16th Century Europe was rather a small world, but did you know that Henry VIII and his six wives were all related, and that they all descended from King Edward I?
I give an overview in my latest video on YouTube, but see below for the lines of descent for each of Henry VIII’s wives and Henry himself. I’ve simplified them by just giving the next person (rather than any spouses) and by starting with the wife or Henry and then going back through each generation to Edward I.
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine – Isabella I of Castile – John II of Castile – Catherine of Lancaster – John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster – Edward III of England – Edward II – Edward I and his first wife, Eleanor of Castile.
Catherine – Isabella I – Isabella of Portugal – John, Constable of Portugal – Philippa of Lancaster – John of Gaunt – Edward III of England – Edward II – Edward I and his first wife, Eleanor of Castile.
Anne Boleyn
Anne – Elizabeth Howard – Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk – John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk – Lady Margaret de Mowbray – Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk – Elizabeth Segrave – Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk – Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk – Edward I and his second wife, Margaret of France.
Anne – Elizabeth Howard – Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk – John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk – Lady Margaret de Mowbray – Lady Elizabeth Fitzalan – Lady Elizabeth de Bohun – William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton – Elizabeth of Rhuddlan – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Anne – Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde – William Boleyn – Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormonde – Joan Butler, Countess of Ormonde – Joan de Beauchamp, Baroness Bergavenny – Elizabeth Fitzalan, Countess of Arundel – William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton – Elizabeth of Rhuddlan – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Anne – Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde – William Boleyn – Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormonde – James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormonde – James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormonde – Lady Eleanor de Bohun – Elizabeth of Rhuddlan – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Anne – Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde – William Boleyn – Anne Hankford – Anne Montagu – John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury – Margaret de Monthermer, 3rd Baroness Monthermer – Thomas de Monthermer, 2nd Baron Monthermer – Joan of Acre – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Jane Seymour
Jane – Margery Wentworth – Sir Henry Wentworth – Mary Clifford – John Clifford, 7th Baron Clifford – Elizabeth de Roos. – Beatrice Stafford – Margaret de Audley – Lady Margaret de Clare – Joan of Acre – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Jane – Margery Wentworth – Sir Henry Wentworth – Mary Clifford – Elizabeth Percy – Elizabeth Mortimer – Philippa of Clarence – Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence – Edward III – Edward II – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Anne of Cleves
Anne – John III, Duke of Cleves – John II, Duke of Cleves – John I, Duke of Cleves – Mary of Burgundy – John the Fearless – Margaret III of Flanders Mary of Burgundy – Margaret III of Flanders – Margaret of Brabant – John III, Duke of Brabant – Margaret of England – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Anne – John III, Duke of Cleves – John II, Duke of Cleves – Elizabeth of Nevers – John II, Count of Nevers – Philip II, Count of Nevers – Margaret III of Flanders – Margaret of Brabant – John III, Duke of Brabant – Margaret of England – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Catherine Howard
Catherine – Edmund Howard – Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk – John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk – Lady Margaret de Mowbray – Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk – Elizabeth Segrave – Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk – Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk – Edward I and his second wife, Margaret of France.
Catherine – Edmund Howard – Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk – John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk – Lady Margaret de Mowbray – Lady Elizabeth Fitzalan – Lady Elizabeth de Bohun – William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton – Elizabeth of Rhuddlan – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Catherine – Jocasta Culpeper – Sir Richard Culpeper – Elizabeth Ferrers of Groby – William Ferrers, 5th Baron Ferrers of Groby – Henry Ferrers, 4th Baron Ferrers of Groby – William Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Groby – Isabel de Verdun – Lady Elizabeth de Clare – Joan of Acre – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Catherine Parr
Catherine – Maud Green – Sir Thomas Green – Sir Thomas Greene – Philippa de Ferrers – Robert de Ferrers, 5th Baron Ferrers de Chartley – Elizabeth de Stafford – Margaret de Audley – Lady Margaret de Clare – Joan of Acre – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Catherine – Maud Green – Sir Thomas Green – Sir Thomas Greene – Philippa/Philippe de Ferrers – Margaret le Despenser – Edward le Despenser, 1st Baron Despenser – Edward le Despenser – Lady Eleanor de Clare – Joan of Acre – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Catherine – Maud Green – Sir Thomas Green – Sir Thomas Greene – Sir Thomas Greene – Mary Talbot – Richard Talbot – Pernel (Perina) Butler – Eleanor de Bohun – Elizabeth of Rhuddlan – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Catherine – Thomas Parr – Elizabeth Fitzhugh – Lady Alice Neville – Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury – Lady Joan Beaufort – John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster – Edward III – Edward II – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Catherine – Thomas Parr – Elizabeth Fitzhugh – Lady Alice Neville – Lady Alice Montacute, 5th Countess of Salisbury – Eleanor Holland, Countess of Salisbury – Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent – Joan of Kent – Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent – Edward I.
