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Queens beat Henry VIII in modern courtroom © Associated Press
LONDON - King Henry VIII had many titles - King of England and of Ireland, Defender of the Faith, "Bluff King Hal." But in a mock courtroom this week he was called something else - adulterer, abusive husband, deadbeat dad. U.S. and British family lawyers examined the marital woes of England's oft-wed king, who in the 16th century married six wives, beheaded two of them and broke England's ties with the Roman Catholic Church so that he could leave his first wife and remarry. During the session - part of the American Bar Association's annual meeting being held in London - 500 lawyers heard long-suffering first wife Catherine of Aragon ask for a restraining order against her violent spouse. Doomed Anne Boleyn, headed for the chopping block in 1536, sought a quickie divorce, while sixth wife Catherine Parr called on the king to honor their prenuptial agreement. The mock trial - heard simultaneously by England's top family law judge, Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, and Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince - was designed to feature issues in contemporary family law. Few modern-day marriage problems are as cataclysmic as those of Henry, whose attempt to get his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled led to his excommunication and the founding of the Anglican church. But the U.S. and British lawyers representing the queens did not have to struggle to give their tales a contemporary ring. Boleyn - accused by the king of adultery, incest and treason - was "the victim of sustained spin," according to her lawyer. Catherine Howard - Henry's fifth wife, also executed for treason - was a battered spouse trapped in a cycle of violence. As befits the theme of the conference - "Common Law, Common Bond" - the trans-Atlantic judges broadly agreed. "The behavior of his majesty toward several of his wives has gone beyond acceptable bounds," Butler-Sloss said dryly. Nonetheless, the event highlighted differences between U.S. and British law - especially when it comes to money. Quince was more ready to grant the wives' financial demands than the cautious Butler-Sloss. She called some financial claims, which included Catherine of Aragon asking for half the King's property and other payments including the crown jewels, "excessive under English law," awarding "reasonable costs - English standards, not American standards." At a mock trial tomorrow, the United States will put King George III, who lost the Colonies in the Revolutionary War, in the dock for terrorism, and Britain will try George Washington for treason.
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