Belvoir Castle

Belvoir, meaning "beautiful view" in French, dates back to Norman times. According to the castle's website "the English pronounciation 'Beaver' was built up over many centuries through the inability of Anglo-Saxons to master the French tongue." Or is it just more of the anti-French attitude that the English have harboured since Anglo-Saxon times? Either way, no one is really sure what to call this place.

Regardless of its name, this castle does have a magnificent view over the surrounding Lincolnshire countryside and has been the ancestral home of the Duke and Duchess of Rutland for one thousand years!  The 11th Duke and Duchess and their five children still reside here. 

We weren't permitted to take photographs inside the castle, but it contains many notable pieces of art including the original, and perhaps most recognizable, painting of King Henry VIII.

As part of the children's castle tour quiz, the kids were suppsoed to write the names of each of Henry VIII's six wives.  A docent overheard me telling the girls what the wives' names were.  He said only about 1 in 100 people that have come through the castle have ever been able to do it.  The fact that I wasn't English was even more impressive to him.  The girls each got a token for a free ice cream for finishing the quiz.  Unfortunately, knowing Henry's wives' names didn't earn me any ice cream but I suppose it was nice to be useful in the realm of English historical trivia.

How many of Henry's wives can you name? (...without Googling)