Most of Henry VIII’s wives weren’t raised to be a queen consort. What kind of deficits in their education/training would have been the hardest to overcome for a new, non-royal queen?

by Rec0nSl0th

How would this have effected the spheres queens were supposed to lead or participate in?

notepaperpen

With the exception of Katherine of Aragon, none of Henry's wives were raised to be Queen. In terms of education there wouldn't have been any notable deficits as, after the divorce of Katherine of Aragon, what was expected of a Queen was greatly reduced. Perhaps the biggest hurdle would have been the relationship between the new Queen and her Ladies-in-Waiting. With Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour and Katheryn Howard all three were suddenly being served by people they would formerly have been working alongside or even beneath. Especially in the case of Katheryn Howard (who, of all six wives, is generally considered by Starkey to have been the most poorly-educated) her relationship with her Ladies was fraught with blackmail about her past relationships. Gareth Russell makes a particularly strong point that Katheryn was essentially being manipulated from all sides, and being both young and inexperienced, she had little idea of how to utilise what power she had. On top of that, every Queen after Katherine of Aragon had very good reason to be wary of her Ladies since Henry had a particular fondness for choosing his mistresses (and even wives) from their ranks.

Anne Boleyn is a wonderful example of the social spheres of court changing with the rank though. As a courtier she would have been expected not only to participate in masques or entertainnment, but also to actively participate in the games of courtly love. As a Queen she was still expected to participate, but her role as the 'unattainable woman' should have shifted. It is considered debatable that in part her downfall is due to her inability (or ignorance) of the shift in expectation.

Katherine of Aragon was very much the exception in Henry's wives. Before their marriage she served a very brief tenure as an ambassador for Spain, and had been raised from infancy for the position of Queen of England. She was politically savvy and early in her reign there are many accounts of her and Henry making decisions together as co-rulers. This is possibly due to the influence (and example) of her parents, the indomitable and very politically equal Ferdinand and Isabella. However, as Henry aged he became increasingly selfish with power and eventually came to actively resent any overt influence from his wives. There is an account of his saying to Jane Seymour (and I'm paraphasing) that she should "remember her predecessors" when she first approached him to ask him to reinstate Mary in the line of succession.

TLDR: most of Henry's wives weren't raised to be Queen Consort, but most were raised to be courtiers. Aside from being expected to greet ambassadors and organise court events, the rhythm of court life would have been very similar, and both Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour had served Katherine of Aragon and had a very good example of the kind of behaviour that was considered appropriate. The hardest thing to overcome would probably have been their relationships with their peers, and especially with the Ladies who went from colleagues to servants.