple very friendly.

After the execution of his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, Henry increasingly drew attention to the smart and friendly Lady Latimer. She was already thirty-one years old, which by the standards of the 16th century was not considered the age of youth, however, the king himself was far from young.

Lord Latimer at that time was already seriously ill and, alas, there was no hope of recovery. When he died in 1543, the king began to aggressively court Lady Latimer.
Lady Latimer's first reaction to the King's offer to be his "comfort in old age" was fright. However, Heinrich did not abandon his intention to marry Catherine and, in the end, she gave her consent.

On July 12, 1543, the wedding took place in the royal chapel of Hampton Court. The wedding was played in Windsor.
From the very first days of her life together with Heinrich, Catherine tried to create conditions for a normal family life for him. Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of the executed Anne Boleyn, enjoyed her special disposition.
A strong friendship developed between the stepmother and stepdaughter - they corresponded actively and often had philosophical conversations.
Clever and energetic, Catherine skillfully neutralizes the court intrigues weaving against her. Despite the increased suspicion of her husband, Katerina throughout the four years of marriage does not give him a reason for dissatisfaction.
In 1545 - 1546, the king's health deteriorated so much that he could no longer fully engage in solving state problems. However, the suspiciousness and suspicion of the king, on the contrary, began to acquire a threatening character. Catherine several times was, as they say, on the verge of death: the queen had influential enemies, and, in the end, the king could believe them, and not his wife. The king several times decided to arrest Catherine, and each time he refused this step. The reason for the royal disfavor was mainly the radical Protestantism of Catherine, who was carried away by the ideas of Luther. January 28, 1547, at two o'clock in the morning, Henry VIII died. And already in May of the same year, the Dowager Queen married Thomas Seymour, Jane Seymour's brother.

Who knows, perhaps Henry VIII served as a prototype for the character of Charles Perrault's fairy tale "Bluebeard" (Perrault wrote it down in the 17th century in France, the name of the hero is Gilles de Ré.
The last wife of Bluebeard does not have a name in the fairy tale, but her older sister's name is Anna)?..

"Once upon a time there was a man who had beautiful houses both in the city and in the countryside, dishes, gold and silver, furniture all embroidered and gilded carriages from top to bottom. But, unfortunately, this man had a blue beard ..."

Heinrich and his wives:
By The king "s Singer" s Greensleeves ... A ballad written by Henry VIII for his second wife, Anne Boleyn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmOb5H8kL30&feature=share
http://elkipalki.net/author/lavinia/2009-02-19/

Photo: "mysterious" woman... amazing Hans Holbein.
Portrait of a Lady 1535-40
Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio
Portraits of Henry VIII and his (Family)
JANE SAYMOUR?

Cathedral in Peterborough (Cambridgeshire). The majestic building evokes the memory of Notre Dame Cathedral…

The abbey and cathedral of Saints Peter, Paul and Andrew were founded in 655. The current building is the third in a row, standing on the site of two burned down ones. Its construction began in 1118 and lasted 120 years. In addition to the magnificent western pediment and ancient interior decoration, the grave of the first wife of Henry VIII Catherine of Aragon is of historical interest (the left side of the Cathedral, on the grave there are flowers and a card on Christmas, remember). Nearby is an exhibition-stand from the history of England and the Cathedral (apparently permanent: two years ago it was in the same place), a portrait of Henry VIII - a strong figure in a royal suit with regalia, a face expanding downwards, a portrait of his first wife Catherine of Aragon - a sweet female a rather strong-willed face, parted in the middle of the hair hidden under a light brown cap; downcast eyes.

Brown dress, matching decoration - beads around the neck.

Arthur at the time of marriage was only 14 years old. He was a sickly, consumptive youth. And a year after the wedding, he died without leaving an heir, since he did not enter into an intimate relationship with his young wife. Catherine remained in England as a young widow, but in fact as a hostage, because by that time her father had not yet managed to pay her dowry in full, and besides, it seems that he was not going to pay. She lived in such uncertainty for the next eight years.

She saw salvation in renunciation of the worldly bustle and turning to God (she had nothing but the title of dowager princess, a small allowance and a retinue exclusively consisting of Spanish nobles who came with her. She was a burden both for King Henry VII of England and for her father, King Ferdinand.Her mother, the brave Queen Isabella, has died.

By the age of twenty, she indulged in severe asceticism - constant fasting and masses. One of the courtiers, fearing for her life, wrote to the Pope. And an order immediately came from him: to stop self-torture, since it could be life-threatening.

