Henry VIII vs. Catherine of Aragon | History's Worst Breakups

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

History Hit

Society, History, Education, Sex, Scandal

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 February 2026

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome to a brand new mini-series on Betwixt the Sheets, where our host, Dr Kate Lister, takes you through the most catastrophic breakups in history.

We're starting with one that our guest, author and historian Gareth Russell, calls "the most important breakup in British history by a country mile."

Find out the ins and outs of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon's breakup, including all the awful gossipy details.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, my lovely betwixters. I'm just jumping in here real quick to remind you that if you wanted to come and see betwixt the sheets live and in the flesh, you can do so in May. We have got two live events. One in Edinburgh on the 23rd of May and one in London Town on the 25th of May. There will be guests, there will be games, there will be smutty history, a plenty.
0:24.4	Tickets are available now at fane.co.uk.
0:27.8	That's f-a-n-e-co-uk, and just search for betwixt.
0:31.7	And we will see you there.
0:34.2	Hello, my lovely betwixters.
0:36.0	It's me, Kate Lister.
0:37.4	Welcome back to Bertwix the Sheets, where we rip the knickers off history for your entertainment. But before we do, I have to tell you, this is an adult podcast, Pokemon, other adults, about adult things in an adult who are a covering an angel, statistics, news, be an adult too, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I think you've got the message by now, right?
0:54.4	Otherwise, why else would you be here?
0:55.8	Right, let's get on with it.
1:00.9	It's 1529, and we have snuck into the back of a trial going on in London,
1:06.6	where the Crown and the Church are battling it out
1:09.7	to see if none other than Henry
1:11.9	the 8th's marriage to Catherine of Aragon is valid in the eyes of the Catholic Church.
1:17.2	It's all very dramatic, I'm telling you.
1:19.6	Although it has also been pretty lengthy and tedious, if I'm completely honest,
1:23.7	but it has just reached an explosive moment where Catherine has knelt in front of that
1:28.5	twat of a king and swore down that she came to England a virgin and she remained a virgin
1:35.5	until she was married to him and that she has been faithful for the whole of their 20-year
1:40.6	marriage. Go on, Catherine. And then she stormed out of the court. Total mic drop moment.
1:46.9	You can't help but feel a bit sorry for Catherine. All right, you feel a lot sorry for Catherine.
1:52.5	I mean, God almighty. Imagine being shunned like that just for Henry's sidepiece and Berlin. Oh God.
1:59.0	But this is a breakup for the ages.
	...

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