The Six Wives of Henry VIII – Part 2

the six wives of Henry the eighth part two by the age of 48 King Henry the Eighth had been through three wives one he divorced one he beheaded and one died giving him the son he so desperately wanted the once handsome and athletic lover was now a tyrannical overweight monarch with an increasingly bad temper he mourns for Jane Seymour for two years but eventually realized that he needed to marry again one son in the nursery was not enough having himself been a younger brother to an heir who had died young Henry knew the importance of a spare his ministers encouraged him to make an advantageous political marriage by breaking with Rome to marry Anne Boleyn Henry had made enemies of most of Catholic Europe and England needed new allies but unsurprisingly foreign princesses were not lining up to marry the wife murdering monarch Cristina of Milan said if I had two heads one would be at the king of England's disposal Anne of Cleves and was born in Dusseldorf to Duke and Duchess John the third and Maria of Cleves and Burke and received no formal education and had little in the way of cultural sophistication she could read and write only a little and only in German she was skilled at needlework after her father's death Anne's brother William became Duke Cleves was a Protestant German state and opposed the Holy Roman Empire so an alliance with England made sense artist Hans Holbein was dispatched to paint portraits of both Anne and her younger sister Amelia so that Henry could look the girls over before making any matrimonial decisions Holbein painted this portrait of Anne thought to be a rather close likeness based on contemporary accounts and henry became infatuated with the demure blonde slim and tall young woman he sent his chief minister Thomas Cromwell to negotiate the match on New Year's Day 15:40 the 25 year old and arrived in England Henry decided to surprise her by disguising himself as a peasant in this courtly game of love he was sure that his lady would fall in love with him on sight Bowen Ann was shocked rather than enamored with the old overweight stranger who burst in on her Henry was humiliated he complained that it was Anne who was ugly and that Cromwell had lied to him about her beauty he even called her the Flanders mayor he urged Cromwell to get him out of the marriage but doing so would endanger the German alliance on their wedding night Henry kissed his wife goodnight and went to sleep he railed at Cromwell the next morning that his wife's body it was so disordered that he was unable to consummate the marriage but the sheltered Anne had no idea that the couple hadn't fulfilled their marital duties understanding little English she was also spared the malicious court gossip repeating the Kings insults against her she was proud of having risen from the backwater of Cleves to become queen of one of the most important countries in Europe to prove he was not impotent Henry soon found his way to the bed of Anne's lady-in-waiting Catherine Howard and he found legal grounds on which to divorce and without breaking the contract with Cleves at 11 she had been betrothed to a French nobleman but the engagement was later cancelled Henry's lawyers argue that this meant she was not free to marry after only seven months as Queen and was offered a divorce along with a generous allowance houses of her own and a prominent position as the Queen's sister if she would accept quietly this would spare her having to return to Cleves as a failure and was far better than losing her head so Anne wisely accepted and sent Henry a letter along with her wedding ring which she asked him to break into pieces as it was a thing of no value for his part in the failed marriage Thomas Cromwell was beheaded and retired to her country estates but was a frequent guest at court and became friends with her royal ex-husband she was also close with his daughter Mary and Elizabeth and was a part of Mary's coronation procession years later she learned English and made herself at home in her new country she was described as a lady of right commendable regards courteous gentle a good housekeeper and very bountiful to her servants in 1557 at the age of 42 and died from cancer outliving Henry and all his other wives Catherine Howard Catherine was one of eleven children of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpepper her father's sister Elizabeth Howard was the mother of Anne Boleyn making her a first cousin to the disgraced and beheaded Queen though the family had a noble pedigree her father had been one of 21 children and had inherited very little money he was often reduced to begging from his more affluent relatives to support his large family when catherine was five her mother died and she and some of her siblings were sent to live with her father stepmother agnes Howard Dowager Duchess of Norfolk the Duchess's household included many children of poor relations sent to her for care and education but the Duchess was often away at court and gave very little supervision to the upbringing of her wards some of the