In Search of a Heir

         In Search of a Heir

Suzanne Marsh

“Good morning class, today we will talk about the word Villain. Does anyone know

what a villain is?” Hands flew up, Miss Thomas nodded at Tommy:

“Tommy, what is a villain?”

“That’s simple Miss Thomas a creepy person like Snidely Whiplash.”

“Yes, Tommy but I was speaking of true-life villains, I want each of you to write a story

about a real-life villain, and why he is considered a villain.”

A general moan was going around the classroom, and hands were raised to ask about using the school library. Miss Thomas knew most children had access to computers so she decided they could find everything they needed on the web. Tommy went home and then asked if he could go see his grandmother, she taught history in the day, and she would know and understand what Miss Thomas was asking. He called her and explained he did not comprehend exactly what a villain was; since Snidely Whiplash was not the type of villain she was talking about. Grandma Wilson told him to come over and they would figure it out.

Grandma greeted Tommy at the door and smiled as he came in. She was thankful he had an interest in learning. Grandma led the way to her computer room; she had Tommy sit at the computer.

“Tommy, first of all, you need to understand the definition of a villain, so look up the word.”

Tommy knew how to use the dictionary on the web he found Villain quickly and read out loud:

“Villain is defined by acts of selfishness, evilness, arrogance, cruelty, cunning and displaying

immoral behavior.”

Grandma noted the expression on Tommy’s confused face: “Tommy who would you consider a

villain?” There are so many to choose from, Tommy had no idea what she was asking than he did Miss Thomas.

“Grandma I don’t know.”

“Tommy, what are you studying in history right now?”

“Tudor England”

“How about Henry the Eighth? He was a villain in the true sense of the word.”

This surprised Tommy until Grandma informed him that Henry VIII had six wives, one he divorced, two were beheaded, one died in childbirth, and one he disliked he married her for six months then divorced her, the last wife barely survived, and he had been planning to have her beheaded when he passed away.” Tommy began to think about what Grandma had just said. He thought he could write a decent explanation of what a villain was and why Henry the Eighth was a villain.

“Grandma, who do I start with? I mean which Queen came first?” Grandma smiled:

“The six queens of Henry the Eighth were:

“Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boyeln, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard

and Catherine Parr. That is all I am going to tell you, use my computer to discover

how Henry VIII became a villain in history.”

The story began with Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales who became engaged to Catherine of Aragon. Arthur married Catherine, and they were married for about six months when the “sweating sickness” claimed Arthur’s life, Catherine recovered but was left a widow before she became queen. Henry was enchanted by Catherine, and he wanted to marry her however his father also wanted to marry Catherine and lost his beloved wife Elizabeth of York. Henry VII passed away before the marriage could take place. Since Arthur and Henry VII were deceased; Henry, Duke of York became Henry VIII. It took almost seven years before Catherine and Henry married. They settled into married life, however after almost twenty years of marriage and one living daughter Henry became convinced he required a male heir, not a female. He had to find a way to rid himself of Catherine. He convinced himself that Arthur and Catherine had consummated their marriage, thus making his (Henry’s) marriage to Catherine invalid. He also declared it was God’s punishment for having married Catherine, ergo no male heir He wanted a divorce. Henry broke from the Catholic Church and banished Catherine to Kimbolton Castle where she languished until her death from cancer Henry had already promised Anne Boyeln that he was going to divorce Catherine and marry her. He saw Anne as a beautiful, vivacious young woman who he hoped would give him the male heir he began to desperately seek. Henry divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn.

Anne Boleyn became Queen Anne, she was still a young woman, at thirty-five years old she was beheaded. She and Henry had one child they called Elizabeth, who became Elizabeth I Queen of England. When Anne could not produce the son Henry required, he began to plot a way to rid himself of her. He was already smitten with Jane Seymour. Henry decided it was Anne’s fault she could not produce a male heir. He wanted a divorce, he claimed that she used witchcraft, adultery, and an incestual relationship with her brother George. She was taken to the Tower Green, where she was given a trial, and sentenced to be beheaded. Henry brought in a French Swordsman to perform the execution. Anne went to her death with dignity as she walked up the scaffold to her death. Her words no doubt echoed in Henry’s ears: “I take my leave of the world and of you all, I heartily desire you all to pray for me, O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul.” Her ermine mantel and headdress were removed, she was blindfolded her head placed on the block, she knelt and with one swift movement was beheaded. She was buried in an unmarked grave. The day after Anne’s death Henry and Jane became engaged, they were wed on May 30^th.

Jane Seymour was a subservient woman; with her, Henry hoped and prayed for a boy, an heir. They were married around eighteen months before Jane passed away after giving birth to Edward VI. She died after a difficult labor and birth. She lived long enough to see part of Edward’s elaborate christening. She fulfilled her royal duty and produced the heir that Henry desperately sought. Henry was devastated but he had his heir.

Anne of Cleves became Henry’s next wife, however, their marriage was never consummated, he hated the sight of her from the moment they met. Anne was not overly attractive, he was not happy with her. He divorced her within six months, and he gave her a large settlement. She became known as

“The King’s beloved sister.” She maintained that title until she passed away.

Meanwhile, Henry was already seeking another wife, he found her in a teenage girl named Catherine Howard. Catherine was exquisite, happy, and young, Henry was approaching fifty. He fell for Catherine quickly. They were married a year, Catherine however did not honor her vows of marriage, she had an affair with Dereham and Culpepper with the aide of Lady Rochford, George Boleyn’s wife. She would act as a go-between summoning Culpepper to Catherine. Henry refused to believe that Catherine was having an affair with Culpepper and Dereham but he soon became convinced she was. Culpepper and Dereham were arrested and tried for treason at Guildhall, on December 1, however, their executions were postponed while the Council made a frantic effort to extract their confessions. Despite the serious examination, those efforts failed miserably, they remained loyal to Catherine. On December tenth Dereham’s final request was for Henry to spare him the penalty for treason. Dereham was dragged from his cell screaming, terrified of the execution he was dragged on a hurdle to Tyburn where he was hanged, castrated, disemboweled, beheaded then quartered. He did not die a good death. Culpepper because of his name was simply hung.

The charges against Catherine were adultery and treason, the adultery was cut and dry but the treason was due to the acts of adultery she committed against the king. Catherine was condemned by an Act of Attainder both she and Lady Rochford. The Act of Attainder state plainly that; “ any loose-living woman dare marry the King ‘without plain declaration before of her unchaste life unto his Majesty, it was treason. Adultery by or with the Queen or the wife of the Prince of Wales was treason. Failure on the part of a witness to bring forth what was seen was treason.

Catherine reigned for roughly a year, she was nineteen when she was beheaded as was Lady Rochford.

Henry VIII married his sixth wife, Catherine Parr, Henry by this time had legs that were ulcered and smelled horrible, he was around fifty at the time. Catherine was the last wife of Henry the Eighth, he passed away before he could have her executed.

Tommy finished his History report, and his grandmother smiled as she read it:

“Tommy, this is very well done, I bet it gets you an “A”!

Tommy turned to her:

“Grandma Henry VIII certainly was a villain, with the things he did to have a male heir. Awe Grandma thank you for helping me with this project."