The Queen of Hearts

"The Queen of Hearts" is an English nursery rhyme that first appeared in print in April 1782 in The European Magazine, based on characters found on playing cards: the Queen of Hearts, the Knave of Hearts, and the King of Hearts. It was initially published alongside three lesser-known stanzas featuring "The King of Spades," "The King of Clubs," and "The Diamond King," and the rhyme became a favorite for children despite its initial appearance in an adult magazine. In 1805, Charles Lamb expanded on the rhyme in his children's book "King and Queen of Hearts: with the Rogueries of the Knave who stole the Queen's Pies." The enduring popularity of "The Queen of Hearts" is largely attributable to Lewis Carroll, who incorporated it into his novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1865), where the rhyme forms the basis for the plot of Chapter XI, "Who Stole the Tarts?", lampooning the British legal system through the trial of the Knave of Hearts. Some theories propose that the Queen of Hearts character might have been based on historical figures such as Elizabeth, the titular Queen of Bohemia, though playing card historians suggest the rhyme might simply be a playful invention noting that "hearts" rhymes with "tarts."