How many Queens did Henry VIII have?

6 in total!

Why did he have so many?

The main reason for a lot of it is that he wanted a male heir to the throne and his wives simply were not giving birth to one, so he got a new queen instead.

Who were his queens?

Catherine of Aragon

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This was Henry’s first wife.

He was with her for 23 years but after she never produced a male heir to the throne he annulled their marriage.

Anne Boleyn

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Henry’s second wife was Anne Boleyn.

She was also unable to give him a male heir and he eventually had her beheaded after annulling their marriage!

Jane Seymour 

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Jane was Henry’s third wife and he married her just days after Anne’s excecution!

Jane had actually been a lady-in-waiting for both of Henry’s previous wives.

She actually did give birth to a male heir for Henry although she died not long after giving birth.

Anne of Cleves

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Henry was sent lots of women’s portraits so that he could choose one as a wife.

He was choosing a wife from overseas so that England could form an alliance with another European country which is why he could not meet them first.

He chose Anne but when she arrived he said she looked nothing like the painting and no longer wanted to marry her.

They did get married as all the arrangements were in place but they were divorced 6 months later.

Catherine Howard

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Henry’s fifth wife.

He actually liked this one, but there were rumours that she had not been faithful to him so he had her killed.

Catherine Parr

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Henry’s final wife.

He died while still married to her.

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