Do you think any of Henry's 6 wives actually really loved him?

[Bjarnum]

Just that really. I think maybe the first...

Yes I think Catherine loved him deeply in her own way.

I don’t think the concept of love is meaningful in understanding the difference between human relations at that period in history compared to now.

I think Catherine of aragon deff did. Anne boylen maybe - he was certainly a dashing and charasmatic Prince when they first met and probably hard not to get swept off your feet.

I think him and Catherine Aragon were quite fond of each other, supposedly. In a distant relation kind of way. And apparently Catherine Parr and him were very close, as kind of devout amiable companions. But, beyond that, I think it was all quite transactional - not sure how much the women had a say in anything. We don't really hear their authentic voices in documentary evidence left behind. Or do we? I may be wrong.

No. I think they all feared him

Catherine of Aragon's last letter to Henry ended with something like "lastly I vow that mine eyes desire you above all things". She still loved him, even after all he put her through.

Kathrine of Aragon for sure

I don’t believe Anne loved him just saw an opportunity for power. She was a woman ahead of her time in many ways and I also think that she just got in too deep ’once she’s lost her youth waiting for him to divorce she had to throw herself into it entirely

Jane. I think given how she is described she probably by most historians had a level of respect and affection for Henry but love? No. She also wasn’t very young when she married I think she also saw the chance to care for his children and was happy with that idea of a respected wife, mother to his children and have high status for her family

I think Anna of cleve got a lucky escape! Definitely didn’t love him and cleaver enough to be happy to go quickly and easily.

Katherine Howard. No she was very young and he was old and diseased but I think she enjoyed the attention and life style that came with being a queen and was happy to be used by her family without realising the horrible consequences. I think tho she was too assured of his love for her which was a mistake

Katherine parr. No her mother was close to Katherine of Aragon and would have witnessed first hand the awfulness that Henry out her through. I think she was a sensible pragmatic woman who had been married twice already and knew that she couldn’t defy the king. She was clearly in love with Thomas Seymour but understood that it was best for her to marry Henry as that’s what he wanted

All I can see is ewww. Henry VIII really wasn't hot.

Well no, not in later life. But apparently he was gorgeous in his youth.

Probably just Catherine of Aragon.

Only C of A I think.

I think his first wife probably did as they were young and married through choice.

With the others, he was a lot older than they were, and already king when they married. He doesn't look attractive from any of his older paintings, and they would have known what happened to his previous wives. So I would guess not? They probably didn't have much choice in the matter but if they did then they must have been attracted by his money and power and the idea of being queen.

Given the suggested affair Henry and Catherine of Aragon had when she was married to Arthur (Henry's older brother who died) I do think she loved him.

Remember, for the period they lived in Henry would have looked magnificent in his prime. He was much taller than average, slim, well built, he was a master of his horse, of the sword and jousting. He was a sports man and much like the adulation sports men get for their looks these days Henry would have had the same.

Anne Boleyn was crafty and well ahead of her time, although coming from the French court that wasnt entirely unusual.

When Henry had his accident everything changed. Its speculated that his injury effectively slowly poisoned him to death. His leg wound never did heal, it would have been messy, extremely painful and smelly. He would have been aware that he was losing his vigour of his prime and the English court was not a nice place.

I dont think putting he loved her, she loved him in simple terms like that is an easy thing to do. True, Henry turned into a bitter, old man. He was desperate for a surviving son, that was his sole laser focus.

@SpnBaby1967 there was never any suggestion of an affair while she was married to his brother. Henry was only about ten at the time!

Probably just C of A

[quote KillingMeDeftly]@SpnBaby1967 there was never any suggestion of an affair while she was married to his brother. Henry was only about ten at the time![/quote]
Sorry, I meant after arthur had died but that she had been married to his brother. Its suggested they flirted and fooled around together before they married and Catherine had to argue that her marriage to Arthur hadnt been consummated and Henry said he married her as it was his fathers last wish.

I also think only possibly Catherine of Aragon.

Katherine of Aragon definitely loved him. I'm not so sure about the rest. As for Katherine Parr, he came close to having her arrested and taken to the Tower. That sort of thing, especially for a husband who has form, has a way of dampening one's ardor, I imagine.

Catherine was vey religious so I'm not sure she'd have fooled around with Henry before marriage. He was also several years younger than her and a child for much of her widowhood. She was treated pretty badly after she was widowed - kept short of money and for a while there was even talk that her father in law wanted to marry her. Her own father doesn't seem to have cared much about what happened to her.

He and Anne of Cleves are meant to have established a pretty close friendship after their divorce /annulment - they wrote to each other and she advised him on various matters of state!

I think C of A was most definitely in love with him and I think AB fell in love with him. She was reported to have been furiously jealous of JS when Henry started to pay her attention. Their relationship seemed quite firey and toxic and she's allegedly lost her temper with him at times - unthinkable in context.

Their letters and even Elizabeth's birth announcement seem united and loving to me.

I don't think the others loved him at all - I imagine they actually despised him

I think Katherine of Aragon did. I don't think AB did, - she was certainly in love with Henry Percy and when Wolsey stopped that relationship I think she decided to go for power and to make Henry fall in love with her.

Catherine of Aragon knew him when he was young and gorgeous.
After Arthur's death Henry VII kept her in a state of poverty. She had to borrow money from her servants.
Henry VIII rescued her and it was really quite romantic.
I think she loved him.
I don't think anyone else did.
Anne Boleyn was possessive but only because she knew if his eye wandered she was done for. By marrying her a precedent had been set.
Jane Seymour was coached on how to appear and what to say.
Anne of Cleves married him for political reasons.
Katherine Howard was a young girl and I can't believe she was attracted to him- he was grotesque by then.
Catherine Parr was fond of him but in love with someone else.

Yes I think Catherine did and Anne did (to begin with).

Not the others. I think he just "selected" them to be his wife and they had to go along with it.

Anne of Cleves and Katharine Parr had narrow escapes, especially Katharine. At least Anne was given a house and left alone (and I think he actually got on with her quite well, just didn't like her looks) but Katharine was in constant fear of her life.

I think Anne of Cleves definitely got the best deal. She had a remarkable degree of independence for a Tudor woman. Her upbringing had been very austere and she ended up with the funds and the freedom to enjoy herself.

Katharine Parr was in love with Thomas Seymour when she married Henry VIII. Her interest in the new faith also put her life in danger, and she only survived because she was extremely intelligent. I can’t imagine that she loved him, but she was smart enough to be devoted and play the game.