Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII's Queens

From Holbein’s portraits to Broadway musical costumes: an iconographic look at the legacy of six remarkable queens

The queen consorts of Henry VIII have come to be encapsulated in a succinct six-word rhyme: “Divorced, beheaded, died / Divorced, beheaded, survived.” But what were their real stories and legacies? Six Lives reveals the extraordinary worlds of Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr. This publication focuses on the material traces of these women and the court culture that shaped their lives, extensively illustrated with their letters, heraldic devices, love tokens and, of course, their portraits.
The book begins with an examination of the women as cultural phenomena, from Shakespeare’s Henry VIII to the musical Six, and the role that portraiture has played in these retellings. An overview examines the queens’ self-presentation through portraiture before individual chapters consider each of their relationships with the king, their social networks and their patronage. Thematic pieces take a closer look at a particular element of court culture, ranging from music and jewelry to pageantry and heraldry.