Henry VIII fertility and health

[Kimberly]

Thought I would start a new topic rather than tuck this piece in somewhere else.
What are your thoughts on it?
http://scienceblog.com/43361/solving-the-puzzle-of-henry-viii/

[Elisabeth]

Thought I would start a new topic rather than tuck this piece in somewhere else.
What are your thoughts on it?
http://scienceblog.com/43361/solving-the-puzzle-of-henry-viii/

This makes so much sense. Thank God for medical science. I've always thought that the reproductive problem in Henry VIII's marriages lay with him, and not with his unfortunate wives. Aside from the health problems cited in connection with Kell's syndrome in the article, I think there is some evidence that Tudor males were susceptible to tuberculosis (e.g., Henry's older brother Arthur, and later, his illegitimate son Henry of Richmond, who both died very young, apparently of this disease).

[Kimberly]

Thank you Elisabeth and I agree with you. I must admit, I had to read it through a couple of times before I "got" it (must have been having a senior moment) but it does make perfect sense to me.
I do think the link to Jacquetta of Luxemburg is a little tenuous though, I remain to be convinced on that one.

[Kalafrana]

Interesting. Is what we are talking about usually referred to as the Rhesus factor? I've heard that suggested in relation to Anne Boleyn - one healthy child and then miscarriages.

Of course, by the time Henry married his last three wives, he was in increasingly poor health and may well not have slept with them with any frequency.

Ann

[Kimberly]

Its not the rhesus factor but its effects are very similar.