Something I'm asked quite a bit when I'm out and about is which of Henry VIII's six wives was his favourite. You might say Jane Seymour, because she was the queen who provided him with a son and who he's buried with in Windsor Castle. But the real answer is a bit more complicated, I think.
I suppose at some time, each of Henry's wives (with the exception most likely of Anne of Cleves) was his favourite. Anne of Cleves was a purely diplomatic match, and the marriage was ended weeks after it was performed, happily to both partners' satisfaction. But there's something to be said for each of his other wives being his favourites, at some time.
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Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Rijksmuseum, public domain |
Henry was certainly happy in 1509, when he married his brother's widow Katherine of Aragon, and although their union was forged in diplomacy and military strength tying England with Spain, the couple had a fondness for one another which developed into a long-lasting, strong marriage. Katherine birthed a number of heirs, some male, although they sadly did not survive. A princess, Mary, was born in February 1516, who would later become England's first Queen Regnant, Mary I. Henry and Katherine presided over jousts (often lavishly held in her honour), played the game of courtly love effortlessly and settled into a personal and political partnership which lasted almost twenty years. The realm was also safe in her hands, having defeated James IV of Scotland at the Battle of Flodden in 1513 while Henry was in France carrying out military action of his own. However Henry had mistresses during his marriage to Katherine including Elizabeth Blount and Mary Boleyn, and their relationship soured after the king began to worry about the succession after his death, and of course, after having begun a romance with one of Katherine's ladies, Anne Boleyn, who refused to be his mistress. There's no denying that before the mid-1520s Henry and Katherine had what the evidence suggests to have been a happy, loving and reciprocally powerful marriage. He even stated in the argument for his divorce that she had been a good partner through the years and that he would marry her again if time were to repeat itself, if only she had provided him with heirs.
By 1533 though, Henry's adoration was all on Anne. She was pregnant with an heir, they were united in their wish for religious reform and she was crowned in that year at Westminster Abbey. The love letters that survive show Henry was infatuated with her, and the couple exchanged loving and expensive gifts. She was known for her charismatic energy and settled into her role as queen, keeping a sharp eye on her household and fulfilling her duties. Henry and Anne also stood together against their enemies, who supported Katherine and resisted religious change, particularly England's break with Rome. If you'd asked him in 1533 he would probably have told you that Anne was his favourite wife, although by now, Henry's fuse was shorter. It's thought that the couple had been in a relationship since around 1526-7, but married in 1533. At the most, this places their partnership at around nine to ten years, before his admiration passed, once again, to one of the queen's ladies, Jane Seymour. There is also compelling evidence that Anne and the Boleyns were ruined in a political conspiracy unravelled at court by the family's enemies. Anne, as we all know, was beheaded by sword at the Tower of London on 19 May 1536, after a sham trial which accused her of wishing the king's death and committing adultery.
Enter Jane Seymour. She doesn't appear to have had the same feistiness that can be seen with Anne (or indeed Katherine, at times) but I'm not convinced either that she was the purely innocent, doting woman of historical legend. However, they made a good match, and Jane provided Henry with a prince, Edward VI, in 1537. Sadly though, she died at Hampton Court, where the prince had been born, soon afterwards. Jane is the queen who Henry later wanted to be buried alongside at Windsor, is commemorated in family portraits of Henry and his parents and they don't appear to have had any severe problems in their marriage. However this is probably due to Jane's short time as queen - her early death preserved her in Henry's mind as she was, forever in the honeymoon period of their partnership. This also explains how Jane's family - the Seymour brothers Edward and Thomas - were raised to even higher responsibility and status after her death, a destiny that the Boleyns or Howards were not to experience.
I can't see that, at any point, Henry would have considered Anne of Cleves his favourite wife, even during their brief marriage together. It was a purely diplomatic match, and although Henry approved of her portrait, he later stated that he could not bring himself to consummate the marriage, through not being attracted to her. It is unlikely that this was any fault of Anne's, as some sources have suggested. On learning that the king wanted a divorce, Anne willingly agreed and became a rich woman through her generous divorce settlement, outliving Henry and all his other wives.
In 1540, Henry was once again struck by the dart of love (as he would have called it) to Katherine Howard, a young lady in waiting to Anne of Cleves, and in her mid to late teens at the time of their marriage. Like her cousin Anne Boleyn, Katherine launched dutifully into her role as queen, and there was talk at one point that she might even be pregnant. However lack of experience and cunning in the world of Tudor politics led to her downfall, after allegations were made of her sexual activities before queen and a romantic relationship she was said to have carried out with one of Henry's servants, Thomas Culpepper. Katherine was helpless at the evidence mounted against her, charged with treason and beheaded at the Tower of London. Henry was said to have cried bitterly after finding out about her actions.
Which leaves Katherine Parr. Henry's sixth wife was a widow who saw her marriage to the king as a duty given to her by God. She was a great queen, carrying out public duties, providing companionship to the king and attending public events. She also wrote a book, was highly intelligent and was said to have had a mischievous sense of humour. She sidestepped one attack by courtiers over religion, but calmed Henry who publicly supported her and stood by her side. Their marriage lasted until Henry's death in 1547, when she quickly, and secretly, married Jane Seymour's brother Thomas.
So who was his favourite wife? I suppose it depends on when you asked him. In 1533, he'd have said Anne, in 1540 Katherine Howard, and so on. Henry was a romantic and was always out to achieve the same relationship dynamic of his grandfather and grandmother Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV, who, scandalously, had married for love, in 1464. His mother and father, Elizabeth of York and Henry VII, enjoyed a long, happy and scandal-free marriage of almost twenty years. Sadly, Henry was unable to follow in their footsteps. At his death, it was Jane who he wanted to be buried alongside, suggesting that he did think of her in his later years. Alternatively, it might have been a last act of public solidarity for the new king, Edward, their son. Being buried with any other wife (or alone) would have cast a shadow over the bond between the new king's parents, and we know that Henry was obsessed with leaving the realm contented and drama-free. I have read that Henry was supposed to have remembered Anne Boleyn on his deathbed, but I can find no evidence of this.
I suppose, if you asked Henry's almost-500-year-old ghost now, he'd probably look back and say that Jane was his favourite. But I do think he would still have a fondness for Katherine of Aragon for the many years they spent together strengthening and supporting the political, military and cultural nature of the realm. The only other wife I think he'd remember fondly would be Katherine Parr, who lived out his last months and years with him, but would he long for her over Katherine of Aragon and Jane? I don't think so.
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Sources and Further Reading:
Gareth Russell, Young and Damned and Fair: The Life of Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII
Jo Romero, Power Couples of the Tudor Era