I will never understand why any woman wanted to be married to Henry the VIII.

[texanwitch]

Discuss.

[MonkeyFunk]

1. he was the fucking KING!

that comes with a lot of perks.

And until wife #5, he'd only had ONE of them executed. The odds weren't too bad.

[texanwitch]

2. There wouldn't be enough perks on the planet for me to marry old Henry.

Even if he looked like the young hot one on cable.

If you didn't have that male child, watch out.

[Monk06]

3. Wanting to marry Henry had very little to do with marrying Henry.

Plus he had syphilis which eventually killed him
and rendered Elizabeth barren. Did not like the
word no or the sentence, "I'm sorry your majesty
we are out of pork."

[trof]

15. Yep, most didn't.

[Skittles]

4. LOL

I doubt choice for women was the rage of the day

[CreekDog]

5. you should ask the women who wrote love letters to Scott Peterson

yes, really. :wow: :crazy: :wtf:

Admirers started coming out of the woodwork — and posting love notes on various Web blogs — even before the 32-year-old killer landed on San Quentin Prison's death row last week.

A prison spokesman said San Quentin (search) received dozens of calls, letters and even two marriage proposals for Peterson.

Cliff Linedecker, a true-crime writer who wrote the book "Prison Groupies" said about women smitten by killers, "The more notorious they are, the more groupies they tend to attract."

snip

"They especially like wife-killers," he said. "It adds to the thrill."

Richard Ramirez (search), a Satanist on death row for a shockingly brutal string of rapes, murders and mutilations, "had women falling all over him," even fighting one another for his attentions, said Linedecker. (In 1996, Ramirez married a 41-year-old magazine editor.)

Even John Wayne Gacy (search), "a very unattractive guy — and a homosexual, too, which you'd think might be a deterrent — had all kinds of women after him," Linedecker said.

"Preppie Killer" Robert Chambers (search) had to be transferred to another prison because so many aspiring girlfriends were smuggling him contraband — and when he was released last year, one was waiting for him.

Tracy Lamourie of the Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty (search), which runs a Web site where death-row prisoners solicit pen pals, said many who write are women looking for relationships.

snip

:banghead:

(i'm sorry for the link to Fox News, but here it is, on this article, they are worth a disturbing read):
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,151271,00.html

[China_cat]

6. With the exception of Jane Seymour

all his marriages were predicated on the political ambitions of families. (Well, even poor Jane, but she actually seems to have loved him) Where your family married you off, especially in the aristocracy, was not a matter of any choice for women.

Aragon was for an alliance with Spain and to keep the dowry brought with her when she married Henry's older brother (who she was sold to at the age of -3-); Boleyn was a pretty thing but put forward by her relatives to increase their power and wealth; Seymour was probably Henry's love and she did give him a son but it was her family that benefitted; Cleves was for an alliance powerful enough to help Henry against Rome; Howard pushed into the king's face by her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk; Parr wanted to marry Seyour's brother but Henry wanted her and there was no arguing with that.

Every one of them bought. Sure, I imagine there would be a wonderment about being queen and the position and wealth that would bring. I'm not sure many women would resist at least a serious consideration of the position if OFFERED. But there was no choice in the matter then. You went where your family sold you and you at least tried to pretend that you liked it.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. "The Donald" wasn't around yet

:rofl:

[raccoon]

8. "She wouldn't have a Willy or a Sam!"

I'm Henry the eighth I am
Henry the eighth I am, I am
I got married to the widow next door
She's been married seven times before
And every one was an Henry (Henry)
She wouldn't have a Willy or a Sam (no Sam)
I'm her eighth old man, I'm Henry
Henry the eighth I am

Second verse same as the first

I'm Henry the eighth I am
Henry the eighth I am, I am
I got married to the widow next door
She's been married seven times before
And every one was an Henry (Henry)
She wouldn't have a Willy or a Sam (no Sam)
I'm her eighth old man, I'm Henry
Henry the eighth I am

------ lead guitar ------

I'm Henry the eighth I am
Henry the eighth I am, I am
I got married to the widow next door
She's been married seven times before
And every one was an Henry (Henry)
She wouldn't have a Willy or a Sam (no Sam)
I'm her eighth old man, I'm Henry
Henry the eighth I am

H-E-N-R-Y
Henry (Henry)
Henry (Henry)
Henry the eighth I am, I am
Henry the eighth I am

Yeah!

[LeftinOH]

9. Did they really have any choice?

[racaulk]

10. Have you ever tried to find a rich, powerful husband while having six fingers on one hand?

:P

[KG]

11. it's good to be the king.

' They are my people. I love them. PULL!"

[LynneSin]

12. TMZ and Perez Hilton didn't exist back in those days

Or else these women would have known all about what Henry VIII did

[noonwitch]

13. Thomas Boleyn was a "fishmonger"

He pimped his daughters to Henry-Mary as a mistress, and Anne as a wife. It was to gain social status. Nice people.

Anne of Cleves (#4) was an arranged marriage with another country. He decided she was ugly once he met her, and called off the wedding before it was finalized. She was given a special status at court and given an allowence.

Katherine of Aragon (#1) was also an arranged marriage-he couldn't off her without starting a war, because her parents were Ferdinad and Isabella of Spain.

Katherine Howard (5) was related to the Boleyns. She probably really did commit adultry, thus justifying under law her execution.

Jane Parr (6) was a manipulative woman, who was smart enough to outlive him. She raised Elizabeth until her death, in childbirth, of her next husband's kid.

Jane Seymour, well, Henry loved her because she actually gave him a son, then died a few days later from complications. He probably would have found a reason to kill her, had she lived and been unable to produce any more kids.

[LeftyMom]

14. He was young and healthy and tall and good looking at first.

He didn't get all fat and gouty until near the end.

[Chovexani]

16. They were just trying to get a-head

:evilgrin:

[rockymountaindem]

17. ... of state.

[LSK]

18. they were all crazy witches that needed to be executed??

:shrug:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

19. Meh. He was nothing to lose your head over.

Da-duh-dump!

[montanto]

20. I don't think there was any "want" in it for the women.

I think what Henry wanted, Henry got.

[jobycom]

21. They all thought they could change him.

"He's perfect, except that he keeps killing wives. But he's misunderstood. All he needs is someone like me to love and understand him, to bring out his sensitive side. I'll be the one to tame him, you watch."

[JoDog]

22. Not all prospects said yes

Christina of Milan, a 16-year-old on the short list for Henry's fourth wife, reportedly rejected his interest. "If I had two heads, one should be at the King of England's disposal," was her message to the English ambassador who broached the subject.

Thus, Henry married Anne of Cleves.

[TheMightyFavog]

23. How could you not fall in love with a guy who wore this suit of armour?

[Sequoia]

24. Some were forced to be his wife.

[JVS]

25. It's good to be the King

[JVS]

26. He cultivated the bad boy image to perfection