Due to Catherine's lack of surviving sons, Henry insisted, after 24 years of marriage, on a divorce (more precisely, annulment) in 1533. This step was one of the reasons for Henry's conflict with the Pope, the break with the Roman Catholic Church and the reformation in England.

In May 1533 Henry married Anna. He never received the consent of either the Pope or Catherine. It was decided that from that moment on, the power of the Pope did not extend to England. Henry declared himself the head of the Church (since 1534), and the marriage with Catherine was invalid.

Catherine did not recognize this marriage. She continued to call herself queen and answered all threats that she was the legitimate wife of the king of England.

Catherine spent two more years in obscurity, spiteful critics continued to pester her, she was not allowed to see her daughter. However, despite all the troubles in her heart there was a place for love for her husband. She wrote to the Pope, imploring him not to forget Henry and Mary.

On January 7, 1536, Catherine felt that she was dying. She managed to dictate a will, according to which she left all the money she had to her close associates. Daughters (the eldest daughter of Henry VIII from marriage with Catherine of Aragon - Mary I Tudor (1516 - 1558) - Queen of England since 1553, Also known as Mary the Bloody (or Bloody Mary), Mary the Catholic. Not a single monument was erected to this queen in her homeland) she bequeathed her furs and a gold necklace, which was part of her dowry brought from Spain. She also wrote a farewell letter to Heinrich. In it, she asked him not to forget his daughter, reminded him of her legal title and said that she still loved him.

Henry VIII was married six times.

His wives, each of whom was backed by a certain political or religious faction, were sometimes forced to make changes in their political or religious views.

In 1524, in the retinue of Catherine of Aragon, who was already rather tired of the king, the monarch noticed a new pretty face.

Only two years lasted love for Anne Boleyn. In his wife's retinue, Heinrich meets a new object of adoration - Jane Seymour. Possession of it becomes his goal for the near future. The wife, as luck would have it, does not give a divorce, it is worse for her. You have to understand that you can't command your heart. The king finds a way to gain freedom. If you do not disperse, then "remove" (in the modern language of criminal elements). The most convenient pretext is adultery. And "well-wishers", always ready to help their beloved king, begin to look for "evidence". At one of the balls, the queen drops her glove. She is raised and returned to her owner by Henry Noris, who is in love with her. The "Watching Eye" took note of this. Ease in communication with his brother, Lord Rochefort, provides a pretext for accusations of incest. Several more nobles are seen falling in love with the queen. One of them, Smytoks, promised to testify about adultery for a "moderate fee".

Apparently, Henry guessed that the church would not forgive him for a second divorce. In addition to divorce, only her death could free her from her former wife.

Henry called an executioner from France to execute his wife (the French succeeded in chopping off the head, because it was they who invented the guillotine - a device for quickly and painlessly chopping off the head). On May 15, 1536, the executioner cut off Anna's head not with an ax, but with a sharp and long sword, the first time. Anna did not suffer for long. Her daughter Elizabeth was denied the right to inherit the throne. Subsequently, the king, not without regret, remembered Anne Boleyn.

Recently published a love letter from Henry VIII to his future second wife Anne Boleyn, in French, believed to be January 1528. This letter has been kept in the Vatican for five centuries, it will be exhibited for the first time in the British Library in London.

"From now on, my heart will belong only to you."
“The expression of your affection for me is so strong, and the beautiful words of your message are so heartfelt that I am simply obliged to respect, love and serve you forever,” the king writes. “For my part, I am ready, if possible, to surpass you in loyalty and desire to please you.”

The letter ends with the signature: "Mr. loves A.B.” and the initials of the beloved enclosed in a heart.

The British monarch bears the title

Supreme Ruler of the Church of England.

... The ghost of Anne Boleyn is known (recall that she was accused of adultery and incest, although, apparently, her only fault was that she was tired of her husband) ... Anne Boleyn was executed in May 1536 directly in the Tower (the towers of the fortress was a state prison), where she was kept. After the execution, her body was hastily buried in the chapel of St. Peter, in the Tower. But the soul of the unfortunate queen did not calm down. Since then, her ghost has been regularly appearing for several centuries at regular intervals, sometimes at the head of a procession heading to the chapel of St. Peter, sometimes alone in different places in the old fortress: at the place where the execution took place ...

