An alternative set of supporters for Queen Jane was reportedly: "Dexter a unicorn argent, crowned and unguled or, collared with a double wreath of white daisies and red roses; Sinister, a panther incensed, striped with various colours, gorged with a coronet of crosses patée and fleurs de lys alternately and chained or." [43] The badge of the phoenix rising from the flames was granted posthumously by her son King Edward VI to his maternal relations (who became the Dukes of Somerset), who continue to use it as a crest in their coat of arms to this day. [44] [45] i have never before spent so long reading a book and having less to say about it at the end. before reading this book, what i knew about henry VIII came mostly from one pbs (week-long)special and the herman's hermits song, which turns out to be historically inaccurate and not actually about henry VIII at all. kids, don't get your historical information from novelty songs... Get Down” focuses on this victorious period in Anne’s life, celebrating her independence as a wealthy, unmarried woman at Tudor court. In line with the musical’s goal of reclaiming the narrative, the number also reframes the incident that led to Anne’s annulment. Henry, enchanted by a flattering Hans Holbein portrait of his bride-to-be, was reportedly repulsed by the “ tall, big-boned and strong-featured” woman who arrived in England at the beginning of 1540. Declaring “I like her not! I like her not!” after their first meeting, the king only went through with the wedding to maintain diplomatic ties with Anne’s home, the German Duchy of Cleves, and other Protestant allies across the European continent.

ETA: I should add this. I tried to read The Wars of the Roses and gave up. It read as a string of names; people who meant nothing to me. There isn’t a great deal of analysis in this book, but it is somewhere to start. If you also don’t want to read six or more books to cover the queens, it will give you the most bang for your reading time. Individual Biographies Weir, Alison (2007) [1991]. The Six Wives of Henry VIII. Vintage. ISBN 978-1-4464-4909-7. OCLC 1100698192. Machyn, Henry (1968). Nichols, John Gough (ed.). The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant-Taylor of London, from A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1563. Camden Society. Series I. Vol.42. New York; London: AMS Press. ISBN 978-0-548-94254-3. OCLC 664246000.Moss studied history at Cambridge and says much of her schoolwork centered around early modern German visual culture. Six actually includes a standalone song, “ Haus of Holbein,” that satirizes 16th-century beauty culture and Henry’s portrait-driven search for a fourth wife: “Hans Holbein goes around the world / Painting all of the beautiful girls / From Spain / To France / And Germany / The king chooses one / But which one will it be?” Henry chose to include Jane, rather than his then-wife, Catherine Parr,in this dynastic portrait. Painted around 1545, the work depicts Edward, Henry and Jane at itscenter and Mary and Elizabeth in the wings. The daughter of Spanish monarchs Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, Catherine was a political catch.

There is that rhyme divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived to help you keep the six wives straight: Betrothed at the age of three to Arthur, Henry’s older brother and the heir apparent to the English throne, her position became uncertain when, in 1502, her husband died just five months into their marriage. This is my favourite Tudor biography, period. And quite possibly, my favourite biography, period. Catherine Howard is a fascinating case study of a Tudor queen. Exceptionally young for one of Henry’s wives and with little to no family guidance, Catherine had no thought of consequences in much of her life. And if I’m honest, I don’t particularly blame her. Chosen by Henry after he divorced Anne of Cleves, in reality, she had no say in the matter of marrying the king. Gareth Russell’s study of Catherine and those around her shine light onto a teenager who is often dismissed as a flibberty-gibbet. Jane gave birth to a son in October 1534. He would grow up to be King Edward VI, but she would not live to see this. After developing post-natal complications, she died less than two weeks after his birth, aged 29. In common parlance, the wives of Henry VIII were the six queens consort of King Henry VIII of England between 1509 and his death in 1547. In legal terms, Henry had only three wives, because three of his marriages were annulled by the Church of England. However, he was never granted an annulment by the Pope, as he desired, for Catherine of Aragon, his first wife. Annulments declare that a true marriage never took place, unlike a divorce, in which a married couple end their union. [1] Along with his six wives, Henry took several mistresses. [2] [3] Overview [ edit ] Jane Seymour (right) became Henry's third wife, pictured with Henry and the young Prince Edward, c. 1545, by an unknown artist. At the time that this was painted, Henry was married to his sixth wife, Catherine Parr.

6. Catherine Parr

This book certainly took me a while to read (the one-month ‘break’ in the middle apart), but it was very readable and interesting, keeping my attention throughout. I have read accounts and stories, and historical fiction about Henry’s wives before but never a collective biography, and didn’t know the stories of all his queens, particularly Anne of Cleves and Katherine Parr, so these parts were fairly ‘new’ to me, but I also learnt a fair bit about the stories of the wives I ‘knew’ about—things like just how long it took for both Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn’s marriages to go through, just how strong of a fight Katherine of Aragon put up (and how long that lasted), and what became of Anne of Cleves after her divorce/annulment and of Katherine Parr, among other aspects. What also stands out in the book, besides the issues of succession and love/lust that surrounded Henry’s marriages is also the politics around them, and how it impacted not only how each marriage was brought about, how it ran its course, and came to an end. I also enjoyed learning about their intellectual pursuits—I knew Henry was well-educated and had composed songs but had no idea that he’d written books as well, nor that Katherine Parr was also the author of a couple of volumes. Jane Seymour ( c. 1508–24 October 1537) was Henry's third wife. She served Catherine of Aragon as maid-of-honour and was one of Anne Boleyn's ladies-in-waiting. [22]

Anne of Cleves is presented a bit different than I had expected; she was still the naive person when it came to consummation, but she was also annoyed with Henry when he later married Catherine Parr, the last wife.

