Divorced, Beheaded, Died; Divorced, Beheaded, Outlived: Playing Devil's Advocate

By Alexandria Ingham

How much about the six wives of Henry VIII to you know? How much could be true? Divorced, Beheaded, Died; Divorced, Beheaded, Outlived: Playing Devil's Advocate looks into the evidence surrounding the six wives of King Henry VIII and looks into their lives with an intriguing twist.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alexandria Ingham
• Release date: Jan 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301204250

Alexandria Ingham

Alexandria Ingham is a full-time freelance writer. She has been writing fiction for as long as she can remember but only recently gotten the courage to self-publish her work. She also writes non-fiction pieces and ghost-writes, which is something that she has been doing for the past two years. Alexandria gained her BSc in Computer Science from Aston University, Birmingham, UK in 2009 and is now studying towards her Bachelor's in Law through the Open University. Her interests include writing, reading, debating, and swimming. She lives in Scotland with her partner and they are expecting their first baby in June 2012.

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Divorced, Beheaded, Died; Divorced, Beheaded, Outlived: Playing Devil’s Advocate

By Alexandria Ingham

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SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Alexandria Ingham on Smashwords

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Copyright ©2013 by Alexandria Ingham

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Disclaimer: All references are included at the end of this eBook. These references go into much more detail about the various people mentioned in this eBook.

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A Brief Overview of Henry VIII

Henry VIII is well-known for his many wives and the way he treated them. The popular rhyme for school children to remember the order is: divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, outlived. However, looking into it, four of his marriages were annulled and he never actually gained divorces. The annulments also lead to questions over why two of his wives were beheaded.

The Reformation of Religion in England

Henry VIII is also known as the first head of the church, even though this is not technically true. Henry VIII declared that he was the head of the Church of England but this was never formally placed in an Act of Parliament. In fact, it was only Elizabeth I who managed to make an Act declare that she was the Supreme Governor of the Church of England; no Tudor monarch was made the Supreme Head of the Church of England.

Henry VIII tore the country apart as a way to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. He initially went to the Pope for a divorce but this was denied. Arguably, had Catherine submitted to Henry’s will the reformation would never have happened. Had the religious reformation happened under different circumstances, arguably it would have been accepted by more of the country and there would not have been the burnings of a number of Catholics and Protestants over the decades that followed.

The Annulment of Marriages

Four of Henry’s marriages were annulled. Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves are the two that are known about – although it is commonly referred to divorce and not annulment. However, the marriages to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were also annulled. This brings many questions such as whether the two should have been executed for their crimes – adultery and high treason.