Henry VIII

Son of Henry VII, King Henry VIII was the second monarch of the Tudor family. His 27 year reign started on the 21st of April 1509 and ended on the 28th of January 1547 and included lots of important events which changed the course of English history.

Childhood

Henry VIII was born on the 28 June 1491 in Greenwich Palace or the Palace of Placentia. Henry’s father Henry VII won the War of the Roses, a battle between the House of York and the House of Lancaster. When Henry VII won the battle he decided that he would marry Elizabeth of York as a sign of peace. Henry was from the Lancastrian family and Elizabeth from the York family. In doing this he would be uniting the two families. He also put together each of the houses’ symbols, the white rose and the red rose and that made the Tudor rose. Henry VIII was only the second son of Elizabeth. So he was always jealous of his older brother Arthur because Arthur was heir to the throne but he wanted to be king instead of him. Happily for Henry, Arthur died which meant then he was heir to the throne. Henry was crowned king at the age of seventeen.

Catherine and her children

One of the reasons why Henry VIII is such a famous king is because of his marriage to six wives. Henry’s first wife was Catherine of Aragon, his brother Arthur’s wife before he died. The Spanish princess got married to Henry on the 11 June 1509 soon after Henry’s coronation. Seven months later Catherine gave birth to a child, a son named Henry. The new heir died 52 days after his birth. When the king returned from France Catherine gave birth to another child. As before, it was a boy who died very soon after. On December 1514 the queen had another son but had the same fate as his other dead brothers. But on 18 February 1516 the queen delivered a healthy girl. Her name was Mary and she got christened three days after her birth. After Mary had been born Catherine became pregnant again. Her child was a daughter but never lived long at all. Catherine was never pregnant again. How unlucky!

The break from the Roman Catholic Church

One of the most important events in Henry’s life was his break with the Roman Catholic Church. This is really important because Henry would never have gone through his divorces if hadn’t taken over the Church in England. The Pope and the Catholic Church would not allow his divorce from Catherine. So without permission from the Pope he divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn. The Pope then said, taking sides with the Spanish King, that Henry’s move was illegal. Henry’s reaction was to say that as King he was allowed to control the Church of England. After the English Parliament said that Henry was head of the church. England had now split from the Roman Catholic Church.

Anne Boleyn and her execution

Anne Boleyn was Henry’s second wife. Anne was Catherine’s lady in waiting. The marriage took place on 1 June 1533. Anne started living in the king’s favourite palace, Greenwich Palace, the place where he was born. She did this to help the birth of her first child. On the 7 September 1533 the queen gave birth to a girl and her name was Elizabeth. This was a real shock to the girl’s parents as they had expected a boy. Almost all the royal physicians had guessed that it would be boy. Only one predicted differently. Henry was very eager to have a son to be his heir so Anne knew she was in danger because she did not provide one. Secretly Henry gave a locket to Jane Seymour, somebody who he had met in court, with a picture with him and her. Soon Anne found out and ripped the locket. On 2 May Anne was taken away to the Tower of London. She had been accused of adultery. Adultery is when you’ve married somebody but you then go out with somebody else. For this reason Anne was sentenced to death. Anne Boleyn was beheaded in the tower on 19 May 1536.

At last a new heir

Only one day after Anne Boleyn’s execution Henry married Jane Seymour. Jane was thought to be very strict and formal. In the early days of 1537 Jane was pregnant. Because of this she never went out in public, so she had a quiet few months. But this would be the best for the future child. In October a new heir was born! Finally Henry’s long waited son had arrived. Immediately the son was christened and celebrations broke out everywhere. Unfortunately, the birth had made Jane seriously ill. Eleven days after the queen past away. She was the only one out of Henry’s six wives who received a funeral as she was the one he loved truly who had delivered him his long wanting son.

Later life

In his late life Henry became obese and unhealthy. Jousting injuries made his legs weak and less able to move around. With advice from his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, Henry sent Hans Holbein the younger to paint a picture of Anne of Cleves. When Hans came back he showed his painting to the obese king. The painting looked nice so Henry decided to marry her. Privately Henry met the woman on New Year’s Day 1540 at Rochester. There Henry boldly kissed her. The king and queen didn’t have a good first day together. Henry complained that he had never agreed to marry her. The reason he said this was because Henry thought she was not as pretty as in the picture Hans Holbein had showed him. Immediately Henry annulled the marriage. Henry’s fifth queen was Catherine Howard. The marriage took place almost right after Henry’s annulment with Anne of Cleves. Catherine Howard then committed the crime of adultery whilst married to Henry. She ended as Anne Boleyn did. Catherine was beheaded.Catherine Parr was the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII. Henry married the wealthy widow in 1543. The Queen had a close relationship with Henry’s three children. Mary, Elizabeth and Edward. Catherine made a big effort to persuade Henry to introduce her to them.Catherine then cared for Henry and looked after him until his death in 1547.