Wives of Henry VIII
In common parlance, the wives of Henry VIII were the six queens consort of King Henry VIII of England between 1509 and his death in 1547. In legal terms (de jure), Henry had only three wives, because three of his marriages were annulled by the Church of England. He was never granted an annulment by the Pope, as he desired, however, for Catherine of Aragon, his first wife. Annulments declare that a true marriage never took place, unlike a divorce, in which a married couple end their union.[1] Along with his six wives, Henry took several mistresses.[2][3]
For other uses, see The Six Wives of Henry VIII.In popular culture[edit]
Theatrical adaptations[edit]
Six is a pop-rock musical featuring each of Henry's wives. A major theme of the show is that women should be the ones to tell their stories and how much more there is to their stories than how their relationships with Henry ended. The musical was written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss.[51] It originated in Edinburgh in 2017, moving to the West End in January 2019. In May 2019, Six had its North American premier at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.[52] and moved to Broadway in March 2020. The tag line of the show, "Divorced. Beheaded. LIVE in concert!", alludes to the rhyme describing the queens' fates.[51]
TV references[edit]
The Six Wives of Henry VIII is a historical miniseries produced by the BBC, originally aired in 1970. This series consists of six episodes, with each episode dedicated to one of the six wives of King Henry VIII, providing an in-depth exploration of their lives and fates. In addition to the miniseries, a film adaptation titled Henry VIII and His Six Wives was released in 1972.
Season 1 Episode 2[53] of the BBC One TV series Horrible Histories included a "Divorced, Beheaded and Died" song[54] and talk-show-style comedy skit starring Henry VIII.[53][55]
The Showtime series The Tudors (2007–2010) draws most of its drama from Henry VIII's pattern of idealizing, devaluing, and discarding wives.[56]
In music[edit]
Rick Wakeman's solo album The Six Wives of Henry VIII was conceptually inspired by the six wives. The album features six songs, each named after Henry VIII's wife. The order of songs does not match the chronological order of the marriages.
The 1910 music hall song "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" was about a woman who had 8 husbands, all named Henry.