girls in the household allowed men into the dormitory at night the girls were rewarded with wine and gifts at 13 Catherine was repeatedly molested by her music teacher 36 year old Henry manox at 15 Catherine was pursued by the Duchess's Secretary Francis Dereham jealous Maddox sent a letter to the Duchess telling her to visit Catherine's bedroom half an hour after bedtime when she caught the pair in the act she sent dirham to Ireland on business he promised Catherine that he would marry her when he returned in the meantime Catherine's uncle the Duke of Norfolk saw an opportunity to increase his power by filling the King's bed so he found the pretty 17 year old Catherine a prestigious place as lady-in-waiting to Anne of Cleves and put her in Henry's view Katherine was vivacious and good-humoured she loved dancing and had a great tenderness for animals especially dogs the 49 year old King became infatuated with her during the last months of his marriage to Anne of Cleves Henry was seen repeatedly going to Catherine's chambers less than three weeks after his divorce Catherine and Henry were married and enjoyed a 10-day honeymoon the king called his new bride the very jewel of womanhood and his rose without a thorn he lavished her with clothes jewelry and estates and longed to fulfill her every desire he also promoted her uncle the Duke of Norfolk and many other Howard men henry was hopeful for a pregnancy and was ready to crown Kathryn queen upon that condition while Henry was besotted catherine was carrying out a secret love affair with her husband's favorite courtier Thomas Culpepper the Queen was also being blackmailed by former confidants who knew of her premarital sexual history eventually evidence of the same reached the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer an enemy of the Duke of Norfolk Cranmer placed a letter on the king's chair in his private chapel revealing the evidence against the Queen at first Henry didn't want to believe it he wanted Catherine to be innocent but Cranmer pushed the issue even torturing information out of Catherine's old love Francis Dereham parliament passed a new law making it treason for a queen consort to fail to disclose her sexual history to the king within 20 days of their marriage retro actively sealing Catherine state when Cranmer went to arrest her she dissolved into such a state of shock and frantic anguish that he ordered the guards to remove anything from her room that she might use to commit suicide her current and former lovers Culpepper and Durham were both executed Culpepper who knowingly committed adultery with the Queen was a nobleman and the axe while dirham a commoner whose only crime was a premarital affair with a minor noblewoman suffered the agony of being hang drawn and quartered the bars that carried catherine to the tower passed under london bridge where the two men severed heads were mounted on the eve of her death Catherine requested the executioner's block be brought to her room and she spent many hours practicing how to lay her head upon it the next morning Catherine was pale and terrified but composed she needed help to climb the scaffold and made a speech asking for mercy for her family and prayers for her soul the Axman took off her head in one clean stroke and the 19-year old Queen was buried in the Tower of London chapel near her cousin and Boleyn Catherine Parr Catherine was the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Parr a member of a prominent northern family and of Maud green a close friend and lady-in-waiting to Henry's first wife Catherine of Aragon young Catherine was born while her mother was at court and was named after the Spanish queen who was her godmother Catherine's father died when she was young and she was very close to her mother Queen Catherine of Aragon encouraged women's education and Catherine Parr had a passion for learning she spoke several languages fluently and enjoyed reading and writing but was said to have hated needlework at 17 Catherine married Sir Edward Berg who was in his 20s but was a sickly man he died four years into their marriage 22 year old Catherine then Wed John Neville Baron Latimer he was twice her age but the pair got unwell and shared genuine affection when King Henry broke with Rome to divorce Catherine of Aragon Catholics in the north of England rebelled against the king rebels came to the Latimer home and threatened violence if John did not join their efforts Catherine watched in horror as her husband was dragged away and the house was ransacked of food and supplies she and her young stepchildren spent the winter held hostage by the rebels and threatened with death this experience contributed to Catherine's loathing of Catholicism eventually the rebels were defeated and John returned home the family put their nightmare behind them by moving to London Catherine loved the glittering atmosphere at court and the many new ideas there after eight years of marriage John's health was fading Catherine ever kind and caring nursed her husband until his death he left her a wealthy woman but without him