Julian
Julian asked:

How many of his wives were beheaded ?

Kilian Metcalf Two: Anne Boleyn was his second wife. She was probably innocent of anything but bad judgement, overconfidence, and arrogance. Her innocence of any treason has been fairly well established. His fifth wife, Katherine Howard, was in her mid-teens when they married. She had a history of promiscuity and sexual activity before her marriage to the aging, ailing king. This pattern of foolish bad judgement continued after her marriage. She was guilty of adultery, which under the laws of the time, was treasonous. Her death is sad because of her age, but she was not innocent. Alison Weir writes wonderfully readable, well-researched books about the Tudors and other prominent royals in England. I'm reading her bio of Eleanor of Aquitaine right now.
Magpie Here's an easy rhyme to keep track of them all:
Divorced, beheaded, died,
Divorced, beheaded, survived
I know you won't read this, but someone else might :)
Burton Scott two wivesnwere beheaded
Daniel Swanger school rhyme: "King Henry the Eighth to six wives he was wedded/One died, one survived, two divorced, two beheaded." Consider also our childhood rhyme concerning the succession: "London Bridge is falling down, My Fair Lady./Take the keys and lock her up, My Fair Lady./Off to London Tower we go, My Fair Lady.../ ending with a whack on the neck and playing under lifted hands of children in succession under the merry-go-round as at or under rather than a jumprope as the last one caught walks the area to the Tower...traditional playgrounds in America.
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