Scatter Brained

HENRY VIII VERSUS CATHERINE OF ARAGON
Technically an annulment—but one that neither the wife in 
question nor the pope ever recognized. In the breakup that 
started the Anglican Church, Henry VIII separated from 
Rome in no small part because he couldn’t stand being mar-
ried to Catherine. Of course, that was partly because she 
suff ered from the gravest of all queenly sins—the inability 
to produce a male heir. After leaving Catherine, Henry went 
on to marry fi ve more times. And though Cathy still consid-
ered herself married, she couldn’t have thought much of her 
husband—especially since Henry sent her out to live in a se-
ries of dank prison castles. Although the rest of her life was 
miserable, Catherine won in the end. When her daughter, 
Mary, took the throne, her very fi rst act was to annul the an-
nulment. And speaking of royal rumbles . . .