Why did Henry V111

[BARNEYKX]

Why did Henry V111 divorce Catherine?

[CheekyChops]

Very simply, Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon in 1533 so that he could marry Anne Boleyn.

For a more detailed explaination, google 'Henry VIII divorced'.

[raysparx1]

Hi BARNEYKX, hope this explains a little

Shortly after their marriage, Catherine found herself pregnant. This first child was a stillborn daughter born prematurely in January 1510, but this disappointment was soon followed by another pregnancy. Prince Henry was born on January 1, 1511 and the was christened on the 5th. There were great celebrations for the birth of the young prince, but they were halted by the baby's death after 52 days of life. Catherine then had a miscarriage, followed by a short-lived son. On February 1516, she gave birth a daughter named Mary, and this child lived. There were probably two more pregnancies, the last recorded in 1518.

Henry was growing frustrated by his lack of a male heir, but he remained a devoted husband. He had at least two mistresses that we know of: Bessie Blount and Mary Boleyn. By 1526 though, he had begun to separate from Catherine because he had fallen in love with one of her ladies (and sister of one of his mistresses): Anne Boleyn.

It is here that the lives of Henry's first and second wives begin to interweave. By the time his interest in Anne became common knowledge, Catherine was 42 years old and was no longer able to conceive. Henry's main goal now was to get a male heir, which his wife was not able to provide. Somewhere along the way, Henry began to look at the texts of Leviticus which says that if a man takes his brother's wife, they shall be childless. As evidenced above, Catherine and Henry were far from childless, and still had one living child. But, that child was a girl, and didn't count in Henry's mind. The King began to petition the Pope for an annulment.

[dot.hawkes]

It was as a result of this divorce situation that led ultimately to Henry declaring himself head of the Church of England and the split from Rome too

[aristotle]

To ensure a peaceful succession he needed a male heir. Catherine of Aragon had failed to provide this and he thought Anne would. This is why he had to divorce Catherine.

[fletcher.5]

she was ugly & would not take it up the a---

[tru2me]

I believe their marriage was actually annulled and was considered to never having taken place due to the fact that she had been married to Henry's older brother who died. The whole crux of his argument in order to get a divorce to marry Anne Boleyn, was that the marriage was a sin against God and should never have taken place in the first place, she having had sex with his brother, something she denied strenuously as the brother had been very ill and simply unable to participate in such strenuous activity. By annulling the marriage, it never took place.

His marriage to Anne was also annulled - but he still had her beheaded for the general belief that she was a witch and had enchanted him and those around him.

His marriage to Anne of Cleves was annulled due to misinformation as to her looks so again did not exist. There then followed another annulment and beheading, followed by a marriage.

Therefore the old rhyme of Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived should read
Annulled, Annulled and Beheaded, Died, Annulled, Annulled and Beheaded, Survived.

Henry was therefore only married twice.