Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All

by Candace Fleming

We know much about Henry…but what of that discarded wife? And the five who followed her? Too often, the six queens are seen only in their relationship to a forceful, mercurial king. Katharine of Aragon is the old battle-axe; Anne Boleyn, the seductress. Jane Seymour is the good wife; Anna of Cleves, the ugly frump. Catherine Howard is the giddy bubblehead; Kateryn Parr, the stoical matron. But these women had lives of their own. They had dreams and hopes. Ideas. Opinions. Ambitions. They were fighters. Thinkers. Politicians. Strategists. They led troops into battle and hunted on horseback. They read, danced, intrigued, and sewed. They had children they loved. Pets they adored. They gave money to the poor and supported artists and scholars. They ate peacocks and swans, wore pearls in their hair and diamonds on their sleeves. They defied expectations—Henry’s, and our own.