Henry VIII and his 6 wives

This past weekend, we were able to visit the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City.  I still think I'll write a post about it, but in the meantime, I wanted to share about Henry VIII and his 6 wives.

The museum have this wonderful set of dolls of Henry VIII and his wives.

Of course, I took the educational opportunity to mention to mija how to remember what happened to each wife!

It's a little ditty I learned in college.

Divorced, beheaded, died.  Divorced, beheaded, survived. 

Just say it a few times and it sticks with you!  In the picture, the queens are placed in order, so the two which were beheaded are in the front.

Of course, you can always research the details, but here's a synopsis just in case you're curious. My links are just to the Wikipedia articles.

DIVORCED--Catherine of Aragon--Spanish. Strong Catholic.  Widow of Henry's brother, Arthur.  Mother of Mary I of England more commonly known as "Bloody Mary."

BEHEADED--Anne Boleyn-- Best known for being beheaded under charges of treason. Mother of Elizabeth I of England.  Often overlooked as a key figure in bringing the Reformation to England.

DIED--Jane Seymour--Yes, the Jane Seymour the queen came before the actress of the same name.  Died from complications after giving birth to Henry's only legitimate male heir, Edward VI.  Was able to be buried next to Henry for providing his male heir.

DIVORCED--Anne of Cleves--Poor Anne.  Actually, the marriage was ended by annulment not divorce because it was never consummated.  The marriage lasted 6 months.  Henry found her unattractive and uneducated. 

BEHEADED--Catherine Howard--The writing should have been on the wall when a 50ish Henry married a 15ish girl who was related to his first beheaded wife, Anne.  She was beheaded at 17 for committing the treason of adultery.

SURVIVED--Catherine Parr--Henry was Catherine's third husband having been widowed twice.  Was appointed reagent while Henry was fighting in France.  Strong Protestant.  Wrote two published books.

So there you have it. 

Divorced, beheaded, died.  Divorced, beheaded, survived!