The Royal Arms, impaled with that of her own arms as Marquess of Pembroke, which alluded to several of her ancestors, however remote. The blazon: [35] [39] That Henry didn’t object to these pursuits in his wives (Anne Boleyn too was well read and read some fairly heretical matter openly and with Henry’s knowledge, and Katherine of Aragon in a manner of speaking was well educated), even though this may have led to some serious differences at times (particularly for Katherine Parr, who averted some serious danger very cleverly) and although his word was of course law, I thought reflected in his favour. In the book, one also gets to see Henry’s gradual descent from jovial charming King to an ill-tempered tyrant of sorts, but also somewhat his point of view on things which makes one a little more sympathetic towards him (his health issues particularly, as well as how rarely he was really able to have a ‘family life’ (something likely common to all monarchs)) and also understand him a lot better (even if one can’t defend his actions—even by the standards of his time, perhaps).

this book was just chosen at a bad time for me: long book, end-of-semester mania, too much to do and too little sleep meant i was frequently drowsing over it. but it's not the fault of her writing which is clear and interesting. i was just too yawn for it. but at the very least, it made me want to read biographies of lady jane grey and katherine howard (the minx), and at some point i'm sure i will be reading wolf hall. so - a springboard book for me. With three dead wives and only one legitimate son, Henry's councillors urge him to marry again and further secure the succession. Thomas Cromwell proposes an alliance with Protestant Cleves (now part of modern Germany), so he considers the Duke of Cleves' two sisters, Anne and Amelia. He sends artist Hans Holbein, who paints both girls. Based on the portrait and good reports of her, Henry chooses Anne. When she reaches England, Henry, wishing to surprise her, arrives in disguise. As he is unannounced, Anne is frightened and then horrified upon realising that the obese and bawdy "messenger" is really her betrothed. Henry, rattled by her reaction, declares her ugly and attempts to nullify the marriage contract, but this proves impossible and the wedding proceeds with two unwilling participants. When the time comes to consummate their union, Anne sees a possible escape from the marriage by stalling the already unenthusiastic king. Watkins also discusses Anne’s relationship with her family. For some reason, it isn’t an issue with other wives, but it always appears that Anne was born out of thin air. It isn’t hard to imagine that the king divorcing her would have affected her relationship with her family, and it is interesting to read about that aspect of her life. (And slightly sad to read about their treatment of her.) And if you are a fan of Six the Musical, you may think that Anne was rolling in luxury after her divorce. Watkins goes into detail in what properties and assets she actually had and what debt she owed. This is for anyone who wants to truly be able to say they have studied each wife, as it is the best Anne of Cleves biography I’ve read! Though the tone of “Don’t Lose Ur Head” is intentionally more irreverent than the real queen, who Storoschuk says “was incredibly shrewd, very well educated, well read and well spoken,” the broad strokes of the song are historically accurate. Anne spent her teenage years in the courts of Margaret of Austria and Francis I of France, gaining a cosmopolitan worldview that helped her stand out in England. When she caught Henry’s eye, she was a maid of honor in service of his first wife; rather than becoming Henry’s mistress, as her sister Mary had, Anne refused to sleep with the king until they were married. To wed Anne, Henry broke with the Catholic Church and established himself as head of the Church of England. Finally, the once-besotted king fell out of love in dramatic—and, for Anne, fatal—fashion just three years after their long-awaited marriage. Jane Seymour Spanish Princess Catherine's brief marriage to Arthur, Prince of Wales, ends with his early death. Over the next few years, Catherine faces financial difficulties, and arrangements for her to marry Prince Henry are undecided. When King Henry VII dies, Henry VIII chooses Catherine as his wife, as his father requested. After a short scene of Catherine and Henry mourning their infant son's death (their second loss after a stillbirth), the programme jumps years ahead to when Henry falls in love with Lady Anne Boleyn. Henry desperately desires a male heir but after numerous pregnancies, only Catherine and Henry's daughter, Princess Mary (the future Mary I), has survived. Catherine is heartbroken when Henry wants to dissolve their marriage. There are several court scenes discussing an annulment. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey fails to fulfil Henry's desire to obtain a divorce from Catherine (and later dies while en route to the Tower of London).The 1910 music hall song " I'm Henry VIII, I Am" was about a woman who had 8 husbands, all named Henry. The Six Wives of Henry VIII is a historical miniseries produced by the BBC, originally aired in 1970. This series consists of six episodes, with each episode dedicated to one of the six wives of King Henry VIII, providing an in-depth exploration of their lives and fates. In addition to the miniseries, a film adaptation titled Henry VIII and His Six Wives was released in 1972.