I’m not here to judge, but marrying six different times, with two of them resulting in executions, is a little intense. King Henry VIII was not afraid to break the rules to get what he wanted. His six wives were Catherine of Argon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. King Henry VIII is most widely known for his disagreement with the pope when he asked for a divorce from Catherine of Argon to marry his mistress, Anne Boleyn. The pope refused… quite scandalous. This prompted Henry to split from the Roman Catholic Church and create a new Anglican church called the Church of England.
Enjoying Warwick with the one and only Professor Liberty!
After initiating the English Reformation he greatly expanded his royal power as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. King Henry VIII was desperate to provide England with a male heir to the throne, but ended up with two daughters instead (Mary and Elizabeth) who, unbelievably, both became Queen. Since his wife Anne Boleyn could not provide him with a son he became bored with her and wrongfully accused her of incest and cheating on him…. He definitely had some issues. This is probably why people referred to him later in his life as a harsh, insecure king. I got to meet him at Warwick Castle!! …. Well the wax version of him.
Chillin’ with King Henry VIII.
On August 3 our travel study class made a day trip to Warwick castle and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it because castles never really interested me. A few suits of armor followed by hollow, majestic looking empty rooms usually made me yawn but this castle was different. It was more of an interactive type of castle where you felt as if you stepped through time and could watch the royals’ every day lives in action. These scenes of daily conversations and interactions were portrayed by creepy, sad looking wax figures but it was still very, very cool.
A depressed looking royal wax figure.
–Rebecca Rhyner