Marriage is all the rage.

June 18, 2009 8:47 AM

The man who really started the marriage trend: Henry VIII, how he dealt with the wives and what he had to do to get the woman he wanted (at the time he wanted her): Reformation.
posted by She Kisses Wyverns (27 comments total)

Obligatory: The Tudors.
posted by ericb at 8:53 AM on June 18, 2009

He was a monarch whose commitment to Catholicism, at the very end, came unglued.
posted by Verdant at 9:06 AM on June 18, 2009 [8 favorites]

And for those in the UK: BBC Henry VIII: Patron or Plunderer?
posted by srboisvert at 9:06 AM on June 18, 2009

and it was his own damn fault that he couldn't produce a son
posted by caddis at 9:09 AM on June 18, 2009 [1 favorite]

Fascinating historical figure, some interesting links, but could you elaborate on how Henry VIII "really started the marriage trend" (other than the obvious 6 wives thing)? I'm not sure I follow the point.
posted by blucevalo at 9:13 AM on June 18, 2009

The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) with Charles Laughton
posted by caddis at 9:18 AM on June 18, 2009

Needs more fennel.
posted by jquinby at 9:24 AM on June 18, 2009 [1 favorite]

Divorced, beheaded, died,
Divorced, beheaded, survived.
posted by Jofus at 9:26 AM on June 18, 2009 [3 favorites]

A specially made suit of armour belonging to Henry VIII recently went on display at the Tower of London. Apparently it was so ingeniusly constructed that it influenced NASA spacesuit design.
posted by permafrost at 9:26 AM on June 18, 2009

blucevalo - was really refering to the e-marriage pile on in this thread. Should of linked to that originally as well I suppose.

I've been studying Tudors and Stuarts for 17 years so I thought this timely in light of more serious marriage issues (internationally speaking) and the fact everyone's having a bit of fun in MetaTalk.
posted by She Kisses Wyverns at 9:29 AM on June 18, 2009

She wouldn't 'ave a Willy nor a Sam.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:34 AM on June 18, 2009

'en-er-y, 'en-er-y, 'en-er-y the eighth I yam!
posted by shakespeherian at 9:36 AM on June 18, 2009

This explains so much.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 9:42 AM on June 18, 2009

Henry VIII, Portrait of a Serial Killer
posted by orrnyereg at 9:49 AM on June 18, 2009

Didn't Adam and Eve start the marriage trend?
posted by msalt at 9:50 AM on June 18, 2009

See also "marriage, sanctity of".
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 9:52 AM on June 18, 2009

I have this image of Henry VIII, running around London like the Rick James of his day, doing Whatever. The. Fuck. He. Wanted. "I'M HENRY VIII, BITCH!"

nobility is a hell of a drug, I'm tellin' ya'.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:06 AM on June 18, 2009 [2 favorites]

And here when I first read it, and hour or so ago, I read "mortgage trends," not "marriage trends." Don't want to think about what that says about me or where my head is today, but at least it's still attached to the rest of me. (Been mishearing things all morning since an early dog-bark, maybe that's it.)
posted by emhutchinson at 10:09 AM on June 18, 2009

She Kisses Wyverns: Oh, okay. Makes sense to me now! Anyway, any FPP with Henry VIII in it is an awesome thread in my book. I envy the time and energy you've been able to put into studying the Tudors and Stuarts.
posted by blucevalo at 10:10 AM on June 18, 2009

Terrible Tudors gives you this sordid tale in song.
posted by ooga_booga at 10:20 AM on June 18, 2009

Divorced annulled; annulled, then beheaded; died;
Divorced annulled and survived; annulled, then beheaded; survived.

Henry generally recovered from his failed marriages fairly quickly.

May 23, 1533: marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. Henry had already secretly married Anne Boleyn, who was pregnant.

May 28, 1533: marriage to Anne Boleyn declared good and valid.

May 19, 1536: Anne Boleyn executed.

May 20, 1536: Henry VIII betrothed to Jane Seymour.

May 30, 1536: Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour.

October 24, 1537: Jane Seymour dies.

January 6, 1540: Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves.

July 9, 1540: marriage to Anne of Cleves annulled.

July 28, 1540: Henry VIII marries Catherine Howard.

February 13, 1542: Catherine Howard executed.

July 12, 1543: Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:31 AM on June 18, 2009 [2 favorites]

and it was his own damn fault that he couldn't produce a son

He produced several sons, but only one survived past infancy. Grim, and probably heartbreaking, at least for poor Catherine of A.
posted by frobozz at 10:32 AM on June 18, 2009

Well, nobody seems to be sure what was up with the sons. Actually, two - maybe three? - that we know of survived infancy, it seemed to be adolescence that did them all in. One of those sites I visited that in that askme thread gave what seemed to me (who knows nothing about medicine, admittedly) a fairly compelling diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes for the whole family and said that that was what killed off the sons.
posted by mygothlaundry at 11:19 AM on June 18, 2009

Ms Cranky, most interesting - though I would argue that he had a pretty strong streak of, well, cranky, well before 1536. Pettish, you might say.

Still- most interesting, and thank you.

(Also- started perhaps the un-marriage trend?)
posted by IndigoJones at 11:59 AM on June 18, 2009

He produced several sons, but only one survived past infancy.

He only had one legitimate son that survived past infancy. He had several illegitimate children, the most notable being Henry FitzRoy, the only one he recognized.
posted by Alison at 2:56 PM on June 18, 2009

Just found an interesting theory online that Anne Boleyn may have miscarried children after Elizabeth due to RH factor.

I've been watching the Tudors--in the middle of season two right now, right after (spoiler warning?!) Thomas More is beheaded, and I'm struck by the same feeling of disgust and doom that I felt when reading Phillipa Gregory's books. I know these are fictionalized accounts, but still, there was something really evil about Henry's selfishness, and, worse, giving someone with that greedy and petulant a nature that much power.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:08 PM on June 18, 2009

PhoBWanKenobi: knowing my fondness for the period the SO has been watching The Tudors with me. But all he does each episode is sit there and mutter under his breath 'seriously, how did the human race survive?'

I think he's crediting Ol' Henry with a little too much reach, but I get where he's coming from. Just a brutal time.
posted by She Kisses Wyverns at 2:25 AM on June 19, 2009