In today's world, Children of Henry VIII has become a topic of great relevance and interest to a wide spectrum of society. The importance of Children of Henry VIII has left its mark on history and is present in people's daily lives. From its origins to the present, Children of Henry VIII has been the subject of debate and analysis in different areas, from politics to science, including culture and technology. For this reason, it is essential to understand the impact that Children of Henry VIII has on our lives and in the global context. In this article, we will explore in depth the importance of Children of Henry VIII and its implications in the contemporary world.
There are many theories about whether Henry VIII had fertility difficulties. His last three wives, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr are not known to have conceived by him, although Parr conceived in her next marriage.
None of Henry's acknowledged children (legitimate or otherwise) had children of their own, leaving him with no direct descendants after the death of Elizabeth in 1603.
Legitimate children
Name
Birth
Death
Notes
By Catherine of Aragon (married Palace of Placentia 11 June 1509; annulled 23 May 1533, upheld by the Catholic Church until her death on 7 January 1536)
Henry acknowledged his paternity of Henry FitzRoy (15 June 1519 – 23 July 1536), the son of his mistress Elizabeth Blount, and granted him a dukedom; FitzRoy married Lady Mary Howard, but had no issue.
Others speculated to have been Henry VIII's illegitimate offspring include:
Thomas Stukeley (c. 1520 – 4 August 1578), his mother being Jane Pollard, the wife of Sir Hugh Stukeley.
^Whitley, Catrina Banks; Kramer, Kyra (2010). "A New Explanation for the Reproductive Woes and Midlife Decline of Henry Viii". The Historical Journal. 53 (4): 827–848. doi:10.1017/S0018246X10000452. S2CID159499333.
^Eustace Chapuys wrote to Charles V on 28 January reporting that Anne was pregnant. A letter from George Taylor to Lady Lisle dated the 27 April 1534 says that "The queen hath a goodly belly, praying our Lord to send us a prince". In July, Anne's brother, Lord Rochford, was sent on a diplomatic mission to France to ask for the postponement of a meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I because of Anne's condition: "being so far gone with child she could not cross the sea with the king". Chapuys backs this up in a letter dated 27 July, where he refers to Anne's pregnancy. We do not know what happened with this pregnancy as there is no evidence of the outcome. Dewhurst writes of how the pregnancy could have resulted in a miscarriage or stillbirth, but there is no evidence to support this, he therefore wonders if it was a case of pseudocyesis, a false pregnancy, caused by the stress that Anne was under – the pressure to provide a son. Chapuys wrote on 27 September 1534 "Since the king began to doubt whether his lady was enceinte or not, he has renewed and increased the love he formerly had for a beautiful damsel of the court". Muriel St Clair Byrne, editor of the Lisle Letters, believes that this was a false pregnancy too.
^The only evidence for a miscarriage in 1535 is a sentence from a letter from Sir William Kingston to Lord Lisle on 24 June 1535 when Kingston says "Her Grace has as fair a belly as I have ever seen". However, Dewhurst thinks that there is an error in the dating of this letter as the editor of the Lisle Letters states that this letter is actually from 1533 or 1534 because it also refers to Sir Christopher Garneys, a man who died in October 1534.
^Chapuys reported to Charles V on 10 February 1536 that Anne Boleyn had miscarried on the day of Catherine of Aragon's funeral: "On the day of the interment the concubine had an abortion which seemed to be a male child which she had not borne 3 1/2 months".
^The Manuscripts of His Grace the Duke of Rutland: Letters and papers, 1440–1797 (v.3 mainly correspondence of the fourth Duke of Rutland). v.4. Charters, cartularies, &c. Letters and papers, supplementary. Extracts from household accounts. H.M. Stationery Office, 1888, p 310
^ According to Tudor historian, Sylvia Barbara Soberton, "In September 1540, the Venetian ambassador Francesco Contarini reported that “the new Queen Katherine is said for certain to be pregnant”. Three months later, on 31 December 1540, the French ambassador Charles de Marillac saw Katherine and observed that she was “grosse”, stout. The word “grosse” was used in French to describe a pregnant woman. In April 1541, de Marillac continued to report about Katherine’s pregnancy, writing “that this Queen is thought to be with child, which would be a very great joy to this King, who, it seems, believes it, and intends, if it be found true, to have her crowned at Whitsuntide”. According to this report, Katherine was pregnant and the King made plans to have her crowned on Whitsunday, the seventh Sunday after Easter. De Marillac reported that the preparations for her coronation were in full swing, which seems to prove the court was preparing for the coronation and then the christening of Katherine Howard’s child. Another ambassador, Eustace Chapuys, reported in November 1541 that during the last Lent—during the same period that de Marillac reported about Katherine’s pregnancy—there was “some presumption that she was in the family way ”. Unfortunately, nothing further was reported of this pregnancy after Lent of 1541. "
^Varlow, Sally (2009). Lady Penelope: The Lost Tale of Love and Politics in the Court of Elizabeth I. Andre Deutsch. ISBN978-0233002651.
Williams, Neville (1971). Henry VIII and his court. New York: Macmillan. ISBN978-0-907-48617-6.
Whitley, Catrina Banks; Kramer, Kyra (2010). "A new explanation for the reproductive woes and midlife decline of Henry VIII". The Historical Journal. 53 (4): 827–848. doi:10.1017/S0018246X10000452. ISSN0018-246X. S2CID159499333.