One of the most impressive apparitions of a ghost occurred in the winter of 1864. One night a sentry was found lying unconscious. He was court-martialed on the charge of falling asleep on duty. Then he said that before dawn he saw a white silhouette emerge from the fog. He wore a cap, under which his head was missing; silhouette went to the sentry.

After three usual warning calls, the soldier approached the ghost, but when the bayonet of the gun pierced him through, lightning ran through the barrel, and the sentry himself fainted from shock.

All this would seem to be just a clever excuse, if two other soldiers and an officer, who testified after the accused, did not say that they also noticed the ghost through the window. When it turned out that the ghost in all four cases appeared under the door of the room in which Anne Boleyn spent her last night on the eve of her execution, the tribunal decided to release the sentry.

The nightmare recurred from time to time until the beginning of the 19th century. Once, late at night, a completely atheistic officer noticed a bright glow pouring from the windows of the chapel, which he himself locked at sunset. Having obtained a ladder, the officer climbed up it, looked out the window - and almost fell down from fear.

Inside, he saw a whole retinue of the Tudor court, led by Anna. A terrible procession moved towards the altar and, reaching it, gradually seemed to go under the floor ... After some time, the officer achieved the opening of the floor of the chapel, and under the slabs they found the remains of the queen along with her dead retinue ... After the remains were reburied with the appropriate royal honors , the ghost of the innocently injured queen disappeared from the Tower forever.

The King marries Jane Seymour. She could not boast of a brilliant education and "gallant" manners, since in the 16th century the education of an English girl was reduced to religion, needlework and the basics of housekeeping. The ability to read and write was considered sufficient for a young aristocrat who wanted to make a court career.

On Christmas Day 1533, the King gave gifts to several ladies-in-waiting, Lady Seymour among those honored.

After Anna Boleyn "disappointed" the king - instead of the desired son, she gave birth to only a girl (the future Elizabeth I), relations between Henry and the queen began to noticeably worsen. Moreover, Anna was intolerant, quick-tempered and ambitious. Having made many enemies at court, the queen gradually turned Henry away from herself. The years 1534 and 1535 passed in family scandals, stormy showdowns and the vain expectation of another queen's pregnancy.

The royal wedding of 1536 was unusually modest. in the spring of 1537, Jane informed Henry of her pregnancy. The king surrounded his wife with unprecedented care and fulfilled all her requirements and whims.

The heir was born healthy, handsome and similar to both spouses. But only Jane was not destined to rejoice ...

For two days the young queen suffered in childbirth. I had to choose - mother or child. Doctors, knowing the explosive nature of the sovereign, were even afraid to hint about it. "Save the child. I can get as many women as I like,” was the decisive and calm answer.

Jane died of puerperal fever.

The famous ballad of the English group The Rolling Stones "Lady Jane" is dedicated to Jane Seymour and is based on the letters of King Henry VIII. The song also mentions Anna Boleyn (lady Ann) and Mary Boleyn (Mary). Each of the three women has their own verse.

The portrait of Anna, painted by the great artist Holbein, made an excellent impression on the 48-year-old Heinrich. He was not embarrassed by the fact that his chosen one was engaged to the Duke of Lorraine for a short time - according to English laws, a new marriage could not be considered legitimate.

The original was quite disappointing. Probably, it was not Anna's appearance that was repulsive at all, but her stiffness, inability to stay in society, the cut of her clothes, unusual for the king's eyes, and the lack of proper grace.

"Where did you find this scarecrow? Send her back immediately! ”He got angry at Cromwell (the Protestant party, led by the favorite and first minister of the king, Thomas Cromwell, found the bride for the king). "It's impossible, Your Majesty! If you break the marriage contract, Europe may declare war on England."

Anna did not like Heinrich either, besides, she heard rumors about the ruined Anne Boleyn even in Kleve.

Heinrich resigned himself, but he could not fulfill his conjugal duty. For six months, the Princess of Cleves lived in England - her husband did not honor her with his attention. Anna was a kind stepmother to both Prince Edward and Princesses Betsy and Mary. She got used to the English court: she fell in love with music and dancing, got herself dogs and parrots.

The divorce of the spouses went, surprisingly, calmly. Anna, having judged everything sensibly and sorted out all the pros and cons, gathered the Privy Council to give an answer to the divorce proposal.

