Sunday, January 18, 2009

Name :Anne Boleyn

Fate :Beheaded at the Tower of London on May 19, 1536 after being charged with adultery.

Children :Elizabeth IWife Number :

2Name :Jane Seymour

Fate :On October 24, 1537, Jane died from complications of childbirth.Jane is the only one of Henry's wives to share his grave.

Children : Edward VIWife

Number :3

Name :Anne of Cleves

Fate :Henry divorced her and Anne received a nice sum of money, an estate, and the title of "King's Sister".

Children : NoneWife

Number :4

Name :Catherine of Aragon

Fate :Henry divorced her, having their marriaged anulled. Catherine was banished from the kingdom and lived in seclusion until the time of her death.

Children : Mary IWife

Number :

Name :Catherine Parr

Fate :She outlived Henry.On September 7, Catherine died of complications from the childbirth.

Children :NoneWife

Number :6

Name :Catherine Howard

Fate : Beheaded at the Tower of London , charged with treason

Children :NoneWife Number : 5

2. Why did Henry marry so many women ?

Throughout his reign King Henry VIII was married six different times. He married for both political and formal reasons.Henry VIII's motive for marriage was to have a male heir to the throne. Some of Henry's actions proved that he would go to any length to have a male child. For example, the beheading of two of his wives and the inhumane treatment of Catherine of Aragon. Henry VIII made a big deal about having a male child to insure the continuance of the House of Tudor.

Tudor London can be described as a prosperous, bustling city during the Tudor dynasty. In fact, the population increased from 75,000 inhabitants with Henry VII to 200,000 at the end of the 16th century.
The Tudor monarchs had a royal residence in London called Whitehall Palace and another in the countryside,called Hampton court , after Cardinal Wolsey gave it to Henry VIII.These Tudor kings and queens used what are now famous parks , such as Hyde Park or St. James's Park , as Royal Hunting forests.
Not many Tudor buildings survive today, mostly because of The Great Fire , which happened in 1666. Besides, , the 13 religious houses in London were converted for private use or pulled down for building materials after the Dissolution of the monasteries, which was Henry VIII's most decisive step against the power of the church in 1538. First the small, less powerful houses had their property confiscated and their buildings blighted (made unsuitable for use). They were followed the next year by the large houses.

Philosophical concepts of the power of the king over church may have played a part in Henry's decision to suppress the monasteries, but so did greed. The monasteries were rich, and a lot of that wealth found its way directly or indirectly to the royal treasury. Some of the monastery buildings were sold to wealthy gentry for use as country estates. Many others became sources of cheap building materials for local inhabitants. One of the results of the Dissolution of the Monasteries is that those who bought the old monastic lands were inclined to support Henry in his break with Rome, purely from self interest.