Back to the Tudors calendar
In these days no one knew how anyone
looked unless they had seen them or unless the person had their picture painted. Portrait painters became very famous and in 1536 Hans Holbein had been appointed
as the royal portrait painter so much of what we know about how Henry and his wives looked came from Holbein’s portraits.
By 1539 Cromwell wanted Henry to marry again. The problem with a painting is that it is quite easy for the artist to sort of “Photoshop” it. In other
words they can change how someone really looks. Holbein had painted a portrait of a woman called Anne from Cleves, in Flanders, and based on the portrait and that
a marriage to her would be good for links in Europe, Henry agreed to a marriage. However when Anne arrived Henry was not impressed, stories say he called her a
Flanders Mare. He did, however, go ahead with the marriage in January but it only lasted six months, then Anne agreed to be saddled up and sent away. She was
neither imprisoned nor beheaded.
Thomas Cromwell, who had encouraged the King to marry Anne of Cleves so as to have an alliance in Europe, was not looked on so kindly by Henry who had
his head removed from his body.
Meanwhile Henry immediately married Catherine Howard who, as you probably have guessed if you have seen the posts from 1527 and 1536, was a maid of
honour to Anne. Catherine lasted just over a year but was found out to be having an affair. She was first imprisoned and then executed in 1542. Henry’s second
daughter, the nine-year-old Elizabeth, was distraught when her father beheaded Catherine, who was the cousin of Elizabeth’s mother, Anne Boleyn. Then Henry took
a liking to Catherine Parr who had obviously at one time been a lady in waiting. They married in 1542 and she actually survived him, dying in 1548.
There is a rhyme to remember what happened to Henry's wives. You may know it. It goes divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.
So how well have you been reading all this? What can you remember? Below are pictures of the wives and their names but they are not in the correct
order. Before you click on a picture, find a piece of paper and write down which number that wife was, when they married (you should have read that), how old the
wife was (you need to guess that), how old Henry was when they married (another guess), how long they were Queen (bit of Maths here) and when they died (should have
read that too). Off you go and be honest then see how many you got right. 36 possible correct answers.
: :
: :
: :
: :
Forward to 1545AD
