I Wonder...? Could Katherine of Aragon Have Been...

[nerdycool]

At least he had children who lived. He could have been like Queen Anne... she was pregnant 18 times, and none of them lived past childhood. Only 6 were born alive, although half died within days. The rest were miscarriages & stillbirths.

And Edward was actually born healthy. It was only later on in which he got sick, and resulted in his early death.

[attyfan]

Good point, but didn't most married couples of that time have at least a handful of children? The man had to keep trying and trying just to get 2 daughters and a sickly son.

Depends upon how many you consider to be "a handful." Jane Seymour was one of seven (most surviving infancy) -- and all had one mother. Her brother Edward had 9 of his own -- all by one mother. The second Duke of Norfolk also had at least five who survived to adulthood, but by several wives (death in childbirth was not uncommon). One of his daughters (Elizabeth) was the mother of Anne Boleyn; and one of his younger sons was the father of Catherine Howard.

[danceronice]

One of the big reasons for shorter AVERAGE lifespans in earlier times is how many people died in infancy or early childhood. Stillbirths, miscarriages, both mother and child dying during birth, all very normal. Combine that with how even NOW about half of all conceptions don't result in a pregnancy or live birth, not having a horde of children doesn't automatically mean something's really off.

[Lanie]

Depends upon how many you consider to be "a handful." Jane Seymour was one of seven (most surviving infancy) -- and all had one mother. Her brother Edward had 9 of his own -- all by one mother. The second Duke of Norfolk also had at least five who survived to adulthood, but by several wives (death in childbirth was not uncommon). One of his daughters (Elizabeth) was the mother of Anne Boleyn; and one of his younger sons was the father of Catherine Howard.

Then you had people like the Duke of Northumberland who had 14 children with his wife Jane, though a few died. Can you imagine giving birth 14 times? (Okay, Michelle Duggar can, but... )

I wouldn't call it anorexia, for certain, considering it was due to fasting and wouldn't be some psychological thing. Considering she had what, six pregnancies, it didn't hinder things. Just bad luck.

[Bostonfan]

I always thought it was cruelly ironic that the Henry VIII blamed his wives for not giving him a son when it was up to him to contribute the necessary Y chromosone.

And how deliciously ironic that for all his insistence that England needed a male ruler, his daughter Elizabeth had one of the longest tenure in history on the throne (longer than him), not counting modern monarchy.

[AnnieBgood]

Depends upon how many you consider to be "a handful."

5

[Bostonfan]

5

Unless you're Anne Boleyn - then it's 6

[milanessa]

Unless you're Anne Boleyn - then it's 6

That's a handful + 1.

[AnnieBgood]

Unless you're Anne Boleyn - then it's 6

Oh yeahh, I forgot. Creepy.

[Civic]

The King may not have had stds, but he did have a lot of sickness' that were the reason for his demise. His physician's were known to guild the lily about his health and prowess. I've seen some excerpts that praise his virility, manly calves, and etc..

One of the complaints some viewers raised about John Rhys Meyers in The Tudors mini-series is that he was physically wrong for the role of Henry VIII. We have portraits of Henry in addition to written descriptions of him by his contemporaries. He was taller than average and well built with reddish hair and hazel eyes.

[AnnieBgood]

I agree. The producers probably wanted more ratings. I prefer realism, though.