she had no place at court and dreaded returning north so she sought out a friendship with the daughter of her mother's mistress Princess Mary and was given a place in her entourage she fell in love with Sir Thomas Seymour brother of the late Queen Jane and the pair plan to Wed but around this time she caught the eye of Henry the King liked the bright mature and compassionate Catherine so different from his latest disappointment the dizzy teenaged Catherine Howard and there was no question as to Catherine's virginity as she had already twice been widowed when Henry proposed marriage Catherine was heartbroken she wanted a quiet marriage to Thomas Seymour and had no ambitions to be queen but she had a little choice but to accept and marry the king she gave her stepchildren positions at court and was close with all three of Henry's children reconciling the daughters to their father's affection she was gentle with Henry the prickly old bear and cared for his ulcerated leg wound the aging King thrived in the light of her affection even going on campaign in France during this time he entrusted Catherine with the Regency she was an excellent ruler and enormous Lee influenced her stepdaughter Elizabeth the future Queen but Catherine's one misstep as Henry's wife was nearly disastrous she was a devout Protestant and tried to convince the King to finish what he had started when he broke from Rome and fully reformed the English church henry was furious that his wife would dare to instruct him he drew up an arrest warrant for his wife and rumor had it that he already had his eye on a seventh wife Catherine Brandon Duchess of Suffolk but unlike her predecessors Catherine received warning before she was arrested she pled with the King that she had never dared to lecture him but instead brought up religion so that she could learn from the King's guidance this lie saved her life and she and Henry were friends once more in 1547 after four years of marriage to Catherine and thirty-eight years on the throne Henry bloated and riddled with disease died he was 55 the king was laid to rest in st. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle next to his third wife Jane Seymour the only wife who didn't live long enough to piss him off he left his final wife Catherine a fabulously wealthy woman but her heart's desire was Thomas Seymour the couple knew at the Regency Council would not allow her to marry so soon after the King's death so they Wed in a secret ceremony when the news of the marriage became public it caused a scandal and infuriated her royal stepchildren Catherine wrote two books prayers or meditations and the lamentation of a sinner and was the first woman in England to publish under her own name at 35 she became pregnant a complete surprise as she had never conceived during her three previous marriages during her pregnancy her husband did not remain true to her he carried out strong flirtations with the Princess Elizabeth who was living in her stepmothers house Catherine even caught her husband and Elizabeth in an embrace and sent the princess away the Dowager Queen also cared for and provided education to Lady Jane Grey in August 1548 Catherine gave birth to a daughter Mary but six days later the Dowager Queen died from child bed fever caused by poor hygiene during the delivery she only outlived King Henry by 18 months hers was the first Protestant funeral held in England Thomas Seymour proposed marriage to Princess Elizabeth shortly after but was turned down he was beheaded for treason a year later Henry the Eighth was one of the most significant and influential monarchs of the nation and his life and reign were shaped by the six women he married his desperately longed for heir Jane Seymour's son Edward the six was king for just six years and died tragically young at fifteen Katharine of Aragon's daughter Mary embittered by her mother's maltreatment ruled for a bloody five years but Anne Boleyn had the final triumph her daughter Elizabeth the first reigned for a glorious 44 years and surpassed her father as arguably the greatest monarch in English history if you enjoyed this video please consider supporting me on patreon and help me make more fascinating videos patrons get cool perks like exclusive content mentions in videos and can even request video topics a link to my patreon is in the description thank you for watching

Channel: History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday

Views: 818,749

Rating: 4.9411764 out of 5

Keywords: the tudors, history, game of thrones, documentary, france, royal family, nobility, royalty, adultery, sex, execution, bbc, discrimination, middle ages, medieval, the crown, british history, six wives, henry viii, bloody mary, elizabeth i, anne boleyn, catherine of aragon, catherine parr, jane seymour, catherine howard, anne of cleves, protestant, catholic, england, europe, beheading, tower of london, scandal, murder, united kingdom, queen elizabeth, royal wedding, six the musical

Id: ED20XMi7BxE

Length: 16min 41sec (1001 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 10 2019