Did Henry VIII Have Six Wives?

Legally, Henry only had three wives. His marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and mother to his eldest daughter, Mary (later to be Queen of England), had been declared an annulment. An annulment cancels the marriage between a man and a woman (though in our age between same sexes). An annulment erases the marriage as if it never happened.

Modern grounds for annulment are as follows:

Bigamy - either party was already married to another person at the time of the marriage

Forced Consent - one of the spouses was forced or threatened into marriage and only entered into it under duress

Fraud - one of the spouses agreed to the marriage based on the lies or misrepresentation of the other

Marriage Prohibited By Law - marriage between parties that based on their familial relationship is considered incestuous

Mental Illness - either spouse was mentally ill or emotionally disturbed at the time of the marriage

Mental Incapacity - either spouse was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the marriage and was unable to make informed consent

Inability to Consummate Marriage - either spouse was physically incapable of having sexual relations or impotent during the marriage

Underage Marriage - either spouse was too young to enter into marriage without parental consent or court approval

These reasons are similar to the reasons in Henry VIII’s time though underage marriage was not one of the reasons.

Henry’s Wives:

Catherine of Aragon – This marriage was annulled and causes a spiritual crisis in England and forced Henry to separate from the Catholic Church.

Anne Boleyn – She was beheaded but Henry also got the marriage revoked or deemed invalid. Henry, when Anne fell out of favor, declared the Anne used witchery to seduce him. It is likely that Henry deemed his marriage invalid due to fraud.

Jane Seymour – This marriage ended when Jane died less than a week after giving birth to a male heir.

Anne of Cleves – Henry had this marriage annulled as he failed to find Anne sexually attractive. The marriage was never consummated. Also, Henry disbelieved that she was a virgin upon his marriage to her.

Catherine Howard – The marriage ended when she was executed or beheaded for adultery. Her lover was also executed. The marriage was not declared invalid.

Catherine Parr – Henry died while still married to Catherine, which made Catherine a royal widow.

Legally, Henry only had three wives though he was married six times. But three of those marriages were annulled.