Five of the Six Wives
The Tudors and the Stuarts1485 to 1714
Anne Boleyn followed Catherine of Aragon as queen, and she was later executed, accused of taking lovers. Jane Seymour came next and fared differently: she gave Henry the son he had wanted for so long, but died shortly after the birth, having succeeded where the others had failed.
Anne of Cleves came next, a marriage arranged for political reasons, and it ended in divorce not long after it began. Catherine Howard, a cousin of Anne Boleyn, followed her and was executed, accused in a way that echoed the fate that had already ended her cousin's life. Catherine Parr came last and was the one wife to outlive Henry: she survived him and married again once he had died, though she lived only a few more years herself.
What to remember
 Anne Boleyn | executed Henry had broken with Rome to marry her; she was queen for less than three years. |
|---|---|
| Jane Seymour | died She died giving Henry the male heir, Edward VI, that the other five marriages had failed to produce. |
| Anne of Cleves | divorced Unlike Catherine of Aragon, this divorce was quick and the marriage was political rather than personal from the start. |
| Catherine Howard | executed She was a cousin of Anne Boleyn and met the same fate for the same accusation, a pairing worth revising together. |
| Catherine Parr | survived him She is the only wife of the six who outlived Henry and died a natural death after he did. |
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