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She notoriously accused both her husband- George Boleyn, and his sister- Anne Boleyn of incest and treason which sent them both to the executioner's block. She later testified against Anne of Cleves , which could (but didn't) have resulted in the latter's death and then against Catherine Howard , which sent both Lady Rochford and Catherine Howard to their death. This woman is rarely spoken about but she was lady-in-waiting to five of Henry VIII's wives. Lady Jane Rochford was born in Norfolk in circa 1505. Her father was Henry Parker, 10th Baron Morley, a court translator and peer; he was knighted at the coronation of Anne Boleyn. Her mother was Alice St. John and her father was a 1st cousin to Henry VII. Jane had two siblings, the first was Margaret Parker, who married Sir John Shelton and the second was Henry Parker, a politician for Hertfordshire. Probably educated at home, Jane went to court to be a lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII's first wife- Catherine of Ar...

Henry VIII is probably most famous for marrying six wives:  Catherine of Aragon , Anne Boleyn , Jane Seymour , Anne of Cleves ,  Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr .  But not everyone can remember them just like that, so here's a few ways to remember it. 1. The rhyme This doesn't tell you the names of the wives however it dose tell you what happend to them. Divorced,  Beheaded,  Died,  Divorced,  Beheaded,  Survived. 2. A song  I heard this song and loved it! It is really fun and it helps you to remember the basic information about Henry VII's six wives! 3. Get to know the six wives If you want to know a little more detail about King Henry VIII's six wives, then you can take a look at this blog series by us! 1.  Catherine of Aragon 2.  Anne Boleyn 3.  Jane Seymour 4.  Anne of Cleves 5.  Catherine Howard 6.  Katherine Parr 4. A...

For a few months of his life, King Henry VIII of England was married to two women! The first was his original wife of twenty- four years: Catherine of Aragon; the second was a lady- in- waiting of Catherine: Anne Boleyn.  Henry was desperate for a male heir to keep the Tudor dynasty going, and when Catherine of Aragon grew to old to provide her impatient husband a new baby (she had been through six pregnancies, sadly only one child survived- Mary). Meanwhile one of the queen's ladies had caught the eye of Henry. This lady was the charismatic, intelligent and genteel Anne Boleyn. With this woman, the king was willing to go to great lengths to ensure he married her because, unlike poor Catherine, she was young and, Henry thought, would be able to have lots of lovely sons for him!  We do not know exactly what the new woman in Henry's life looked like, and there is a lot of debate about it bouncing between historians. However, we can take an educated guess about what Ann...

Catherine of Aragon, princess of Spain, arrived in England in 1501, with the hope to wed her betrothed- Arthur, Prince of Wales. The wedding went along as planned, the bride and groom were happy and everything was well. But, after less than five months of marriage, Prince Arthur was dead; probably due to the sweating sickness or typhoid or consumption. Now a widow aged just fifteen years old, Catherine was left to live on barely anything until her former father- in- law, King Henry VII, promised her hand in marriage to his youngest son-  Prince Henry. Shortly after his succession to the to the throne of England, Prince Henry, now King Henry VIII, made it one of his first acts to marry Princess Catherine of Aragon. Even before the union, the couple had known each other for nearly a decade! Henry claimed that it was his father's dying wish for him and Catherine to wed.  Although she did not possess any of the typical Spanish looks of dark hair and olive skin, Catherine...

Recently the historian Lucy Worsley (historian and chief curator of Hampton Court Palace, London) completed a documentary/ historical re-enacment program for the BBC, it is currently available on BBC iPlayer. This series is titled: 'Six wives with Lucy Worsley'. The series consists of three episodes, each focusing on a few of Henry VIII's wives at a time. The first is about Catherine of Aragon, the second is about Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour and the third is about Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. During the series, Worsley dresses up as a servant and a courtier and re- visits historic events that usually get forgotten but are key events in the downfall of his unfortunate wives. Personally, I really enjoyed it and I hope you do too.  Beth