Did he have a thing for women named Catherine/Katherina, or was it really that common of a name back then? Two Annes in there, too.
some may have been namesakes of Catherine of Aragon.
https://www.quora.com/Were-any-of-Henry-VIIIs-wives-related-to-each-other
Were any of Henry VIII’s wives related to each other?
Claire Thompson
Updated 2 years ago · Author has 413 answers and 2M answer views
Yes.
Both Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were grand-daughters of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. They were first cousins.
Anne and Catherine’s great-grandmother, Elizabeth Cheney, was also the great grandmother of Jane Seymour so the three Queens were second cousins.
Further to this, Henry and all six of his Queens could trace their ancestry back to Edward I so they were all distantly related; in fact Catherine of Aragon’s claim to the English Throne by direct descent was actually stronger than Henry VII’s.
While not a blood relationship, it is worth pointing out that Catherine of Aragon was Katherine Parr’s godmother as Katherine’s mother Maud was a close friend of the Queen and had in fact been in charge of the education of Princess Mary and the daughters of the closest friends and attendants of the Queen.