These Surprising Facts Make The Six Wives Of Henry VIII Extra Relatable

Katherine Parr’s Husband Was Terrible

Katherine Parr had a stomach-churning problem, aside from her pregnancy. Her husband was playing a new game with Princess Elizabeth, surprising the girl in bed and tickling her. Katherine dismissed this as innocent horseplay, sometimes even joining the ‘fun.’ In one notorious play time, Seymour cut young Elizabeth’s night dress to shreds.

The ‘fun’ ended when Catherine caught Seymour and Elizabeth embracing. Katherine sent Elizabeth away from her home, never to meet again. Katherine died soon after giving birth to her daughter, Mary. She outlived three husbands but never reconciled with the stepdaughter who would become Queen.

Where did we find this stuff? Here Are Our Sources:

Anne Boleyn used flirtation, fertility, and faith to seduce Henry VIII.  Staff, National Geographic 30 December 2020.

Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s most successful queen?  Tracy Borman, BBC History Magazine.  September 2015

Archaeologists unearth foundations of Wolf Hall, where Henry VIII fell for Jane Seymour.  Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine.  4 October 2018.

Catherine Parr as a Woman of Letters.  C. Fenno Hoffman, Jr.  Huntington Library Quarterly, 1960, vol 23(4), pp. 349 – 360).

How Anne Boleyn Lost her Head.  Pia Catton, history.com.  9 April 2020.

Six Wives: The queens of Henry VIII. David Starkey (2004).  Harper Collins.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII.  Alison Weir (2018).  Grove Press.

Tragic facts about Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife.  Christine Tran, Factinate, (n.d.)

Tudor Blackwork Embroidery: History on Blackwork Embroidery.  THL Lynne Fairchild, Society for Creative Anachronism.  23 August 2014.

When Catherine of Aragon led England’s armies to victory over Scotland.  Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 October 2020.