Henry VIII

Contrary to popular belief, Henry VIII was never divorced. On the contrary, his failed marriages were annulled.

So, how many marriages did he have? In the eyes of the English law it was only three: Henry annulled his putative marriages with Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn (on grounds of the affinity created between them thanks to Henry's relationship with her sister), and Anne of Cleves, leaving only the marriages to Jane Seymour, Katherine Howard (which was almost annulled), and Catherine Parr as valid. This means that his two daughters, Mary (by Catherine of Aragon) and Elizabeth (by Anne Boleyn) were illegitimate. His son Edward (by Jane Seymour) was legitimate in the eyes of the English law.

In the eyes of Rome it is more complicated: the Pope did not recognize his first annulment, so Henry VIII remained married to Catherine of Aragon till she died on 7th January 1536. This invalidated both his putative marriage to Anne Boleyn and his putative marriage to Jane Seymour, and made illegitimate his children Elizabeth and Edward. His next wife, Anne of Cleves, did not die till 16 July 1557. If the annulment with her was not recognized by Rome (the grounds given were that there was a precontract at the time to Francis, Duke of Lorraine, Henry did not consent, and he was impotent with respect to her) then neither of his subsequent putative marriages, to Katherine Howard in 1540, and to Catherine Parr in 1543, would be valid in the eyes of Rome. This gives a total of two. If, as seems plausible, however, this annulment was (or would have been) recognized by Rome then his marriage to Katherine Howard was the next valid one, and then the one to Catherine Parr, giving a total of 3 marriages.