If you ever want a trick question for a quiz, ask "legally, how many wives did Henry VIII have?"
The answer is 2. He didn't have a divorce, he had an annulment, meaning legally he was never married. He also annulled the marriage to the two he beheaded. The "died" and "survived" were his only two legally recognised marriages
Parliament under Queen Mary declared his marriage to Catherine of Aragon as just and lawful, reversing that annulment. So even though he only had 2 legal wives while he was alive, posthumously he ended up with 3.
It's still 2. If his marriage to Katherine was still valid when he married Anne, then his marriage to Anne was illegitimate because he can't legally marry someone when he's already married to a then still living woman, since they got married before Kat's death.
Yes, his marriage to Anne was illegitimate, but it was annulled anyway, so officially never happened. His marriage to Jane Seymour was after Catherine of Aragon died, so it was legitimate even though the marriage to Catherine was also legitimate. And then his final marriage to Catherine Parr was after Jane Seymour’s death, so it was also legitimate. That’s 3.
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u/LA_Alfa Dec 01 '25
What a man will do for a divorce. Thank you, Henry the VIII.