Sing a Song of Sixpence

I'm King Henry VIII: I Am, I Am - Who Is This King Really?

There is a common theory that the rhyme refers to King Henry VIII, Queen Catherine of Aragon (his first wife), and Anne Boleyn (lady in waiting to the queen, and yet another of Henry’s six wives). (See http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A288966 and Leonard Lubin, 0132, Historical Note.) However, few of the illustrations are representative of Henry's persona as it has come to be regarded—rotund, bearded, turkey leg-in-hand, with a somewhat maleficent expression. Some of the earlier renderings are slightly more indicative of this idea of Henry VIII. Caldecott depicts the king and queen as children; and, in fact, they were still teenagers when they were betrothed and he just 17 when he succeeded to the throne in 1509.

Nevertheless, it is Lubin's illustrations that provide the most recognizable Henry VIII. Here we have the king in the garden watching the maid hang out the clothes. The figure suggests Henry VIII by his girth, robust cheeks, and his manner of dress. The roses in the foreground are symbolic of the heraldry of the white and red roses of the House of Tudor, Henry's ancestral line.

The king also has his hand raised as if to be making a point or perhaps a proclamation. The maid, if she is indeed Anne Boleyn, seems to be speaking back to the king with equal resolve. Perhaps the two are hatching their plan to rid England of the Catholic Church by which Henry could then divorce Catherine and marry Anne, in hopes of producing a male heir. However successful their conniving, Anne never bore a son, and was duly executed just three years after assuming the throne as queen. Could this be the snapping off of her nose?