The fates of the six wives of King Henry VIII that inspired a musical

Spanish princess Catherine was betrothed to Henry’s older brother Arthur when she was just three years old. At the tender age of 15, she arrived in England. Later that year, she and Arthur, also 15, tied the knot.

They appeared to be a good match, but six months later Arthur died of the “sweating sickness” – a disease afflicting Europe at the time.

Spare heir Henry was just 10 when his brother died but soon he and Catherine were betrothed. It took many years for the Pope to agree to the union because canon law forbade a man to marry his brother’s widow. Catherine insisted her marriage to Arthur had never been consummated and finally, in 1509, they wed. Henry was 17 and had just ascended the throne. She was 23.

Queen Catherine had at least six pregnancies but only one child survived past infancy – Princess Mary. Suspecting Catherine would never bear him a son, Henry began romancing lady-in-waiting Anne Boleyn. When the Pope refused to annul his marriage, he broke with the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England.

Elegant, charming, strong-willed and sophisticated, over a period of years Anne drove Henry wild with lust and longing. In 1532, Anne finally submitted to his advances and fell pregnant. The Church of England annulled his marriage to Catherine and, desperate for the baby to be legitimate, Henry hurriedly wed Anne in secret in January 1533. Their baby, born later that year, was Princess Elizabeth. A string of stillbirths followed.

Hankering for a male heir, Henry set his sights on lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour. He accused Anne of adultery, high treason and incest with her brother – charges she vehemently denied. In 1536, she was found guilty and less than two weeks after she was beheaded, Henry married Jane.

Demure, gentle and reserved, Jane was cheese to Anne Boleyn’s chalk. She fell pregnant the year after they married and Henry was so excited, he catered to her every whim, even shipping quail eggs from France.

The joy of welcoming their son, Prince Edward, in 1537 swiftly turned to grief when Jane died 12 days later from postnatal complications. People widely believe she was Henry’s one true love and his grave is next to hers.

Ironically, he never officially crowned her queen. Her coronation was cancelled due to an outbreak of sweating sickness and she died before it could be rescheduled.

Anne was the original catfish! Two years after Jane’s demise, Henry proposed to German aristocrat Anne after viewing an oil painting of her. When she arrived in England, however, she looked nothing like the portrait. He married her anyway but found her so unattractive, he couldn’t bring himself to kiss her, let alone consummate the union.

Six months after exchanging vows, Henry had their brief marriage annulled. However, they remained great friends, with Henry calling Anne his “dear sister”.

Nineteen days after divorcing Anne of Cleves, Henry, aged 49, wed teenager Catherine.

By then, the King was severely overweight and unable to walk. He felt besotted with his beautiful young bride, showering her with gifts and calling her his “rose without a thorn”.

Less than a year into their marriage, scuttlebutt reached the King’s ears that Catherine had been intimate with two men before she married him. He then accused Catherine of having an affair with courtier Thomas Culpeper under his nose. In February 1542, authorities beheaded Catherine for adultery and treason, 19 months after she became queen.

Twice-widowed Catherine was 30 when she caught the King’s eye in 1543. She was independently wealthy and resisted Henry’s advances for as long as possible. Other members of her family pressured her to accept his marriage proposal because of the increased social standing it would bring them.

Reluctantly, she wed Henry in July 1543, but the King died four years later in 1547, aged 55.

After waiting a respectable nine months, Catherine happily tied the knot with her previous paramour, Thomas Seymour. She gave birth to their daughter, Mary, in 1548 but six days later Catherine died from postnatal complications.