Picture of Henry VIII
The Royal Collection
© 2006, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
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KING HENRY VIII
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Date of birth: |
28 June 1491
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Place of birth: |
Greenwich, London
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Parents: |
Henry VII (Tudor), Elizabeth of York
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Home: |
Hampton Court Palace
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Age on accession: |
18
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Education: |
Privately educated at home
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Marriage and family: |
Henry VIII had six wives. They were Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. He divorced two of these, one died, one outlived Henry, and the other two had their heads chopped off.
An easy way to remember what happened to them is the rhyme:
Divorced, beheaded, died,
Divorced, beheaded, survived
One of the reasons that Henry VIII had so many wives was that he was desperate for a son to be the next King after he died. He only had three surviving children and two of these were girls, Mary and Elizabeth. His only surviving son and the heir to the throne after his death, was Edward.
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Hobbies: |
Henry was an intelligent man and very good at speaking foreign languages. He loved sport. He was a keen huntsman and also enjoyed tennis. He wrote books and music.
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Career highlights: |
Henry fought successful wars against the French and the Scots. He wrote books on religion and was praised by the Pope, who gave him the title 'Defender of the Faith', which has survived to this day. He also carried on the work of his father in building an English navy. He built the Mary Rose and the 'Great Harry', the largest ship of its time, at a weight of 1,000 tons. Henry added 80 ships to the English navy and created the first dockyard at Portsmouth. At a time when Europe was having religious difficulties, Henry was able to rule with order without an army.
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Low points: |
Henry's marriages were not successful; they resulted in the beheading of two of his wives, the divorce of a further two and the death in childbirth of another. Henry had an argument with the Pope over his divorce of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. The succession was open to question, with only one male heir and two daughters, one Catholic, the other Protestant. There were dangerous religious disputes threatening the kingdom. These disputes would play a major part in many reigns from the time of Henry.
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General: |
The reign of Henry VIII saw the reformation come to England. The reformation was a movement which swept through Europe and led to the Heads of State of several European countries questioning the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. They were angry that the Pope in Rome tried to order them around. Despite the Pope having called him a 'Defender of the Faith' earlier in his reign, Henry and he had fallen out because the Pope had refused to grant Henry a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Without the divorce, he could not re-marry and have a son with his new wife. Henry split from the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself head of the English, or Protestant, church. As head, he could now grant himself a divorce, without having to ask the Pope. He also confiscated Catholic land in England. This was called the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
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Quotations: |
Henry VIII is supposed to have said some of the following things:
"You have sent me a Flanders mare."
Henry VIII is supposed to have said this when he saw Anne of Cleves for the first time.
"My Lord, if it were not to satisfy the world, and my Realm, I would not do that I must do this day for none earthly thing."
Henry VIII is supposed to have said this to Thomas Cromwell, on the day of his wedding to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, 5 Jan 1540
"On light pretexts, by false accusations, they made me put to death the most faithful servant I ever had."
Henry VIII is supposed to have said this six months after the execution of Thomas Cromwell.
"We are, by the sufferance of God, King of England; and the Kings of England in times past never had any superior but God."
Henry VIII is supposed to have said this to Cardinal Wolsey 1515.
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Death and burial: |
Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547 aged 56. He was buried at Windsor. | |
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