We are the wives of Henry VIII, King of England, France, and Ireland. Ask Us Anything!

by tudor_wife

Greetings! Here be our proof.

We, the six wives of King Henry VIII, shall jointly share this account to answer your questions about our lives and our tumultuous times. We shall individually introduce ourselves:

I am Katherine, daughter of Isabel of Castile and Fernando of Aragon, and true and loyal wife of my husband Henry from our marriage to my death. I bore several children, but only my daughter Mary survived infancy.

Katherine Regina

Hello! I'm Anne, and I am very happy to speak to you today about the great changes my husband made to reform the true Church of England, and the great sacrifices we made for each other along the way. My daughter, Elizabeth, was my pride and joy even before she became one of the preeminent monarchs of England.

Anne B.

My name is Jane, and I do not know how much I can tell you, for I stay away from weighty matters of politics and religion. I am the wife who gave Henry his son and heir apparent, his most dear Edward.

J. Seymour

I must admit that I am not technically a wife of Henry VIII, as our marriage was never fully binding under canon law. But I welcome the opportunity to share my views on his court during my time there as his Beloved Sister!

Anna von Kleve

Hello, hello! I greet you respectfully as a visitor to our court. My time as consort was brief, but I am pleased to tell you about my life in the Howard family and as the young woman with "no other will but his".

~ Kathryn

Experience tells me that you will have little interest in me as a person, but I am here regardless. I was with Henry in his twilight years, and influenced him in reconciling with his daughters Mary and Elizabeth. Few are aware that I also acted as de facto regent during my husband's final military campaign!

Catherine Parr

hannahstohelit

Anna, at the risk of offending you- I had heard at one point that the reason that your marriage to Henry did not last is not because of a misleading portrait but because Henry did not want to have, for the first time in his life, a fully arranged marriage with a stranger. Is that an accurate assessment? And once you stayed in England after your marriage was dissolved, what was your relationship like with Henry?

And Jane, what are you able to tell us about your opinions and feelings about Henry? I understand if the answer is "not much," given your duty to the king.

OBELIX_THE_GAUL

WHY DO YOU PEOPLE INSIST ON RUINING YOUR BOARS BY BOILING THEM!?!?! THESE BRITONS ARE CRAZY!

Justin_123456

Katherine, time to come clean, was your marriage to Prince Arthur really not consummated? How could you expect God to bless your union with your lawful brother with a son and heir?

Young_Lochinvar

For those of you who knew each other: Did you like each other?

LondonWelsh

Catherine Howard, considering Henry was already known to be a bit temperamental with his wives (divorce, beheaded, divorced again). What possessed you to risk having an affair?

G_Plinius_Secundus

Do any of you ladies take an interest in matters of science and natural philosophy?

zyzzogeton

Thanketh the l'rd. T hast been sore to reacheth all of thee, what with the veil of death yond hast been separating us f'r so many centuries and all. In any case, may i impose upon all of thee to putteth thy signature and royal sealeth upon this trifling release yond we may did cast thy life st'ries in to bawdy songs on stage f'r which we chargeth ingraft'rs wage? legal requires t

Sincerely

Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss

miyyu1002

How do you all feel about your recent portrayals on TV and film? Which one of you is the most annoyed at how you've been represented?

mathfem

Anna, I am very interested in the fact that your totally-not-a-marriage to Henry VIII came at the same time as your brother William took control of the Duchy of Guelders from the recently deceased Charles II of Guelders and made war against the Habsburg Netherlands. Was Henry considering joining your brother's war on the anti-Habsburg side?

Anne Boleyn, as a former courtier to Margaret of Austria, your opinion on the Guelders Wars, and Henry's political views on them, would also be welcome.

RerumScriptor

My question is to Katherine Regina and is twofold : first, when one knows the family you came from, one could guess you were used to married monarchs sharing power and responsibility, as your mother Isabel of Castille was as important a leader in Spain as her husband, your late father. How did that influence your expectations of your life at court with your husband? Were you let down by the fact you didn’t share the same type of power as your husband when you came from an even more illustrious reigning family than him?

Also, and if my question isn’t too triggering of bad memories, but did you see a parallel, during your later life, with the life of your beloved sister Joana (colloquially referred to as “crazy”)? By that I mean that both of you were wed in apparent bliss, before being completely left to the side and basically put under arrest far away from court. You were repudiated on the basis of your first union to Henry’s brother, your sister on the basis of losing her sanity. Did you have any communication between you two sisters, did you know that you were in the same type of situation?

myhairsreddit

Anne B., Was all the trouble worth it for Henry?

cattabilly

FYI, the musical, Six, is about his wives.

Canuckleball

Anne, Catherine, have you had any contact with Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington or Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore?

tale_lost

To Kat, Anne B and Jane - was Thomas Cromwell as nice a man as he seems?

idroled

Kathryn Howard, how did you like being a stepmother?

Pink_Roses88

Anne B, for a king to annul his marriage to his queen and marry another woman was so unheard-of that Henry ultimately had to break with the Catholic Church and found the Church of England in order to marry you. Yet at the start of your relationship with Henry, you had the foresight and cunning to play a long game with him - - to refuse to become his mistress and hold out for marriage. How did you (and/or your advisors) even imagine that marrying an already-married king was even a possibility?

TendingTheirGarden

Catherine, during your time as regent who did you find most and least palatable to work with? Who made your life easier, who made it more difficult?

