Henry would have told you he had two or three wives, not six. Here are his verdicts on his supposed wives.
Wife 1 Katherine of Aragon: NOT a true wife
Though married for some 20 years, Henry eventually realized that their marriage was against the law of God (never mind that the Pope specifically allowed this marriage). It says in the Bible a man is not allowed to marry his brother's widow. The result was not divorce, but annulment--the marriage had never been good in the first place. So he was still a bachelor.
Wife 2 Anne Boleyn: NOT a true wife
He maneuvered for six years and split from the Roman church to marry Anne, but he later decided that he'd been bewitched into marrying her. And she was condemned for adultery (which was also treason when married to the king) and incest. So off with her head!
Wife 2 Jane Seymour: Wife indeed
was everything Anne Boleyn was not. She was demure, obedient, and agreeable. Even though she was likely exaggerating her differences from Anne, she was still a welcome respite from the tumult of marriage with Anne Boleyn. She was probably Henry's favorite wife. Too bad she died days after giving birth to her son with Henry in her first year of marriage.
Wife 4 Anne of Cleves: NOT a true wife
Like Wife 1, this was a political marriage. She was brought in to Englad with celebration and ceremony (and expense), but when Henry finally met her, he was repulsed. "I like her not" he said, and he only went through with the marriage because he was in too deeply to back out. Within a few months, he dug up her old pre-contract of marriage, retroactively making her ineligible for marriage in the first place. Since he declared they had never consummated the marriage, it was annulled.
Wife 5 Katherine Howard: Debatable
This marriage was never officially annulled, although there were good grounds to do so after her execution for treason. A proclamation was issued forfeiting her title of 'Queen.'
Wife 6 Katherine Parr: Wife indeed
A legitimate marriage. Although she came close to execution for her zealous reforming religious views. Who knows if Henry would have found a reason to move against her if he had lived longer.
So depending on who you ask, Henry went through a marriage ceremony probably seven times (likely twice with Anne Boleyn), but had as few as two true wives. When you're the king, you're beyond the law, and in this case, even beyond logic.
