10. He Was Married To Catherine Of Aragon For Double The Length Of Time That He Was To His Five Other Wives Combined
Obviously Henry VIII is known by the infamous rhyme which describes the fate of his six wives: "Divorced (Catherine of Aragon), beheaded (Anne Boleyn), died (Jane Seymour); divorced (Anne of Cleves), beheaded (Catherine Howard), survived (Catherine Parr)." This is taught to schoolchildren around Britain, but this fails to take into consideration the fact that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, lasted 24 years - more than double the amount of cumulative time he spent in matrimony to the other five. Having married Catherine of Aragon - widow of Henry's elder brother Arthur - in June 1509, he remained with her until May 1533. That took up two-thirds of Henry's reign, as he had wed when he was just 19, despite Catherine of Aragon being 26. Henry's other five marriages lasted on average two years - with Catherine Parr being his second-longest-serving wife (three-and-and-a-half years), and Anne of Cleves the shortest (six months). It was only once it became clear to Henry that Catherine of Aragon could not provide for him a male heir - despite the fact she had given birth to three sons, all of who died within two months of delivery - that he decided to annul the marriage. Henry clearly still was heartless to a large degree, but there is a misconception that all of his marriages were short-lived, and that simply isn't true.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
Obviously Henry VIII is known by the infamous rhyme which describes the fate of his six wives: "Divorced (Catherine of Aragon), beheaded (Anne Boleyn), died (Jane Seymour); divorced (Anne of Cleves), beheaded (Catherine Howard), survived (Catherine Parr)." This is taught to schoolchildren around Britain, but this fails to take into consideration the fact that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, lasted 24 years - more than double the amount of cumulative time he spent in matrimony to the other five. Having married Catherine of Aragon - widow of Henry's elder brother Arthur - in June 1509, he remained with her until May 1533. That took up two-thirds of Henry's reign, as he had wed when he was just 19, despite Catherine of Aragon being 26. Henry's other five marriages lasted on average two years - with Catherine Parr being his second-longest-serving wife (three-and-and-a-half years), and Anne of Cleves the shortest (six months). It was only once it became clear to Henry that Catherine of Aragon could not provide for him a male heir - despite the fact she had given birth to three sons, all of who died within two months of delivery - that he decided to annul the marriage. Henry clearly still was heartless to a large degree, but there is a misconception that all of his marriages were short-lived, and that simply isn't true.