An Accident of Births
On the same day in 1537, so the story goes, two baby boys were born, but the similarity between them ended there.
set in 1537
King Henry VIII 1509-1547
On the same day in 1537, so the story goes, two baby boys were born, but the similarity between them ended there.
set in 1537
King Henry VIII 1509-1547
In 1527, courtiers began to whisper of Henry VIII’s rising obsession with finding a male heir, calling it the King’s ‘Great Matter’. After Queen Catherine had been put away, and Queen Anne had been beheaded, his prayers were answered when in 1537, Queen Jane bore him a son, Prince Edward. It was against this historical background that Mark Twain opened the tale of The Prince and the Pauper, published in 1881.
IN the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him. On the same day another English child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him.* All England wanted him too. England had so longed for him, and hoped for him, and prayed God for him, that, now that he was really come, the people went nearly mad for joy.* Mere acquaintances hugged and kissed each other and cried. Everybody took a holiday, and high and low, rich and poor, feasted and danced and sang, and got very mellow; and they kept this up for days and nights together.
* Prince Edward, later Edward VI, was born on October 12th, 1537. The family name of the rulers of England from Henry VII to Elizabeth I was Tudor. The story Twain told in The Prince and the Pauper is of course a romance. “It may be history,” he said, “it may be only a legend, a tradition. It may have happened, it may not have happened: but it could have happened.”
* “Here is no less rejoicing” wrote Bishop Hugh Latimer to Richard Cromwell “at the birth of our prince, whom we hungered for so long, than there was at the birth of John the Baptist, as the bearer Master Evance can tell you. God give us grace to be thankful.”
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
How did the people of London react to the news of a royal birth?
They celebrated in the streets for days.
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
The King wanted a son. Prince Edward was born. The country felt relieved.
See if you can include one or more of these words in your answer.
IGrant. IILong. IIIWhen.