Heinrich left Anna in his family - as a "sister". This was dictated by a number of circumstances: Anna of Klevskaya fell in love with the children of the king, a number of courtiers found her an extremely amiable and pleasant woman. Heinrich did not want to come into conflict with Anna's brother, the Duke of Berg-Julig-Cleve, who was one of the most influential rulers of Germany. And Anna herself sincerely fell in love with her new homeland.

The correspondence between Heinrich and Anna suggests that the former spouses lived very friendly. The king always signed his messages "Loving Brother Heinrich".

Anna did not remarry. She survived both Henry VIII and his son Edward VI. Anna von Cleve died on July 16, 1557 in London. Anna of Cleves was buried in Westminster Abbey.

However, young Howard was extremely careless in her actions - Kate took all her "friends of youth" to court, and they knew too much about the queen's life before marriage. In addition, Kate renewed her relationship with Francis Dirham, whom she made her personal secretary.

Then another gentleman from the “past life” appeared at the court - Thomas Kelpeper (Kate's distant relative on the maternal side, whom she once wanted to marry).

However, the young woman had enemies at court (or rather, they were the enemies of her influential uncle Norfolk ...

The innocence of the young "rose" began to irritate the elderly king.

When Heinrich was informed that his naive Kate was not such a "rose" at all, he was simply confused. The reaction of the king was quite unexpected - instead of the usual anger, there were tears and complaints. The meaning of the complaints boiled down to the fact that fate did not give him a happy family life, and all his women either cheat, or die, or are simply disgusting.

In early February 1542, Lady Howard was transferred to the Tower, and two days later she was beheaded in front of a curious crowd. The young woman met her death in a state of deep shock - she had to be carried to the place of execution.

After the execution, the body of Lady Kate was buried next to the remains of Anne Boleyn, another executed queen, who, by the way, was also a relative of the Howards.

Feeling in my heart that I am unloved,

Henry the Eighth executed his wives.

In 1530, the young widow received a new marriage proposal. It came from John Neville, Lord Latimer, a widower. Accepting this offer, Lady Catherine moved to her husband in Snape Castle. Here she again found herself in the role of a stepmother - Latimer had a daughter, Margaret, from her first marriage.

In the second half of the 1530s, the Latimers were often at the court of the king, and Henry VIII treated this couple very friendly.

In the second half of the 1530s, the Latimers often visited the king's court, and Henry VIII treated this couple very friendly. After the execution of his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, Henry increasingly paid attention to the smart and friendly Lady Latimer. She was already thirty-one years old, which by the standards of the 16th century was not considered the age of youth, however, the king himself was far from young.

Lord Latimer at that time was already seriously ill and, alas, there was no hope of recovery. When he died in 1543, the king began to aggressively court Lady Latimer.

Lady Latimer's first reaction to the King's offer to be his "comfort in old age" was fright. However, Heinrich did not abandon his intention to marry Catherine and, in the end, she gave her consent.

On July 12, 1543, the wedding took place in the royal chapel of Hampton Court. The wedding was played in Windsor.

From the very first days of her life together with Heinrich, Catherine tried to create conditions for a normal family life for him. Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of the executed Anne Boleyn, enjoyed her special disposition.

A strong friendship developed between the stepmother and stepdaughter - they corresponded actively and often had philosophical conversations.

Clever and energetic, Catherine skillfully neutralizes the court intrigues weaving against her. Despite the increased suspicion of her husband, Katerina throughout the four years of marriage does not give him a reason for dissatisfaction.

In 1545-1546, the king's health deteriorated so much that he could no longer fully deal with state problems. However, the suspiciousness and suspicion of the king, on the contrary, began to acquire a threatening character. Catherine several times was, as they say, on the verge of death: the queen had influential enemies, and, in the end, the king could believe them, and not his wife. The king several times decided to arrest Catherine, and each time he refused this step. The reason for the royal disfavor was mainly the radical Protestantism of Catherine, who was carried away by the ideas of Luther. January 28, 1547, at two o'clock in the morning, Henry VIII died. And already in May of the same year, the Dowager Queen married Thomas Seymour, Jane Seymour's brother.

Who knows, perhaps Henry VIII served as a prototype for the character of Charles Perrault's fairy tale "Bluebeard" (Perrault wrote it down in the 17th century in France, the name of the hero is Gilles de Ré. The last wife of Bluebeard has no name in the fairy tale, but her older sister's name is Anna )?..

“Once upon a time there was a man who had beautiful houses both in the city and in the countryside, dishes, gold and silver, furniture all embroidered and carriages gilded from top to bottom. But, unfortunately, this man had a blue beard…”