> In my many (too many) readings about Henry's checkered marital career, one thing always struck me - the constant back and forth between biographers/historians over the exact ending of his six marriages. It's a common assumption that Henry divorced Katharine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, and Catherine Howard, yet a close reading of the actual circumstances of each case reveals something quite different - those marriages were annulled, and annulments are not divorces.

> An annulment invalidates a marriage by declaring the marriage was never valid; in other words, a marriage never took place. If we take this a step further, it could be argued that Henry never had six wives at all - since he annulled four of his marriagess!
> A divorce recognizes the legal validity of a marriage; it acknowledges that a legal marriage did occur and was recognized by both spouses.

> I will add a discussion of each case when I have some spare time, which I hope is sooner rather than later.

to Tudor Quiz: Henry VIII