Beloved Despot



On this date in fifteen hundred and nine

King Henry the VIII married for the first time

Taking as his wife Catherine of Aragon

Who he later would divorce, but not gone



As two of his other five wives would be

Both of them beheaded for things petty

The one who followed - Anne Boleyn

And Catherine Howard, the fifth one in



After divorcing the fourth - Anne of Cleves, the only other

Having lost Jane Seymour during birth ... Edward the VI's mother

And survived by the sixth - his beloved Catherine Parr

Who made none of the mistakes of the five marred ...



Considering the man beheaded two and divorced two more

It's hard to understand why this tyrant was so loved by all

But in the thirty-eight long years of his reign

England was prosperous, and no wars came



And on top of it, he was single-handedly responsible at home

For severing the church from the auspices of Rome

Something he felt was necessary to keep the faith

(And not just because divorce was not a recognized state)



But Henry envisioned a totally independent land under the eyes of God

Seeing that Rome was not the only place where the devout trod

And so, under Henry's care and authoritarian stand

England would become a country with a clear hand ...



- Tristram



© Christopher W. Thomas

written 9:30am June 12th, 1999

for the date - June 11th, 1999



The Six Wives of Henry VIII



Catherine of Aragon (divorced)

	mother of Mary the First

Anne Boleyn (beheaded)

	mother of Elizabeth the First

Jane Seymour (died giving birth)

	mother of Edward the VI

Anne of Cleves (divorced)

	no issue of this union

Catherine Howard (beheaded)

	no issue of this union

Catherine Parr (outlived the King)

	no issue of this union



Edward the VI died of tubercolosis at 16

Lady Jane Grey followed and reigned for nine days at 17 (executed at 18)

Mary the First (Bloody Mary) died after only a five-year reign (no issue)

Elizabeth the First reigned for 44 years (unmarried, no issue)