Catherine – Thomas Parr – Elizabeth Fitzhugh – Lady Alice Neville – Lady Alice Montacute, 5th Countess of Salisbury – Eleanor Holland, Countess of Salisbury – Lady Alice Fitzalan – Eleanor of Lancaster – Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster – Edmund Crouchback – Henry III of England.
Henry VIII
Henry VIII – Henry VII – Lady Margaret Beaufort – John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset – John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset – John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster – Edward III – Edward II – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Henry VIII – Henry VII – Lady Margaret Beaufort – John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset – Margaret Holland – Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent – Joan of Kent – Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent – Edward I and Margaret of France.
Henry VIII – Elizabeth of York – Edward IV – Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York – Richard of Conisbrough, 3rd Earl of Cambridge – Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York – Edward III – Edward II – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Henry VIII – Elizabeth of York – Edward IV – Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York – Anne Mortimer – Alianore Holland – Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent – Joan of Kent – Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent – Edward I.
Henry VIII – Elizabeth of York – Edward IV – Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York – Anne Mortimer – Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of Kent – Philippa of Clarence – Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence – Edward III – Edward II – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
Henry VIII – Elizabeth of York – Edward IV – Cecily Neville, Duchess of York – Joan Beaufort – John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster – Edward III – Edward II – Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
I also am descended from distant Plantagenet kings both legitimate and illegitimate and am related to Anne Boleyn through the De Welles line and the Hoo line, I may also have though it is unconfirmed a descent from Princess Mary Tudor and Mary Boleyn, also which gives me great glee, I am related to William Shakespeare as my several generations back grandmother was a second or third cousin of his, also Jane Austen is in my family tree and Winston Churchill and the late Princess Diana, I also am a third cousin of Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke who was a Victorian Liberal MP for Parliament but his career was ended when he was involved in a scandal ( as MP’s usually are)! he was at one time topped to be the next Prime Minister and very unfortunate this was because he supported lower working hours for the poor and was a champion of women’s rights, a hospital is named after him, and the labour MP Roy Jenkins wrote his biography, one of my relations was Esquire of the Body to James 1st and one lent a good deal of money to Charles 11, Sir Charles Duncombe who was called at the time the richest man in England, also another relative invented the Sedan chair, in early times royalty and nobility married their relations and so a lot of genetic inbreeding occurred, hence the famous Hapsburg jaw among the Spanish ruling classes, and a king of France was mentally ill, he was an ancestor of Henry V111, Juana sister of Katherine of Aragon was also mentally ill and our own Henry V1 possibly suffered from a form of learning disability, intermarriage was deemed essential to keep the royal blood line pure but as we have seen it did cause a good deal of problems, when Henry V111 married his wives he had to get dispensations to allow him to marry I believe Katherine of Aragon and Jane Seymour as they were related in the third ? degree, I’m not so sure but he knew they all had English blood in them, with his first queen it was said she had more right to the throne than he did as she was of legitimate descent where Henry of course was descended from the bastard line through his grandmother back to John of Gaunt, so the merry wives of Henry V111 were all distant cousins and of course Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard and Jane Seymour were the most closely related of the two, it is odd that both Anne and Catherine shared the same grisly fate and that Jane alone triumphed where none of his other wives did, but that’s Sod’s Law!