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Ep. 19 Six Wives Pt. 1: How Henry VIII Got Away With Scandal, Sacrilege, and Murder
Description
Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. Henry VIII went down in history, not so much for what he accomplished as king of England but for one tantalizing fact - he had six wives. Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Katherine Parr - these six women are often defined by their association with Henry VIII, she was wife number 2, she was number 5, she was number 6, their very humanity reduced to a number. Not Catherine, not Anne, not Jane, just “Henry VIII’s wife.” But these women were more than just wives, they were individuals, each with their own story, all of them overshadowed by the desperation of a man determined to continue his legacy. But did you know, in his absurd quest for a male heir, Henry VIII ripped his country apart, changing the religion of the entire nation, executing his closest advisors, tormenting his wives, and ultimately failing miserably? Let’s fix that.
- Historic UK "Henry VII"
- National Library of Medicine "The English Sweating Sickness"
- Historic Royal Palaces "Life at the Tudor Court"
- The Tudor Society "The Pregnancies of Katherine of Aragon"
- The Freelance History Writer "Catherine of Aragon's Speech at Blackfriars"
- Short History of podcast episode "Henry VIII"
- History Extra podcast series "Six Wives"
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