Saturday 9 April 2016

H is for Henry....the Heighth




is for Henry



Henry’s heir raising tale

Henry was a diamond of first water,
he married Katherine and had a daughter;
but then he spotted Anne,
oh, he was a changed man.
He wanted her coz she was much hotter.

He wrote to the Pope, “your Holiness, just see
Kath was big bro’s wife, so forbidden to me,
do something, don’t sit there,
I need to beget an heir
and I need to beget him NOW, and on Annie.”

He pulled whichever strings he could pull,
But the Pope wouldn’t give him the bull.
The Holy See saw nothing
to condone the wrongs of kings
and sent back the mission with an earful.

Oh, many twists and turns in Henry’s story!
The plot got thicker and increasingly gory.
Two Annes, furthermore
Howard, Parr and Seymour
married left and right for heir and for glory.

And did he get what he wanted in the end?
He begat a son, but it so happened
with Jane, not Boleyn's
but he died, the poor Prince
and Henry never quite managed seconds.

Henry was in all respects most kingly
and mostly he behaved quite fittingly;
but he did get grossly stout
and some Historians doubt
that his thingummalingam wasn’t too dingly.




Heck, this one Has turned Horribly long.  Henry's story is well-known of course and a little Heart-wrenching, whether you look at it from the POV of the king or His queens, or for that matter, the Heirs that did survive to maturity. 



And it's time to call a Halt. For the weekend Holiday.  Nine days into the challenge, not much writing Happening.  That's not just because of the A-Z, offline life always becomes extra busy just when I want to spend more time at blogfests. My weekend is different from the Gregorian one, it's on Friday and Saturday, and I'm Having a really Hectic one. Planning to relax, maybe write some Haiku on Sunday, breathe, and catch up on the reading big time.  What interesting things are you planning for the Sunday break?

Have a Happy weekend! See you Here for I.


















Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2016 













74 comments:

  1. Very enjoyable, thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Martin, glad you enjoyed it. I can't locate your site on the G+ page? If you're reading, please leave me a link!

      Delete
  2. Have a Humungously good weekend. Henry's tale is truly Horrible, but loved the Hilarity in learning that he wasn't well-Hung.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hung. Hung. That's a good H-word I missed out!! :) Maybe next year...Thanks for visiting EC.

      Delete
  3. J here, stopping by from the #atozchallenge - where I am part of Arlee Bird's A to Z Ambassador Team.
    How has the first week of the challenge been for you so far? Are you meeting your goals of posting and hopping to other blogs?
    My blog has a giveaway with bonus a to z challenges to encourage people to visit more stops.
    http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com
    Ha! I liked it.
    Is it Saturday already? Guess it depends on where in the world you are, right? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, totally! :) Where I am it's now Sat morning..you have a great one! Thanks for reading.

      Delete
  4. The poem may be long, but then so were Henry's dalliances. Maybe you could revisit on V - the Virgin Queen. I always liked her. In Los Angeles, it's still a G day, but I am ready for H. Have a lovely weekend.

    www.reelfan.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have always thought the daughter was worth two of the father. Henry was quietly married to Katherine for almost 24 years before he got obsessed with marrying Anne. All kings slept around freely but they rarely thought of getting married to their mistresses and turning the succession up side down...that I guess is where Anne's triumph lay, if that can be called a triumph - she was married to Henry for only three years before he tired of her. She also had her marriage dissolved and her child declared a bastard, just like Katherine had.

      Thanks for coming over.

      Delete
  5. Cute. http://mefuller.com/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Go a chuckle out of that one.
    My understanding he's the king who established Church of England.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He was indeed. And proclaimed himself the head so that he could annul the marriage with Katherine, which the Pope refused to do. Rome couldn't afford to offend Spain.

      Delete
  7. I find him a horrible brute, and what he did to get an heir was unbelievable and cruel beyond measure, but hey, he was the King, and all must obey. Another reason I have no respect for what we label 'royalty'!
    Have a wonderful, restful, peaceful weekend!
    I know I'm looking forward to mine - so much catching up to do!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. By contemporary standards he is definitely awful. Both he and his wives/mistresses products of their times though. hard lives for the women everywhere then.

      I hear ya on the catching up! :)

      Delete
  8. Great job! Yes, I need the weekend...I feel like there's so much to do and not enough time. Maybe I can breathe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not possible to breathe here till the weekend's over...looking forward to the break!

      Delete
  9. Ha! That was hilarious! Henry wasn't, but the poem was. Thanks for the laughs. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Henry was certainly no laughing matter...especially if he chose you as his next wife :) Glad you enjoyed the limerick

      Delete
  10. I think kids would learn more History if it was written like this. Lovely!

    Happy Haiku-ing,
    Seena
    #AtoZChallenge- H is for Hormones

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kids learn what they have aptitude for, that's what sticks, the rest falls by the wayside :) you have a great Sunday too

      Delete
  11. A nice approach to the king with the many wives. As it happens I watched some documentarys yesterday on the question of Anne really cheered on him (she was beheaded for it) and there they mentioned that it was very human of him to let her have beheaded (and not quartered or stuff) and to let her have beheaded with a sword and payed for a good executioner instead of using a drunkard with an ax as the latter often needed more blows till the convict finally was killed.

    If they only hadn't underestimated women back then. Henry VIII could've been so happy, having two girls who could follow him on the throne (which both did after his son had died).

    Well, it was a different time, and a different world ...

    ClaoWue
    from
    Potpourri

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, we can't apply today's standards to a time 500 years ago.

