Henry VIII and his Six Wives

My  name  is  Catherine  Parr.  A  month  ago  I  was  the  Queen  of  England,  the  wife  of  King  Henry  VI.  Henry  died  and  we  buried  him  last  week  in  George's  Church,  Windsor.  Two  days  ago,  on  16th  February  15  February  1547  I  went  back  to  the  palace  of  Whitehall,  which  was  once  my  home.  I  wanted  to  take  my  letters  and  books  and  bring  them  back  to  my  house.  Margaret,  my  new  maid,  came  to  the  palace  with  me.  She's  very  young  and  doesn't  know  a  lot  about  the  world.  She  has  only  just  come  up  to  London  from  her  home  in  Somerset.  Perhaps  I  was  like  her  when  I  was  twelve.  I  too  was  always  asking  questions  and  wanting  answers  immediately.  When  we  arrived  at  the  palace,  it  was  cold  and  dark.  We  walked  into  Henry's  room.  I  sat  down  in  one  of  Henry's  large  chairs  in  front  of  his  wooden  writing  desk  and  looked  at  the  pictures  around  the  room  next  to  me.  There  was  a  big  picture  of  Henry  when  he  was  young.  He  was  very  handsome  then,  not  like  the  fat  old  man  he  was  later.  I  thought  his  blue  eyes  were  watching  me.  I  turned  to  Margaret  and  said  you  see  that  picture  of  the  King?

That's  what  he  was  like  when  he  was  young,  tall  and  strong  and  handsome.  People  say  that  he  never  got  tired.  He  could  go  out  riding  all  day,  changing  his  horses  nine  or  ten  times  and  then  he  could  dance  all  night.  He  was  clever,  too.  He  could  speak  five  languages.  Will  people  remember  him  like  that?  Or  will  they  only  remember  him  because  he  had  six  wives?  Did  he  really  have  so  many  wives?

Said  Margaret.

Yes,  of  course.  I  thought  that  everyone  knew  that.  Margaret  looked  away  and  said  we  didn't  get  much  news  from  London  at  home  and  my  family's  house  is  a  long  way  from  the  nearest  village.  It  doesn't  matter,  I  said,  smiling.  One  day  I'll  tell  you  the  story  of  my  husband  Henry's  life.  On  the  desk  in  front  of  me  there  was  a  wooden  box  with  a  large  gold  H  on  the  top.  I  opened  it  slowly  and  took  out  some  old  letters.  Each  letter  was  in  different  writing  and  some  of  them  were  old  and  yellow.  One  letter  had  a  picture  of  a  large  bird  on  it.  It  was  from  Henry's  second  wife,  Anne  Berlin.  Margaret,  I  said,  I  found  some  letters  from  Henry's  other  wives.  There's  also  a  beautiful  gold  necklace  and  a  small  piece  of  hair.  I  looked  at  another  letter.  Here's  one  old  letter  from  his  first  wife,  Catherine  of  Aragon.  She  was  married  to  him  for  a  very  long  time.  She  only  had  one  child,  didn't  she?

Said  Margaret?

Yes.  Only  Princess  Mary  is  still  alive.  There  were  five  other  children,  but  they  were  all  born  too  early  and  died  again.  I  looked  at  the  letter  with  the  picture  of  the  bird  on  it.  Have  you  heard  of  Amberlynn,  Margaret?  Yes.  My  mother  talked  about  her.  She  said  she  was  a  very  bad  woman.  Well,  that's  what  some  people  say.  Anne  was  the  mother  of  Henry's  second  daughter,  Princess  Elizabeth.  Look,  I  said.  This  one  is  from  Catherine  Howard,  henry's  fifth  wife.  Both  Anne  and  Catherine  were  beheaded  in  that  terrible  prison,  the  Tower  of  London.  Why  did  the  King  send  them  to  their  deaths?

Asked  Margaret.

She  looked  afraid.  She  looked  afraid.  They  had  many  enemies.  Who  told  the  King  that  they  had  lovers?  Perhaps  the  stories  were  true.  I  don't  know.  But  the  king  believed  them.  I  looked  at  another  letter.  This  one  is  from  Jane  Seymour.  She  was  the  third  wife  and  the  mother  of  Henry's  only  living  son.  He  is  now  our  king.  Edward  VI.  Was  Jane  Seymour  beheaded,  too?

Asked  Margaret.  No.

Poor  Queen  Jane  died  soon  after  Edward  was  born.  I  looked  at  the  last  short  letter.  Look.  A  letter  from  Anne  of  Cleaves,  henry's  fourth  wife.  Did  she  have  any  children?

Asked  Margaret.

No,  I  laughed.  Henry  thought  that  Anne  was  very  ugly,  and  he  didn't  want  her  to  be  the  mother  of  his  children.  Margaret  was  silent.  Then  she  said,  King  Henry  sounds  like  a  terrible  husband.  He  wasn't  all  bad,  Margaret.  There  were  good  times,  too.  He  was  clever  at  so  many  things.  Horse  riding  and  tennis  riding,  and  playing  music.  He  wrote  many  beautiful  songs.  And  he  had  a  wonderful  singing  voice.  But  it's  true  that  he  wasn't  very  kind  to  his  wives.  Margaret  looked  at  the  box.  So  why  did  he  keep  these  letters  from  them?  She  asked.  Oh,  you  ask  so  many  questions,  Margaret.  I  don't  know.  Perhaps  each  letter  says  something  important.  I  looked  up  and  saw  that  it  was  nearly  dark.  It  was  time  to  go  home  to  Chelsea  Manor.  I  put  the  letters  back  inside  the  box.  Come,  Margaret,  we  must  go  now.  But  can't  we  read  the  letters?  She  asked.  We'll  take  them  with  us  and  read  them  tomorrow.