Katherine was born in 1485, the youngest daughter of the Spanish sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella. Piously reared and carefully educated, she was married at sixteen to Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, eldest son of Henry VII of England. Tragically, he died six months after the wedding. Katherine declared she was still a virgin, and the Pope issued a dispensation for her marriage to Arthur's younger brother, the future Henry VIII. For various political reasons, Henry VII would not allow the wedding to take place, but after his accession in 1509, the young Henry chivalrously married his Spanish princess, who was nearly six years his senior. The story of England`s second Tudor monarch and his rather sordid married life has been told often. But never has it been told as well. Alison Weir has combined impeccable research and a first-rate literary tone... [She] has given us an entertaining work that combines the accessibility of a popular history with the highest standards of a scholarly thesis." ( Detroit News) Five men were found guilty of adultery. Among them was Anne’s brother, George, hence the charge of incest. All were executed on Tower Hill. Jane was the only Henry’s brother and heir apparent Arthur had been betrothed since age 2 to Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of the Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella. In November of 1501, the teenage couple were married.

For his fourth wife, Henry returned to ties with a diplomatic advantage and arranged to marry Anne of Cleves (1519-1557 CE), the eldest daughter of John, Duke of the German Duchy of that name. The match was orchestrated by Thomas Cromwell as England needed Protestant allies against the Catholic superpowers of Europe: France and Spain. The betrothed met shortly after Anne arrived in England on 26 December 1539 CE but she was to prove a disappointing late Christmas present for the king. Henry enacted radical changes to the English constitution, expanded royal power and broke with the Catholic Church in the English Reformation. EDITOR'S BOOK CHOICE, From Tapestry, the magazine for Friends of Hampton Court Palace, Winter 2004/5Catherine Howard (c. 1523–13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn, was Henry's fifth wife, between 1540 and 1542. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, cousin to Anne Boleyn, second cousin to Jane Seymour, and niece to Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. She was raised in the household of her step-grandmother Agnes Howard, Duchess of Norfolk. Her uncle the Duke of Norfolk was a prominent politician at Henry's court; and he secured her a place in the household of Henry's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, in 1540, where Catherine caught the King's interest. She married him on 28 July 1540 at Oatlands Palace in Surrey, just 19 days after the annulment of his marriage to Anne. He was 49, and she was still a teenager, probably aged around 17. The Royal Arms, impaled with that of her own as granted by the King. Her arms incorporated those of her family the Howards. Catherine's father Lord Edmund Howard, was the third son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. The blazon: [40] [48] In the last years of his reign Henry grew moody, suspicious and famously obese, hobbled by personal intrigues and by the persistent leg wound from his jousting injury. His final marriage, to the widow Catherine Parr in 1543, saw his reconciliation with Mary and Elizabeth, who were restored to the line of succession. The Royal Arms, impaled with that of her own as granted by the King. The arms allude to those of her family and the titles of her father Sir Thomas Parr. The blazon: [40] [48] [49]

Anne was born c.1501 to Sir Thomas Boleyn and Lady Elizabeth Howard, and spent much of her youth in France, returning in 1522. She was reported to be fluent in french, a talented musician and to dress in line with French fashions.

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Quarterly, I and IV, Or, a chief indented Azure ( Butler), II and III, Argent, a lion rampant Sable crowned Gules ( Rochford). But he is perhaps most famous for having six wives. Though married to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, for nearly 25 years, Henry’s next five marriages lasted less than that combined. Boutell, Charles (1863). A Manual of Heraldry, Historical and Popular. London: Windsor And Newton. ISBN 1146289545.