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Saturday, June 7
Today is the day we have to talk about him. The one we've been avoiding. You know, the leader who asserted he was never wrong, who believed the whole world revolved around him? Yep, that one, Henry VIII (every century has one). The reason he's so important is because he changed both England and Christianty forever. Here's the brief summary:
Every king needs an heir, someone to inherit his power. Henry's first wife was unable to produce one, so he asked the Pope to annul the marriage. The Pope refused. Henry did the old timey equivilant of taking his ball and going home. He renounced the Catholic Church then started his own, the Church of England. It kept much of what everyone liked, but removed the stuffy rules they didn't like.
Today, I went to Henry's home, Hampton Court Palace. Since it's built directly on the banks of the Thames, I travelled by boat.
The three-hour trip allowed me to see the quieter side of river life.
This was the view of the palace as we docked beside it.
My photos can't capture it all, so an aerial view will give you an idea of the scale. Can you imagine vacuuming this place?
The interior is as beautiful as you can imagine. Keep this in mind for the future: It is available to rent for weddings.
Like him or not, Hampton Court did lead to an important religious text we still use today: the King James Bible.
The idea of one person's absolute rule began to weaken as early as 1215 with the Magna Carta. The king's advisors slowly gained more power until the Glorious Revolution in 1688. A constitutional monarchy was established and the king's powers were restricted. The English were already on their way to a more representative form of government. That meant their monarchs avoided losing their heads like those in the French Revolution. Their power was limited, but they could still live in opulence. Pretty good deal, if you ask me.
Since we've advanced in history and democracy, let's visit Parliament at the Palace of Westminster.
I was able to go inside and see where British laws are created, similar to our Congress. Finally, modern times!
I topped off the evening by visiting a couple of historical pubs and knocking back a few of my own.
The welcoming Tube took me home. Goodnight London!
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