Henry VIII’s six wives are among the most famous women in English history, yet their stories are usually told as chapters in his. In the Six Tudor Queens series, historian Alison Weir turns that around: six novels, one for each queen, each told from the queen’s own point of view, from childhood to death. The series is complete, published between 2016 and 2021, and is accompanied by a set of short stories now collected in one volume.
Weir had written the history of these women long before she wrote their fiction. Her biography The Six Wives of Henry VIII appeared in 1991, and the novels draw on that research and on new work she did for the series. The result is fiction that stays close to the record while imagining what the record leaves out: what each queen thought, feared and wanted.
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Quick Series Facts
| Author | Alison Weir |
| Number of books | 6 novels, plus 1 short story collection |
| First book | Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen (2016) |
| Final book | Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife (2021) |
| Setting | England and the Tudor court, from the 1480s to 1548 |
| Genre | Biographical historical fiction |
| Status | Complete |
Six Tudor Queens Books in Publication Order
The publication order follows the order of Henry’s marriages, so there is only one order to read in. Each novel covers its queen’s whole life, which means the books overlap: the same scenes at court come back in later novels, seen through different eyes. Weir uses a different spelling for each of the three Katherines and calls Henry’s fourth wife Anna rather than Anne, to keep them apart. Two of the books have different titles in the US, noted below.
1. Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen (2016)
Setting: Spain and England, from the 1480s to 1536
A Spanish princess, raised to be modest, obedient and devout, sets out for England to marry Prince Arthur, the heir to the throne. At sixteen, Catalina is alone among strangers after a long and dangerous voyage, missing her mother and unable to trust even those who are supposed to protect her. Weir shows the young woman who will become the first of Henry’s queens, and the strength she will need to defend her rights and her daughter’s place.
The novel won Le Grand Prix du Roman Historique, a prize given by the French publisher Bragelonne, and it is the natural starting point for the whole series.
The real queen: Katherine was born in Spain in 1485, the youngest daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. She married Prince Arthur in 1501 and was widowed within months, married Henry in 1509, and gave birth to the future Mary I in 1516. She died at Kimbolton Castle in January 1536, still insisting she was Henry’s true wife.
2. Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession (2017)
Setting: Burgundy, France and the English court, 1510s to 1536
Fresh from the sophisticated palaces of Burgundy and France, Anne Boleyn draws attention at the English court, where she joins in the game of courtly love. But when the King commands, nothing is ever a game. She has a spirit worthy of a crown, and her ambition will set her on a perilous course that plunges a kingdom into turmoil.
Weir had already examined the end of Anne’s story in her history The Lady in the Tower, and the novel builds on that research. It reached number 5 on the Sunday Times bestseller list.
The real queen: Anne was educated at the court of Margaret of Austria in the Low Countries and then in France, and returned to England in the early 1520s. She married Henry in 1533, gave birth to the future Elizabeth I that September, and was executed at the Tower of London on May 19, 1536.
3. Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen (2018)
Setting: Wiltshire and the English court, 1510s to 1537
Ever since she was a child, Jane has longed for the cloistered life of a nun. Her ambitious family has other plans, and she is sent to court as a lady-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon. When the King sets aside Katherine for Anne Boleyn and then turns his eye to Jane herself, she is drawn into a dangerous political game that sets her conscience against her family’s wishes.
Weir’s Jane is haunted by the fate of the women who came before her, and knows she must give the King a son or face ruin. The novel was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller.
The real queen: Jane was the daughter of Sir John Seymour of Wolf Hall in Wiltshire and served both Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. She married Henry on May 30, 1536, gave birth to the future Edward VI on October 12, 1537, and died twelve days later. She is buried at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, where Henry chose to be buried beside her.
4. Anna of Kleve: Queen of Secrets (2019)
Setting: The Duchy of Kleve and England, 1510s to 1557
Published in the US as Anna of Kleve: The Princess in the Portrait. Henry VIII has fallen in love with the portrait of a German princess. She has none of the accomplishments he admires in women, and she is hiding a guilty secret. Anna knows she is no beauty, and as she waits for her bridegroom she prays that she will please him, because if she does not, the choice may be divorce or the headsman’s sword.
Weir presents Anna as a charming and spirited woman, loved by those who knew her, and makes clear that her story does not end with her marriage. The novel reached number 4 on the Sunday Times bestseller list and was BBC History Revealed’s Book of the Month in August 2019.
