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
 
 
 
 
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