Henry VIII and the Royal Family!

The English Lunch discussion started off with a look at my coffee coaster (see picture) and the question ‘what does this mean?’ Since this was unfamiliar to everyone we decided to let everyone ask questions which would only be answered with yes or no! Full englightenment only really came after a number of clues, such as ‘who is probably the most famous English Kings and how many wives did he have.

Here’s your management summary of Henry’s six wives:
1. Catherine of Aragon (Spanish). Married to obtain friendship of Spain. One daughter (Mary). Divorced.
2. Ann Boleyn. Married to get a male heir. One daughter (Elisabeth). Beheaded.
3. Jane Seymour. Married to get a male heir. One son (Edward). Died (in childbirth).
4. Anne of Cleves (German). Married to get help against Charles V. No children. Divorced.
5. Catherine Howard. To please the Catholics. No children. Beheaded.
6. Catherine Parr. As a nurse to take care of him. No children. Survived.

We then had a lively discussion on the value and sense of the british monarchy – most of us agreed that there need to be changes. In the UK there is also a debate about what to do after Elisabeth – should she be the last Queen and be replaced by an elected head of state? What do you think?
If you want a more contraversial view then take a look at this link: https://www.republic.org.uk/