Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
had several children. The best known children are the three legitimate offspring who survived infancy and would succeed him as
monarchs of England
This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Sax ...
successively,
Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
,
Mary I
Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...
and
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
.
His first two
wives
A wife ( : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, a wife is referred to as ...
,
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...
and
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
, had several pregnancies that ended in
stillbirth
Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term ...
,
miscarriage
Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...
, or death in infancy. Henry acknowledged one illegitimate child,
Henry FitzRoy, as his own, but is suspected to have fathered several illegitimate children by
different mistresses. The number and identity of these is a matter of historical debate.
There are many theories about whether Henry VIII had fertility difficulties. His last three wives,
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke of ...
,
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the s ...
and
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...
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
Illegitimate children
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
had one acknowledged illegitimate child, as well as several others who are suspected to be his, by
his mistresses.
Henry VIII acknowledged
Henry Fitzroy (15 June 1519 – 23 July 1536), the son of his mistress
Elizabeth Blount
Elizabeth Blount (// – 1540), commonly known during her lifetime as Bessie Blount, was a mistress of Henry VIII of England.
Early life
Blount was the daughter of Sir John Blount and Catherine Pershall, of Kinlet, Bridgnorth, Shropshire. Si ...
, 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
Thomas Stucley (c. 15254 August 1578), also written Stukeley or Stukley and known as the Lusty Stucley,Vivian 1895, p. 721, pedigree of Stucley was an English mercenary who fought in France, Ireland, and at the Battle of Lepanto (1571) and ...
(c. 1520 – 4 August 1578), his mother being Jane Pollard, the wife of Sir Hugh Stukeley
*
Richard Edwardes
Richard Edwardes (also Edwards, 25 March 1525 – 31 October 1566) was an English poet, playwright, and composer; he was made a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, and was master of the singing boys. He was known for his comedies and interludes. H ...
(1523? – 1566), born to Mrs. Agnes Edwardes
*
Catherine Carey
Catherine Carey, after her marriage Catherine Knollys and later known as both Lady Knollys and Dame Catherine Knollys, (c. 1522 – 15 January 1569), was chief Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth I, who was her first cousin.
Biograph ...
(c. 1524 – 15 January 1569), daughter of his mistress
Mary Boleyn, the sister of his
second wife,
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
, and wife of William Carey.
*
Henry Carey Henry Carey may refer to:
*Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (1526–1596), politician, general, and potential illegitimate son of Henry VIII
*Henry Carey, 1st Earl of Dover (1580–1666), English peer
*Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth (1596–1661), ...
(4 March 1526 – 23 July 1596), brother of
Catherine Carey
Catherine Carey, after her marriage Catherine Knollys and later known as both Lady Knollys and Dame Catherine Knollys, (c. 1522 – 15 January 1569), was chief Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth I, who was her first cousin.
Biograph ...
*
Ethelreda Malte
Ethel(d)reda Malte (sometimes referred to as Audrey; ) was an English courtier of the Tudor period who was reputed to be an illegitimate daughter of King Henry VIII. She was the wife of poet and writer John Harington, prior to Isabella Markham.
...
(born c. 1527 – c. January 1559), born to Joan Dingley, alias Dobson. Paternity was claimed by John Malte.
*
John Perrot
Sir John Perrot (7 November 1528 – 3 November 1592) served as lord deputy to Queen Elizabeth I of England during the Tudor conquest of Ireland. It was formerly speculated that he was an illegitimate son of Henry VIII, though the idea is reject ...
(November 1528 – 3 November 1592), his mother being Mary Berkeley the wife of Sir Thomas Perrot
See also
*
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, Henry had only three wives, because three of his marriages were annulled by the Church of ...
*
Mistresses of Henry VIII
The mistresses of Henry VIII included many notable women between 1509 and 1536. They have been the subject of biographies, novels and films.
Confirmed mistresses
* Elizabeth or Bessie Blount, mother of his illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, to who ...
*
:Lists of children by person
References
Further reading
* The Lady Penelope: The Lost Tale of Love and Politics in the Court of Elizabeth I by Sally Varlow (Andre Deutsch 2007 )
* The Children of Henry VIII by
John Guy (Oxford UP, 2013 )
* Children of England: The Heirs of King Henry VIII 1547–1558 by
Alison Weir
Alison Weir ( Matthews; born 1951) is a British author and public historian. She primarily writes about the history of English royal women and families, in the form of biographies that explore their historical setting. She has also written nu ...
(Jonathan Cape, 1996; Vintage, 2008 )
*
*
*
*
* {{cite book , last=Jones , first=Philippa , title=The Other Tudors: Henry VIII's Mistresses and Bastards , year=2009 , publisher=New Holland Publishers , location=London , isbn=978-1847734297 , url-access=registration , url=https://archive.org/details/othertudorshenry0000jone_v0n0
House of Tudor
17th-century English people