King Henry VIII

Henry VIII was born June 28, 1491 at the Palace of Placentia to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Henry VIII was the third of six children. Only he and three of his siblings survived passed infancy. Their names were Arthur (the heir to the throne), Margaret and Mary.

Originally, Henry was intended for the church and was educated with the knowledge of that career. It was only after his brother's untimely death in 1502 that Henry took his place as Prince of Wales.

Henry VIII is of course commonly known as the man who was married six times and created "his own church." However before all of this and even before becoming the heir to the throne, Henry was appointed Constable of Dover Castle, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Duke of York and later was made Earl Marshal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

Henry VIII was known for being a gambler and enjoying playing sports such as; jousting, and "real tennis." Unknown to most he was also a successful musician and poet and even wrote some of his own pieces. One example is, "Pastyme With Good Company."

Two weeks before his coronation, Henry was married to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon from Spain. Henry VII wished to form an alliance with Spain and it was common at those times to make peace between countries through arranged marriages. Catherine's parents were King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. Before marrying Henry VIII permission had to be given by the Pope to severe the marriage between herself and her deceased husband (Henry's older brother) Arthur. After ensuring that her first marriage was never consummated permission was given and she was married to Henry.

In the beginning of his rein as king, Henry VIII was wildly popular. Between his father's teachings and his "natural charm" he became loved by his court and his people.

Having had his previous education, Henry was very interested in religious affairs, which helped with his popularity amongst the church and the papal military alliance. He joined the "Holy League" an alliance which fought France's efforts to control parts of Italy and was noted as a "staunch supporter" of the Catholic Church.

All the while his wife Catherine had given birth to Henry's daughter Mary; she had also suffered a miscarriage and the early death of three sons. Wanting a male heir to the throne, Henry began to request a divorce from Catherine. Henry sent William Knight to Rome to ask for an annulment. His reasoning behind an annulment was to say that Catherine's marriage to her deceased husband Arthur had, in fact, been consummated.

Through all of Cardinal Wolsey's efforts to convince Pope Clement VII to allow a divorce, the Pope did not wish to make Charles V (Catherine's nephew) angry and did not permit an annulment. This led to Wolsey's dismissal as Chancellor.

After many problems and changes, Henry VIII declared himself the Head of the Church of England. He also named Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry then married Anne Boleyn (a courtier in the Queen's entourage) in secret in January of 1533, passed a statute stopping any appeals to Rome and had the Archbishop Cranmer quickly severe his marriage to Catherine. In July of the same year, the Pope moved to excommunicate Henry VIII. In response Acts were passed that "prevented the Church from making any regulations without the King's consent." Henry made the King of England the Head of the Church and wrote an Act making it treason for anyone to say otherewise.

As soon as Henry divorced Catherine and was married to Anne, Mary (Henry's first daughter) was viewed as "illegitimate" and Anne's offspring were to heir to the throne.

Three months after being crowned Queen of England, Anne gave birth to Elizabeth. Following Elizabeth's birth, Catherine had one miscarriage and one child stillborn. This angered the king, who wanted a son. He accused her of using witchcraft to trick him into marrying her. He also accused her of adultery and of incest with her brother, George Boleyn. Not only that, but also he accused her of conspiring to kill the king. It is believed that these accusations were false. The Court condemned both Anne and her brother to a death of the King's choice. The other men accused of having a relationship with the Queen were tortured and decapitated. Anne and her brother were also decapitated.

The day after Anne's execution, Henry was engaged to Jane Seymour (one of his Queen's ladies-in-waiting). Ten days later they were married. A further declaration made Elizabeth illegitimate and named Jane's children heir's to the throne.

In 1537, Jane gave birth to Henry's first son Prince Edward. Because she was the only one of Henry's wives to give birth to a son, he often spoke of her as his "only wife." Later that year, Jane passed away of puerperal fever at Greenwich Palace. Henry VIII mourned her death for some time afterward.

Among Henry's many wives, he also had several mistresses. Two of the women named were Elizabeth Blount and Mary Boleyn. It is noted that Elizabeth Blount gave birth to an illegitimate son of Henry's named, Henry Fitzroy. Mary Boleyn, who was Anne's sister, claimed to also have a child by Henry, but no record can be found to back up this claim. There are many other women speculated to have been his mistress including; Lady Anne Strafford, who was the wife of Lord Hastings.

When the King wished to remarry Hans Holbein the Younger was sent to paint a portrait of Anne of Cleves. When he returned to Henry and showed him the portrait, Henry agreed to marry her. When Henry met Anne face to face, however, he was very displeased with her looks. He said that the portrait had not shown any of the "pockmarks" on her face and was known to have called her a "Flaunders Mare." Despite all of this, he did marry her in January of 1540.

Henry's displeasure in the marriage along with an alliance the Duke of Cleves was making led Henry to end the marriage. Anne, knowing not to question the King, said that the marriage was never consummated and the King never touched her except to kiss her. They also claimed that Anne was already betrothed to a European nobleman. The annulment was granted and was given the title of "The King's Sister." The Earl of Essex, who had suggested the marriage was arrested and later beheaded.

On the same day that Lord Essex was being beheaded, Henry also married Catherine Howard (Anne Boleyn's cousin). Before her wedding Catherine had an affair with Francis Dereham, whom she had engaged to before marrying Henry. After becoming Queen, Catherine also had an affair with a man named Thomas Culpeper.
Archbishop Cranmer, who disliked the Howard family, went to the King with evidence of Queen Catherine's adultery. King Henry, however, was quite taken with Catherine and did not wish to believe Cranmer. Henry did allow an investigation, however, which resulted in Queen Catherine's arrest. Catherine claimed that Dereham forced her into a relationship. This made Dereham angry and for revenge, he bore witness to Catherine's relationship with Thomas Culpeper.

Shortly before Catherine Howard's execution on February 13, 1542, her marriage to Henry was annulled.
In the year following Catherine Howard's execution, Henry married his last wife, Catherine Parr. Catherine was a wealthy widow and a radical. Henry was a conservative Christian and the two argued about religion frequently. Catherine ended up saving her neck (so to speak) by being submissive to her husband. Through out her marriage to Henry she helped reunite him with his daughters Mary and Elizabeth. Though they were still viewed as illegitimate, they were restored to the line to the throne, behind their brother Prince Edward.

Later in Henry's life his became extremely overweight and is also thought to have suffered from gout. It is also believed that he suffered from syphilis. His weight gain is blamed on a jousting accident, in which he injured his thigh and could not exercise. This accident also led to the thigh becoming ulcerated, which is believed to be the reason behind his death.

King Henry VIII died on January 28, 1547 at the Palace of Whitehall. He was buried next to Jane Seymour. Many things in England changed through out Henry VIII reign. The Church was under new law, and some allies were won and lost. No matter what his accomplishments, however, there's almost no stopping the fact that he will mostly be remembered as "the king with six wives."