Did Henry VIII consider a seventh wife?

[Eldorado]

In February 1546, the imperial ambassador François van der Delft wrote to his master, Holy Roman emperor Charles V, to acquaint him with a story he had heard circulating in aristocratic and diplomatic circles.

“Sire, I am confused and apprehensive to inform your majesty,” he began apologetically, “that there are rumours here of a new queen, although I do not know why, or how true it may be. Some people attribute it to the sterility of the present queen [Katherine Parr] whilst others say that there will be no change whilst the present war [with France] lasts. Madame Suffolk is much talked about, and is in great favour; but the king shows no alteration in his demeanour towards the queen, though the latter, as I am informed, is somewhat annoyed at the rumours.”

Full article at BBC History: Link

[+susieice]

I have also heard that Henry had considered divorcing Katherine Parr to marry the Duchess of Suffolk, the widow of his lifelong friend, Charles Brandon. It sounds as though there may have been some consideration to this, but it never happened.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Brandon,_Duchess_of_Suffolk

Suffolk died 22 August 1545,^[22] and it was rumoured that the King was considering the Duchess – still only in her mid-20s – as his seventh wife.^[23] In February 1546, Van der Delft wrote: "I hesitate to report there are rumours of a new queen. Some attribute it to the sterility of the present Queen, while others say that there will be no change during the present war. Madame Suffolk is much talked about and is in great favour; but the King shows no alteration in his behaviour to the Queen, although she is said to be annoyed by the rumour".^[24] But their friendship remained strong, and after Henry VIII's death in 1547, the Duchess helped fund the publication of one of Catherine Parr's books, The Lamentation of a Sinner. 

Edited November 21, 2020 by susieice

[acute]

He'd probably have had her head chopped off before the wedding, to skip all that time-consuming red tape. 

[+and-then]

At some point, most guys would wonder... is it ME?  

[docyabut2]

  

Did Henry VIII consider a seventh wife?

he died getting a seventh wife

[+susieice]

At some point in time, Henry had to come to some sort of grips with reality. By the time he married Katherine Parr, he was not the strong, heir seeking King he once was. He weighed 400 pounds and had horrific, abscessed wounds on his legs that would never heal and that left him in constant pain. Most agree he was a raging diabetic. There were days in a row where he could not stand. Katherine Parr, being older than his other wives and having convalesced two previous husbands before their deaths, was the nurse, caretaker wife that he really needed. It's wondered by many historians if Henry even consummated any of his marriages after Anne of Cleves. It's highly doubtful with Katherine Howard. She just mentally made him feel young again. And most agreed that he did not with Katherine Parr.

Edited November 22, 2020 by susieice