The 8 wives of Henry the VIII

Henry was born on June 28th 1491 in Greenwich near London. He grew up in Greenwich palace. He had 6 siblings: Margaret Tudor, Mary Tudor, Arthur, Tudor Katherine Tutor, Edmund Tudor Duke of Somerset, and Elizabeth Tutor. His father was Henry the VIII and his mother Elizabeth of York. His blood line goes on for a long time. And has a very harsh backstory. Henry had 8 wives and they all died but the last one.

Catherine of Aragon The first wife. Henry married her because of her familiarity. Henry was 10 years old when Katherine first  arrived in England. To marry his older brother and had her before he did for a young example desirable bride. Katherine was born on  December 16th 1485. And grew up in Alpaca de Henares, near Madrid and she died of heart cancer. She gave birth to 6 children but the only  one that survived is Mary 1 . 

Anne Boleyn was the second wife. Henry wanted to marry her because he believed his lack of heir was punishment from god. For marrying his brother’s wife. He  met Anne Boleyn when he was 25 years old. Anne Boleyn was born somewhat in 1501-1507 but there is no record of her birthday. Anne Boleyn died of beheading on May 19th 1536 aged 29-35. After she died Henry erased all traces of her. Anne gave birth to a daughter Elizabeth 1 in September 1533. There’s so much more unknown information about her. But we don’t know yet because Henry erased all pictures of her.

Jane Seymour was the third wife. Henry wanted to marry her to have a son for the line of kings and to teach him how to be a real man. Although she did give him a son she did die of postpartum period. And that affected Henry a little but not too much though. Her birthday i not recorded but she was born around 1504-1509

Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife. Henry married her because he believed that he needed to form a political alliance. William Duke of Cleves. Anne did not have any children. Anne never remarried when she got divorced with henry. He did not do anything to her but she did die of cancer. Anne was born on September 22 1515 and she died July 16th 1557.

Catherine Howard is the 4th wife of Henry. This is the first time he fell in love with someone and he married her because he fell in love at first sight. Catherine would not have any children with him because he was with an illness and she didn’t want to get sick. And she didn’t want the baby to be sick in any way possible or get anything from him. She was born in 1524 but there is no record of her actual birth date. She died on February 13th 1542. She died of beheading when the ax fell.

Henry’s last wife before he died was Catherine Parr. He married her because he needed a more sensible choice for an ailing king in need of a nurse as much for a wife. She was 52 years old when she married him. She stayed with him until he died . She was one of the survivors out of the 2 because he killed the rest of his wives. But Anne of Cleves died of cancer. So it wasn’t his fault that she died. Catherine was born in 1512. And died on January 7th 1536.

Henry most likely died from a combination of inflammation, chronic pyogenic suppuration, Edema. And finally chronic osteomyelitis. He died on January 28th 1547. He did a bunch of horrible things to these women and he didn’t have the right to do it all to them.

So in conclusion Henry the 8th is one of the worst men to ever live because of the stuff he has done. And the reason he did it was to get a son. I am writing about this because it is very interesting. If you’re like me and you like the old history like this then you will like this. I like reading it and figuring out what happened way back in the day. When there were still beheadings and so much more accent stuff. 

 

The Rise and Fall of Queen Elizabeth I

The Rise and Fall of Queen Elizabeth I

Named after the Elizabethan era and one of England’s most recognized queens in history, Queen Elizabeth I.

Starting from the prime of her life, Queen Elizabeth I was born on September 7th, 1533 in Greenwich, England. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn but due to accusations of adultery and incest, her mother Anne was executed on May 19th in 1536 when Elizabeth was two years old. Elizabeth had siblings such as her half-sister Mary Tudor, daughter of Catherine of Aragon who was nicknamed Bloody Mary and later died in November of 1558.
Elizabeth also had a half-brother named Edward, son of Jane Seymour who was crowned king at the age of nine and later died in July of 1553.

After the death of Edward, he appointed Lady Jane Grey to be his successor afterward due to the fear of Mary trying to restore Catholicism and undoing the Church of England. But due to the citizens’ disagreement, Mary Tudor gained the spot on the throne after nine days. Elizabeth supported Mary and her decisions but Elizabeth also went along with the Church of England. Mary later died and her reign ended with Elizabeth next in line to be crowned.

Image result for mary i portrait

When Mary’s reign ended, Elizabeth was left with a lot of the problems that Mary left behind, such as the war with France and conflict between religions that roam England. However, she quickly ended the war and resolved the religious tension and conflict in her country. England was finally at peace and had the chance to regrow. Elizabeth worked in the court and enjoyed playing the lute and watching plays perform on her behalf. Elizabeth also loved jewelry and embellished gowns made with gold and silver to compliment her pale look.

Just as everything was in peace, income the rivalry between Mary, Queen of Scots with her beloved cousin Elizabeth. Many believed that Mary was the true successor to the throne of Henry the VIII’s elder sister’s granddaughter. The rivalry began when Mary came to claim her place on the English throne during Elizabeth’s reign since Mary was catholic many Catholics of England encouraged her place on the throne. Mary united Franc and Scotland by her marriage with the future king, Francis II. But due to his death in 1561, she later returned to Scotland. Elizabeth imprisoned her beloved cousin for multiple assassination attempts and twenty years later executed Mary in 1587.

Image result for mary of scots protrrait

England started to go down in a downfall later in Elizabeth’s reign due to unemployment, dying crops, and riots. And had to face many challenges of being on England’s throne. Later in Elizabeth’s final years despite her powering fading, Elizabeth still cared dearly about her people and made one of her most famous speeches named “Golden Speech” made on November 30th of 1601 at the Whitehall Palace of a delegation of 140 members, and Elizabeth alleged the neglected issues and won over the members.

Image result for elizabeth i portraits

Elizabeth never wanted to marry any man or have children, she had no interest in sharing power or ruling with anyone, because of that reason she was named “The Virgin Queen”. Succession was another problem for Elizabeth since she’s seen all the troubles that come from royal marriages. She’s had a good number of matches but none of them suited to her standards or liking’s.

Once the time came, Elizabeth I died on March 24th of 1603, there are suspicions that the makeup she’s been using to create a pale porcelain look named “Spirits of Saturn” caused health issues that led up to her death. Elizabeth had no spouse or children to inherit the English throne nor successors, so instead of the son of her beloved cousins and rival Mary of Scots, James I took the place on the English throne. Elizabeth’s coffin was carried on April 28th down Whitehall and was buried in Henry IIV’s Chapel.

And that’s how the Elizabethan Era came to be.

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