      Women were treated abominably then...and queens were probably worse off than commoners in terms of being shackled to their biology

      Delete
  12. Nila, I'm sitting here laughing my head off! Literally!
    "...Holy See saw nothing..." and "...his thingummalingam wasn’t too dingly." Too funny!
    Thanks for the entertainment!
    Writer In Transit

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please, Michelle, don't use the words "head" and "off" when discussing Henry! gives me the heebie jeebies :D

      Glad you enjoyed the poem

      Delete
    2. Hahahaha! Good one! You are sharp!

      Delete
  13. thingummalingam hahaha !! now that's a funny word
    Enjoyed reading :D

    Visiting from A to Z Challenge
    Co-host Pam's Unconventional Alliance Team
    A Whimsical Medley
    Twinkle Eyed Traveller

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. deeply nuanced, I would call it :D thanks for being here.

      Delete

  14. Whoah. That was awesome! I especially loved 'thingummalingam.'

    Keep up the great work. These are fun!


    Julie Valerie - A to Z Challenge
    Menu of Ways to Be Happy
    http://www.julievalerie.com/thesaurus-tyrannosaurus-h/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, glad you found them amusing, agreeable, and pleasant :)

      Delete
  15. Super post and a fantastic read. Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us. Really enjoyed the whole week of your work. Have a well earned rest tomorrow and see you on Monday. Take care.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for you support and encouragement over the week. You too have a good break and see you on Monday

      Delete
  16. Loved this one. I'm sure my kids and dirty house will keep me more than occupied throughout the weekend. Monday is a wonderful day for me (as long as no one falls ill.) Happy weekend to you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for being here, happy weekend to you too, have fun with the kids.

      Delete
  17. What Sunday off? I set up at a local flea market, selling comic books, LPs, and magazines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wishing you many customers and a roaring success of a Sunday...and you'll be back with fresh ideas for posts!

      Delete
    2. I didn't even think to mention that I've long been a fan of Henry VIII. I was even dubbed an "expert" on him by my English teacher.

      Delete
    3. I don't know that I would call myself a fan, but I have certainly been totally fascinated by him and the Tudors in general ever since I read a biography of his at some tender age too long ago to remember. I never learnt about Henry at school, out of range of my history and geography syllabi :) Hope your Sunday went well.

      Delete
    4. Very well. So kind of you to mention it.

      Delete
  18. Thank you for visiting my beloved 16th century for this post! Henry was certainly a larger-than-life figure, and his two daughters were no slouches either, each in her own way. Have a lovely weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't really know which centuries I love more! Tudors and Mughals yes, very prominent, captivating, rich figures. But also you see some vague scratched stones somewhere from some 80 millennium ago and the wow! speechless! I am so enjoying each one of your posts.

      Delete
  19. You have definitely improved the telling. At first, I thought what a strange topic. Then it clicked by the tenth line. I might be a big slow. Fun read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you liked it Ann, thanks. Henry and his family has always fascinated me.

      Delete
  20. Henry is one of the most fascinating characters in history and your poem is wonderful.

    Meet My Imaginary Friends
    #AtoZchallenge http://www.kathleenvalentineblog.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can't but agree wholeheartedly on Henry's fascination. Deadly charming :) literally..thanks for being here

      Delete
  21. I have never before seen a poem about Henry. How historical! Love it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Henry himself was a poet, pretty decent verses he wrote too...thanks for visiting.

      Delete
  22. This was so much fun to read about Henry. Now it's time for me to relax in the Haven of my weekend. No Haiku for me.
    http://ffmamas.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Enjoy your weekend! Maybe I should get off this blog as well...

      Delete
  23. That was an entertaining recap of Henry VIII's marital career, Nilanjana. Well done! :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Well, I'll tell you he almost reminds me of the King with no clothes believing in everything and only what he wanted... hahahaha Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now that would have been an excellent idea for C, or E! The original must have been before Henry's time...but I wonder if the retelling had him as subject?? Thanks for being here. You have a great weekend too!

      Delete
    2. Thanks for this smile on sunday morning. I loved this story as a kid - and still do :-)

      Delete
  25. Sunday? I'm actually going to my writing group...

    Liz A. from
    Laws of Gravity

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wonderful way to spend the Sunday. have an awesome one.

      Delete
  26. That was hilarious! I definitely giggled a few times. :) Well played!


    AJ Lauer
    A-Z Co-host
    @ayjaylauer

    ReplyDelete
  27. This was cute, got a bit of a history lesson in a poem that you wrote so well! I do plan to rest today, maybe even take a nap.

    Betty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No lessons, just a lighthearted take of a heavy subject.. thanks for visiting

      Delete
  28. Replies
    1. Same disclaimer as earlier :) thanks for coming over

      Delete
  29. extremely clever and somehow I'm seeing the word horrible in many H posts. You are not alone. Haiku and a nap might be good for a dreary Sunday here in TX. Enjoy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sign of our times, horrible usage by large share of bloggers :) no haikus or naps managed on Sunday, which is over already, but a good break nevertheless. Thanks for your visit.

      Delete
  30. Terrific poem and recap of Henry the 8th!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Oh, this was very fun. I love this story. Tudors (on Netflix) does a respectable job of it. But I like your tale in verse!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I guess yearning for a male child is not restricted to this part of the world. Your words convey it all!
    @yenforblue from
    Spice of Life!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, Henry's yearning was 500 years ago. His country has moved on a bit from there, while we are somewhat obsessed still with male succession..even if there is nothing much to succeed to...

      Delete
  33. That was wonderfully Hilarious - totally loved it. Finally made sense of the movie they insisted on showing ad nauseam at school - Anne of a thousand days :D

    Thanks
    @mysilverstreaks from
    Storiesandmore

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was a favourite of mine! Though have to say I watched it only twice - might get knocked off the fav list if seen ad nauseum :)

      Delete
  34. PS: Help! Now I am Horribly Hooked and How - HaHaHaHaHa

    ReplyDelete
  35. Very clever indeed, and a wonderful site!

    ReplyDelete