Why did Henry VIII behead his wives?
Henry had two of his wives beheaded for infidelity which counted as high treason when committed by a queen. Anne Boleyn was arrested for witchcraft, alleged adultery with Mark Smeaton, Henry Norris, Francis Weston and William Brereton and incest with her brother, George, Lord Rochford on 2nd May 1536 and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. It is very unlikely that she was guilty of any of these offences. Anne was beheaded (with a sword) at the Tower of London on 19th May 1536 – she was about 36. Katherine Howard was arrested for her premarital sexual activity with Francis Dereham, and her alleged marital infidelity with Thomas Culpeper. She was not brought to trial. Instead she and her aide, Lady Rochford, were condemned under a bill of attainder introduced into the House of Lords on 21st January 1542, which received the king’s assent on 11th February. She was beheaded on 13th February 1542 at 9am. The primary cause of her execution was arguably that she had not been courageous or w