Bonus question for Kathryn: Given that your name is undeniably the correct spelling of Kathryn, and why are the other (incorrect) variants allowed to persist? Nostalgia?

mumdxbphlsfo

Katherine Howard, why do you think Anne Boleyn is so much more remembered than you when you were both beheaded after being accused of having affairs? Why is she such an object of fascination with mainstream audiences, and was she already so famous when you were around?

Louises_ears

To everyone: what are your feelings on your portrayals in the works of Philippa Gregory?

eldaveed

Queen Kathrine of Aragon, do you hold any grudges against Henry Fitzroy?

rubyface

Catherine- what do you think of your daughter Mary’s regency and marriage?

Anne - How do you feel about your daughter Elizabeth’s long and marriage-less reign?

jpallan

A couple of questions, ladies.

Anna von Kleve: While I understand that you weren't tutored in the languages or customs of the English court, and that impeded your ability to grow accustomed (to say nothing of being accosted by a romantic figure in costume at 340 pounds heavy unexpectedly who thought he was a handsome knight errant), do you think you would have adapted well? Or do you think that staying out of the way as the King’s Sister was a good deal?

Katherine, the rose without a thorn:

You were a child sex abuse victim, with two perpetrators, and were pimped to Henry by your uncle. How angry are you about the centuries of your tarnished reputation?

Throwaway321322323

Anna, although your first marriage ended rather quickly, did find love later in life? Or did you stay happily single for the rest of your days?

WilliamdeNormandie

God and his saints but I pity your treatment at the hands of the vile Tudor usurper. My own love for Matilda was strong and true, for ours was a love match, and I would sooner have turned my sword on myself than see harm come to her.

sweaterkarat

Hi Catherine Parr, big fan of your work. I really love the story of the time you almost got arrested for challenging Henry’s views and were able to talk him down by convincing him it was just a fun debate because you had so much respect for his intelligence. I always thought that was a genius move - how did you come up with it? Is there anything else about that incident you remember and would like to share?

anorangeandwhitecat

Anne, I’ve heard that you were called a witch and also used tarot cards. How accurate is that?

Sanguinusshiboleth

Two questions to any of you;

  1. What do you think of Ireland gaining it's indepedences in the 20 century?

  2. have you heard of Kangaroos?

bangonthedrums

Man, y’all’s parents sure didn’t have a lot of name options, did they?

fearofair

As prominent women living in 16th century England, you are situated in an interesting position, on the one hand wielding significant power and influence over social and political society, while on the other occupying a subordinate position within the royal family, a structure inside of which you were likely pressured to privilege the collective interest of the family, and indeed of England, over your own.

My question is, what would Hitler have thought about this?

Xanxost

I'm curious about your general thoughts on axes, especially Anne's?

willun

Did Henry only marry wives with similar names?

Katherine, Kathryn, Catherine

Anne, Anna

Jane

Shortage of names much?

capt_pessimist

I have heard that many of you are considered very talented seamstresses, and your embroidery is considered to be of the finest quality. Where did you get your patterns, or were they your own creations?

philipquarles

What are your favorite and least favorite things about how you're portrayed in the Wolf Hall series?

Ythio

King of France ? In dreams ?

hahaha01357

How accurate is this portrayal of your experience with Henry?

Konradleijon

Hon how much influence did you have on Henry’s actions? Where you consulted?

AFantasticClue

Can you tell me a story? Something that you think I’ve heard before?

TheNigerRiver

Henry has been looking restless of years now. How come?

Ezili

What are your plans for the future?

tricycle-

So which of you did he like the best?

Ps. The only time I will comment here without it getting removed.

KindaDutch

If you were all to arm wrestle who would come out on top?

BaconFairy

Catherine were you relieved or upset at the loss of power when Henry finally passed?

LynneCurtinCuffs

Queens, what do you consider to be the biggest misconception or lie told about your life?

Cbanders

What did y’all think of Rick Wakeman’s album the six wives of Henry the VIII?

towalktheline

Whose idea was the musical?

avalon-girl5

If I may address your highnesses Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr, by your reign His Majesty had become quite fat, and his leg oozing with pus. How did it feel having to be at the right arm of somebody so disgusting?

making_sammiches

How did you feel about your lives becoming a musical?

Chandra_in_Swati

Kathryn, how do you feel about Ford Madox Ford’s portrayal of your brief reign in “The Fifth Queen”?

hahaha01357

Question for Anna: Do you really look all that different from your portrait?

LeighSabio

Hi Anna von Kleve. How much do you feel comfortable telling us about why you and Henry chose to not consummate your marriage and instead live as royal sister?

alegxab

What's your opinion about your biography by R.C. Wakeman CBE?

ibWickedSmaht

What are your thoughts on the accuracy of your portrayal in the musical “Six”?

kittycat6676

Katherine of aragon at risk of bringing up subjects did you lay with Arthur when you got married and why did you not remarry after Henry? You could've done better.

Stock_Department_806

Kathryn, how did it feel to have a step daughter who was older than you?

SalsaSavant

J. Seymour- if you are not officially his wife, what title do you use when reffering to your relationship to His Highness?

Bullmooseparty21

Do you have any thoughts on women’s role in politcs at present? Thoughts on modern royals?

standardtrickyness1

For those that were much younger than Henry how did you and your family view the marriage?

Did you feel resentful? or that it is part of your duty? Those that have had affairs or were romantically attracted to other people did you feel guilty why or why not?

How did your families feel? Honored or shamed? How did they feel about romantic love?

abbot_x

So like which of you is the hottest?