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When was it legal to divorce someone in England?
When was Divorce legalized to everyone, not just the wealthy?
2 Answers
- Anonymous5 years agoFavorite Answer
Divorce was first legal in Britain in the mid 1600's, although until 1670 a divorced person could not remarry, in Scotland divorce was legal from about 1573,but it still had to go through parliament and a private act had to be obtained so it was very expensive and only the upper classes could think of doing it,it was not until 1857 that the courts set up divorce procedures although it was still only middle and upper class couples who took advantage of this,and there was a huge social stigma connected to divorce, the way the law were set up a woman would lose her children,and a woman had to get 2 reasons to divorce her husband, but the husband only had to have 1 reason,it was very unfair to women,throughout the 19th century reforms did go through,but even in the 1900's it was not considered acceptable for a woman to be divorce, she would stop being invited to any social gatherings,friends and family would turn against her,as usual a man was still invited everywhere!
- 5 years ago
Now, I don't know particularly much, but I know that King Henry the Eighth created his own Church where divorce was legal, so I believe that could have been the turning point.