But for Henry VIII his wedding night proved to him Katherine was indeed a virgin – or so he believed at the time. He would later claim that his own sexual inexperience and ignorance – despite being almost three years older than
Dispensation from pope
Catherine testified that her marriage to Arthur was never consummated and as such was not valid.
She had grown up sheltered in her court, focusing her time on domestic skills. She liked to sew and was a keen card player, but did not speak English. The marriage was never consummated. After four nights in her bedchamber, Henry declared that her physical unattractiveness left him unable to complete his kingly duty.
Did you know? Katherine was 23 when she married Henry in 1509. He was only 17.
Henry had asked Pope Clement VII for his marriage to Catherine to be dissolved, but the Pope would not agree. Part of the reason that the Pope refused was because Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, had taken control of Rome - and Charles V was Catherine's nephew.
Jane's sweet and charming demeanor captured Henry's heart. Married just days after her predecessor's death, she was to become Henry's favorite wife. Jane, unlike any of Henry's other wives, gave Henry the one thing he wanted most -- a son, an act that would lead to her death.
Evidence suggests that at least part of the cause for the multiple miscarriages of Henry's wives may have been male infertility.
The history of the English Reformation
Catherine's downfall began in December 1525, when after years of devotion to her husband, Henry fell in love with another woman, Anne Boleyn. It was the beginning of the end of a union that had won the love and loyalty of England's citizens.
Even when he was married to Catherine Parr, he was still thinking about Jane, as we saw from the Family of Henry VIII painting. And he was laid to rest for eternity next to her. Out of all six of his wives, Henry VIII loved Jane Seymour the most.
When Henry VIII met Anne Boleyn (his mistress Mary's younger sister) in 1525, his marriage was in a precarious state. It was said that the King, then 34, became besotted with 25-year-old Anne, a member of Catherine's entourage.
Much like with Henry Manox there's no evidence to suggest that she and Culpeper ever consummated their relationship, but if they didn't they were never to get the chance to either.
In the same year, Henry married Catherine's former lady in waiting, Anne Boleyn, with whom Henry had fallen passionately in love. Banished from the court and living in exile, Catherine remained strong and steadfast and defended her title as queen until her death in 1536.
Henry VIII had asked the Catholic Church to invalidate his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, on the grounds that their marriage had been wrong in the eyes of God.
Katherine of Aragon was devoutly religious and was known to fast regularly and it has been suggested that this fasting while pregnant may have harmed the unborn child.
She was the youngest surviving child of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. Catherine was quite short in stature with long red hair, wide blue eyes, a round face, and a fair complexion.
As for the question of Katherine's guilt, there is evidence later in her life of that! Interestingly enough, it has been recorded that near the end of her second marriage and within the last few years of her life, she had begun wearing hair shirts – which was a form of penitence for sins in the Catholic faith.
Henry VIII of England had one acknowledged illegitimate child, as well as several others who are suspected to be his, by his mistresses.
Edward VI. Edward VI, born 12 October 1537, was Henry VIII's first surviving and only legitimate son and the heir to the throne. Henry VIII described him as 'his most noble and most precious jewel.
According to his account: Anne Boleyn was rather tall of stature, with black hair and an oval face of sallow complexion, as if troubled with jaundice. She had a projecting tooth under the upper lip, and on her right hand, six fingers.
Anne became known as the 'Flanders Mare' only much later in the 17th century. Henry preferred to select his own wife and court them directly. Once the political motivation for marrying Anne had receded Henry began to look for reasons not to marry her. Her unattractiveness became one of them.
Of his six wives, Henry VIII had two killed: Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. He accused Anne of adultery, and she was convicted and beheaded on May 19, 1536; that she had not given birth to a male heir was, however, Henry's primary motive for having her executed.
Even in the midst of his affair with Anne Boleyn, Henry kept up his contacts with Queen Catherine: he dined in her rooms, he had her make his shirts, and he slept in her bed. Sexual relations, though, are believed to have stopped between the pair around the same time that Henry's interest in Anne Boleyn began.
She was extremely obese after the age of 30, and she occasionally had abnormal accumulation of fluid in different parts of her body. These problems combined with the multiple miscarriages seem to indicate that Queen Anne was suffering from lupus erythematosus.
Henry's third queen Jane Seymour gave him his long-awaited male heir, Edward, in 1537.
Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon were Roman Catholic, and the Church forbade divorce. As time went on without a male heir (they were married for 23 years), Henry began looking for a new wife who could bear healthy sons.