The real queen: Anna was the daughter of the Duke of Kleve (Cleves), a German duchy, and the marriage was part of an alliance arranged by Thomas Cromwell. She married Henry on January 6, 1540, and the marriage was annulled that July. She accepted the settlement, was treated as the King’s “beloved sister”, and lived in England until her death in 1557, the last of the six queens to die.
5. Katheryn Howard: The Tainted Queen (2020)
Setting: The Howard family households and the English court, 1520s to 1542
Published in the US as Katheryn Howard, The Scandalous Queen. A pretty and naive girl, pushed forward by her ambitious family, captures the heart of an ageing king. She sings, she dances and she delights in being queen, and Henry calls her his rose without a thorn. But Katheryn has a past that Henry knows nothing about, and it comes back to haunt her even as she courts danger again.
Weir tells the story of a lively, neglected girl used by powerful men for their own ends. It is the saddest book in the series.
The real queen: Katheryn was a niece of the Duke of Norfolk and a cousin of Anne Boleyn, brought up in the household of her step-grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. She married Henry in July 1540, weeks after the annulment of his fourth marriage. When her past and a later romance came to light, she was executed at the Tower on February 13, 1542.
6. Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife (2021)
Setting: London, Yorkshire and the English court, 1510s to 1548
Twice widowed, Katharine Parr is in love with Sir Thomas Seymour, brother of the late Queen Jane, when the King fixes his eyes on her. She cannot refuse him, and in 1543 she becomes his sixth queen. She must hide her religious beliefs from enemies who are closing in, and the story continues past Henry’s death into a new marriage and a betrayal she does not see coming.
The novel closes the series and reached number 3 on the Sunday Times bestseller list. It was also one of Amazon’s Editors’ Picks for the best books of 2021.
The real queen: Katharine had been widowed twice before she married Henry at Hampton Court in July 1543. She acted as regent while he was at war in France in 1544, and in 1545 she published a book of prayers under her own name. After Henry’s death she married Thomas Seymour, and she died at Sudeley Castle in September 1548, days after the birth of her daughter Mary.
Is There a Chronological Order?
No separate chronological order is needed. The novels were published in the order of Henry’s marriages, and each one covers its queen from birth to death, so reading them as published is also reading them in historical order.
Because each book covers a whole life, the timelines overlap. Jane Seymour first appears as a lady-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon, and Katharine Parr’s story begins in the years when Katherine of Aragon was still queen. That overlap is part of the design: the divorce from Katherine looks one way in the first book and quite another in the second.
Companion Short Stories: In the Shadow of Queens
In the Shadow of Queens: Tales from the Tudor Court (2021)
While the novels were coming out, Weir wrote eleven short stories, first published in the UK as e-shorts, each showing the Tudor court through the eyes of someone close to the queens. All of them are now collected in this one paperback, which is the easiest way to read them, especially for readers outside the UK. The US paperback editions of the novels also include one of the stories each.
The stories in the collection are:
- Arthur: Prince of the Roses, the young prince made to marry before he is ready (a companion to Katherine of Aragon)
- The Blackened Heart, a murder and a love affair that could have taken place
- The Tower is Full of Ghosts Today, an eerie experience at the Tower of London (a companion to Anne Boleyn)
- The Chateau of Briis: A Lesson in Love (a companion to Anne Boleyn)
- The Grandmother’s Tale, an old lady swept up in the tragedy of Anne Boleyn’s fall
- The Unhappiest Lady in Christendom, a princess whose life is torn apart by her parents’ divorce
- The Curse of the Hungerfords, the royal bride who never was and her link to the notorious Hungerford family (a companion to Anna of Kleve)
- The King’s Painter, a royal painter sent to Kleve to learn more about Henry’s chosen bride (a companion to Anna of Kleve)
- The Princess of Scotland, the King’s niece who nearly lost her head for loving unwisely (a companion to Katheryn Howard)
- The Wicked Wife, Jane Parker and her unhappy marriage to George Boleyn (a companion to Katheryn Howard)
- The Queen’s Child, the lost daughter of Katharine Parr, and In This New Sepulchre, the strange tale of Katharine’s afterlife (companions to Katharine Parr)
The stories are optional. The six novels are complete on their own, but readers who finish the series wanting more will find these a rewarding extra, and the collection can be read alongside the novels or afterwards.
