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| Henry VIII song (Horrible Histories) |
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This is part of a series designed to teach school children the history of England focusing especially on the weird, funny or anecdotical parts.
This song talks a bit about the founder of the Tudor dinasty: Henry the VIII, and his successor, his daughter Elizabeth I.
Divorced, beheaded and died
Divorced, beheaded, survived
I'm Henry the Eigth, I had six sorry wives
Some might say I ruined their lives
Catherine of Aragon was one
She failed to give me a son
I had to ask her for a divorce
That broke her poor heart, of course
Young Anne Boleyn, she was two
Had a daughter, the best she could do
I said she flirted with some other man
And off for the chop went dear Anne
Lovely Jane Seymour was three
The love of a lifetime for me
She gave me a son, little Prince Ed
Then poor old Jane went and dropped dead
Divorced, beheaded and died
Divorced, beheaded, survived
Horrible Histories Divorced, Beheaded, Died
I'm Henry the Eigth, I had six sorry wives
Some might say I ruined their lives
Anne of Cleves came at four
I fell for the portrait I saw
Then laid eyes on her face and cried
'She's a horse! I must have another divorce! '
Catherine Howard was five
A child of nineteen, so alive
She flirted with others, no way to behave
The axe sent young Cath to her grave
Catherine Parr she was last
By then all my best days were past
I lay on my deathbed, aged just fifty-five
Lucky Catherine the last stayed alive
(I mean, how unfair! )
Divorced, beheaded and died
Divorced, beheaded, survived
I'm Henry the Eigth, I had six sorry wives
You could say I ruined their lives.
Notice how king and queen's names are read: Henry VIII = "Henry the eighth".
BEHEADED= If you cut a person's head, that person is beheaded.
SORRY WIVES= A sorry person is a person who is disgraced, unlucky, in a very unhappy position.
RUNIED= To ruin is to spoil, to break, to destroy.
CATHERINE OF ARAGON= A Spanish princess, the daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Catherine was three years old when she was betrothed to Prince Arthur, heir apparent to the English throne. They married in 1501, and Arthur died five months later. In 1507, she held the position of ambassador for the Spanish Court in England, becoming the first female ambassador in European history. Catherine subsequently married Arthur's younger brother, the recently succeeded Henry VIII, in 1509. For six months in 1513, she served as regent of England while Henry VIII was in France. By 1525, Henry VIII was infatuated with his mistress, Anne Boleyn, and dissatisfied that his marriage to Catherine had produced no surviving sons, leaving their daughter, the future Mary I of England, as heiress presumptive at a time when there was no established precedent for a woman on the throne. He sought to have their marriage annulled, setting in motion a chain of events that led to England's schism with the Catholic Church. When Pope Clement VII refused to annul the marriage, Henry defied him by assuming supremacy over religious matters. In 1533 their marriage was declared invalid and Henry married Anne on the judgement of clergy in England, without reference to the Pope. Catherine refused to accept Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England and considered herself the King's rightful wife and queen, attracting much popular sympathy. Despite this, she was acknowledged only as Dowager Princess of Wales by Henry. After being banished from court, she lived out the remainder of her life at Kimbolton Castle, and died there on 7 January 1536. Catherine's English subjects held her in high esteem, and her death set off tremendous mourning among the English people.
FAILED= If you fail to do something, you can't do it.
FLIRTED= If you flirt with someone, you try to make them love you.
OFF FOR THE COP WENT= She was sentenced to death by cutting her head off (beheading).
DROPPED DEAD= literally: suddenly fell down dead.
I FELL FOR THE PORTRAIT= I fell in love when I saw her portrait.
LAID EYES ON HER FACE= Saw her face.
AXE= /æks/ An instrument for cutting down trees... and heads (see picture)
GRAVE= A place (usually underground) where a person is placed when they die.
DEATHBED= The bed where a person is dying.
AGED JUST FIFTY-FIVE= Only 55 years old.
UNFAIR= If something is unfair, there is no justice.
This is the short story of the first Tudor king of England: Henry VIII, and his 6 wives. At school, children learn all 6 wives fate by repeating:
Divorced, beheaded and died
Divorced, beheaded, survived
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