Divorced, beheaded … survived: what the six wives of Henry VIII can tell us about ourselves.

Our understanding of history reveals far more about ourselves than the subjects analyzed. Within this Viewpoint, the six wives of King Henry VIII become a case study for each generation’s identities and how it plays a role in the interpretations of women’s histories. Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Katherine Parr are some of the most instantly recognizable historical British women, and yet primary sources are mainly void of their personal voices, lost to history amongst a wave of political agendas, misogyny, and religious vendettas. At different periods, they have been victims, sluts, saints, and feminist icons. This article attempts to analyze some of those most iconic interpretations of these women and what influences from that specific era played a role in the depiction. In the end, the practice of history itself is fallible, meaning that the real identities of the six wives of Henry VIII have been lost to us. However, the act of analyzing them, no matter how imperfect, ensures that their memories live on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]