About the Six Tudor Queens Series
Weir has said that the idea for six novels about the wives of Henry VIII came to her suddenly in 2014, while she was discussing another book with her agent, and that Headline commissioned the series. She saw it as a chance to revisit women she had written about as a historian, this time with the freedom to explore their inner lives.
Each book follows a single queen from childhood, through her years with Henry, to her death. That structure gives the less famous queens as much room as the famous ones, and it lets the reader see the same king change across six books, from the young prince of the first novel to the ageing ruler of the last.
What Makes the Six Tudor Queens Special
- Six points of view on one reign. The same events are seen from six different sides, so the series builds a picture no single novel could.
- A historian’s research. Weir drew on the work behind her nonfiction and on new research, and her author’s notes explain where she has used imagination.
- Every queen gets a full life. Anna of Kleve and Katheryn Howard, often treated as footnotes, get the same space as Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn.
- Complete and self-contained. Six books, all published, with no cliffhangers to wait on.
- Companion stories. The short story collection adds the view from the edges of the court.
Where to Start
Start with Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen and read the series in order. The early novels set up the court, the families and the rivalries that the later books depend on, and the overlaps reward readers who come to them in sequence.
Can I Start Somewhere Else?
Yes. Each novel tells a complete life, so any of them can be read on its own. Readers drawn to one queen in particular, most often Anne Boleyn, can begin with her book and go back to the others later. The one book that benefits most from the earlier ones is Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife, because so much of its drama depends on what happened to the five queens before her.
Want the History Too?
Weir’s nonfiction The Six Wives of Henry VIII covers all six queens in one volume and makes an excellent companion, before or after the novels. For a closer look at the fall of Anne Boleyn, read The Lady in the Tower.
About the Author: Alison Weir
Alison Weir is a British historian and novelist, known first for her popular royal biographies. She was educated at the City of London School for Girls and trained as a teacher, and her first book, Britain’s Royal Families, came out in 1989. Her history The Six Wives of Henry VIII followed in 1991 and made her name.
She turned to fiction with Innocent Traitor in 2006, a novel about Lady Jane Grey, and wrote the Six Tudor Queens between 2016 and 2021. After the six queens she wrote the Tudor Rose trilogy about three generations of the Tudor family: Elizabeth of York: The Last White Rose (2022), Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown (2023), in which Henry finally tells his own story, and Mary I: Queen of Sorrows (2024).
Her more recent novels stay at the same court: The Cardinal (2025) follows Thomas Wolsey, and The Boleyn Secret (2026) follows Anne Boleyn’s niece, Katherine Carey. For her full bibliography, see our Alison Weir author guide, and for news of her next books, see her official website.
Historical Context: Henry VIII’s Six Marriages
For a Tudor king, marriage was a matter of state. Henry VIII’s father, Henry VII, had taken the throne in 1485 at the end of the Wars of the Roses, and the new dynasty’s survival depended on a male heir. Much of what happened to Henry’s wives follows from that need.
Henry married Katherine of Aragon, his late brother Arthur’s widow, in 1509. They had only one surviving child, Mary, and in the late 1520s Henry sought to have the marriage annulled so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. When the Pope would not agree, Henry broke with Rome, and the marriage to Katherine was declared invalid in 1533. Anne, crowned that year, gave birth to Elizabeth but no son, and in May 1536 she was executed on charges of adultery and treason.
Henry married Jane Seymour within days of Anne’s death. She gave him his son, the future Edward VI, in October 1537 and died less than two weeks later. His fourth marriage, to Anna of Kleve in January 1540, was a diplomatic alliance that Henry disliked from the first meeting; it was annulled after six months, and Anna lived on in England until 1557. Katheryn Howard, a young cousin of Anne Boleyn, married Henry the same summer and was executed in February 1542 after her past came to light.
Katharine Parr married Henry in 1543 and outlived him when he died in January 1547. She married Thomas Seymour soon afterwards and died in September 1548, a few days after giving birth to a daughter. The novels follow these events closely while giving each queen her own view of them. For more novels set in this century, see our Tudor England historical fiction hub and our list of the best Tudor historical fiction.
Similar Series You’ll Love
1. Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel
The same court and many of the same events, seen through Thomas Cromwell, the minister who helped bring about several of Henry’s marriages and their ends. Hilary Mantel writes in a denser, more literary style, and her Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour make a fascinating contrast with Weir’s.
