Henry VIII was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage annulled. His disagreement with Pope Clement VII about such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority. He appointed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries, for which he was excommunicated by the pope.
Portrait of Henry VIII after Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1537–1562
Portrait by Meynnart Wewyck, 1509
The meeting of Francis I and Henry VIII at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520
Henry with Emperor Charles V (right) and Pope Leo X (centre), c. 1520
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. He was never granted an annulment by the Pope, as he desired, however, 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. Along with his six wives, Henry took several mistresses.
The six wives of Henry VIII, portraits made for Parliament (between 1854 and 1860).
Catherine of Aragon m. 1509–1533
Anne Boleyn m. 1533–1536
Jane Seymour m. 1536–1537