2. Plantagenet and Tudor Novels by Philippa Gregory
The closest match in subject and audience. Philippa Gregory also tells the story of the Tudor court through its women, from Katherine of Aragon to Katharine Parr, with more invention and drama than Weir allows herself.
3. Shardlake Series by C.J. Sansom
Henry VIII’s reign as a mystery series. C.J. Sansom‘s lawyer Matthew Shardlake works through the dissolution of the monasteries and the dangerous last years of the reign, and Katharine Parr plays a part in one of the books.
4. Giordano Bruno Series by S.J. Parris
For readers who want to follow the story into the next generation. S.J. Parris sets her spy thrillers in the reign of Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn’s daughter, with the philosopher Giordano Bruno working for Elizabeth’s spymaster.
5. Wars of the Roses Series by Conn Iggulden
The prequel to the Tudor story. Conn Iggulden tells the civil war that ended with Henry VII on the throne, setting up the dynasty whose need for an heir drives every book in the Six Tudor Queens.
6. Alison Weir’s Tudor Rose Trilogy
The natural next step. Weir’s own trilogy follows Henry’s mother in The Last White Rose, Henry himself in Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown and his daughter in Mary I: Queen of Sorrows, many scenes of which overlap with the six queens.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books are in the Six Tudor Queens series?
There are six novels, one for each of Henry VIII’s wives, published between 2016 and 2021. There is also a short story collection, In the Shadow of Queens, which gathers the eleven companion stories.
What order should I read the Six Tudor Queens books in?
Read them in publication order, which is also the order of Henry’s marriages: Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Kleve, Katheryn Howard and Katharine Parr.
Can I read the Six Tudor Queens books as standalones?
Yes. Each novel tells one queen’s complete life and can be read on its own. Reading in order is still the best experience, because the books overlap and later novels gain from what the earlier ones show.
What is the Six Tudor Queens series about?
Each novel tells the life of one of Henry VIII’s six wives from her own point of view, from childhood to death. Together the books cover the whole of Henry’s reign and the English Reformation as the queens lived them.
Is the Six Tudor Queens series historically accurate?
Alison Weir is a historian, and the novels follow the known facts closely. Dialogue, thoughts and some private events are imagined, and Weir explains in her author’s notes where she has used invention.
Is the Six Tudor Queens series complete?
Yes. The sixth and final novel, Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife, was published in 2021. Weir went on to write the Tudor Rose trilogy and other Tudor novels, but the Six Tudor Queens series itself is finished.
Why do some books have different titles in the US?
The US publisher chose different subtitles for two of the books. Anna of Kleve: Queen of Secrets is published in the US as Anna of Kleve: The Princess in the Portrait, and Katheryn Howard: The Tainted Queen as Katheryn Howard, The Scandalous Queen. The stories are the same.
What are the Six Tudor Queens e-shorts?
They are eleven short stories Weir wrote to accompany the novels, first published as e-books in the UK. Each tells a story from the Tudor court through someone close to the queens. All eleven are collected in the paperback In the Shadow of Queens.
Do I need to read the short stories?
No. The six novels are complete without them. The stories are an extra for readers who want more of the Tudor court, and they can be read alongside the novels or after them.
Is the Six Tudor Queens series suitable for younger readers?
The novels are written for adults. They include executions, childbirth, court violence and some sexual content, so they suit older teenagers and adults rather than younger readers.
Has the Six Tudor Queens series been adapted for TV or film?
No film or television adaptation of the series has been made. Readers who want to see the six queens on screen will find them in many other dramas about Henry VIII’s court.
Has the Six Tudor Queens series won any awards?
The first novel, Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen, won Le Grand Prix du Roman Historique from the French publisher Bragelonne. Several books in the series were Sunday Times bestsellers, and Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife was one of Amazon’s Editors’ Picks for the best books of 2021.
What should I read after the Six Tudor Queens?
Alison Weir’s Tudor Rose trilogy is the natural next step, especially Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown, which tells the same reign from Henry’s side. Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy and Philippa Gregory’s Tudor novels cover the same court in different styles.
Conclusion
The Six Tudor Queens is the most complete fictional portrait of Henry VIII’s wives in one series, written by a historian who knows them as well as anyone. Six books give six women their own stories, and together they tell the story of a reign.
Start with Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen and read on in order to Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife. When you finish, the stories in In the Shadow of Queens and Weir’s history The Six Wives of Henry VIII are waiting.