Henry VIII was born on June 28th 1491. He was the second born son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. The first boy born to the royal couple was Arthur, born in 1486, a year after Henry VII had won the crown by defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth which brought to an end the Plantagenet dynasty which had ruled over England for more than 300 years. Henry VII, was not the most colourful of English monarchs, especially when compared to his eventual successor, but charisma was not necessarily what England needed after decades of civil war, known as the Wars of the Roses, had torn the country apart since the mid 1450s. England and it's population needed stability and this is what Henry VII provided in his near quarter century reign. Henry had to be watchful throughout his reign due to various challenges to his authority from the likes of Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck but he came through those difficulties and tried to show leniency when and where he could. In the case of Warbeck in particular, this would not always be successful as Warbeck repeatedly pushed his luck leading to his eventual execution. Henry was also known to be extremely careful with his finances and, when he died in 1509, he would leave a financially healthy country for his second son to inherit.
Shortly after becoming king, Henry VII had married Elizabeth of York. Elizabeth was the daughter of Edward IV and the sister of "The Princes in the Tower", who had been murdered by their uncle Richard III in 1483. Henry's claim to the throne, albeit a weak one, came through the Lancastrian line of the royal family and by marrying Yorkist Elizabeth, he hoped to unite a terribly divided nation. Henry also needed to secure his position. By defeating and killing Richard III at Bosworth thereby taking the crown, Henry had not only made himself king but a usurping king. As English history had shown before, the life of a usurper was not an easy one and Henry would have been well aware of this. The best way to secure his position was to produce sons to succeed him. The arrival of Arthur in the Autumn of 1486 would have brought great joy to not only the royal couple but to the country at large. Stability appeared to be finally in sight.
Arthur's life however would be a short one. In late 1501, he married Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, known to history as the Catholic Monarchs. But the young couple's marriage was a short one. Just a few short months later, in the early spring of 1502, Arthur died at the age of just 15. Various explanations have been put forward for the young prince's death including sweating sickness, TB and cancer. On hearing the news of their sons passing, both Henry and Elizabeth were devastated. At first, it was Elizabeth who tried to console her overcome husband. After she had succeeded in cheering Henry a little, she went to her own chamber where she too broke down in grief. The king was sent for and it was now Henry's turn to comfort his wife. These moving moments do show a side to Henry VII that's not always discussed. He is viewed as pragmatic, hard and even cold but his clear grief for the passing of his son, and future losses, show that Henry was more complex then that.
Aside from the obvious tragic aspect of losing his son, Arthur's passing could have presented Henry with another serious problem. Henry and Elizabeth now only had one surviving son, the future Henry VIII. Another boy that had been born to the royal couple, named Edmund, had died in infancy in 1500. Whilst this too would have been deeply upsetting for the king and queen, and indeed Henry paid for an expensive funeral for the tragic infant, it would have been viewed in more pragmatic terms at the time. Infant mortality was extremely high in the 16th century and even the most powerful of families were not exempt from the devastating loss of not only one child but in many cases, numbers of children in the early years of their life. However, the loss of Edmund would have unquestionably doubled the anguish of Arthur's death 2 years later. Having had three potential male heirs in the early summer of 1500, Henry VII was now down to just the one.
The following year of 1503, things took another brutal turn for the king. In early February, Elizabeth died giving birth to a daughter who would also die not long after. These latest bereavements proved too much to bear for the king and he was taken so seriously ill that it was thought he would not pull through. For his young, and now sole, heir Prince Henry, freshly made Prince of Wales, these events would have been traumatic for a boy not even 12. He had lost his mother and his father appeared to be on the brink of death. As far as young Henry knew he could be king any day now. He was also now betrothed to Catherine of Aragon, Arthur's widow, whom he'd marry in 1509. This marriage would prove controversial. Was it acceptable for a king to take his brother's widow in marriage? Had Arthur and Catherine consummated the marriage? These fateful questions would rear their ugly head in the decades to come. But for now Prince Henry could only focus his mind on the present.
As the years marched on, Henry VII gradually became more introverted and by the time of his death in 1509, England was ready for a new era. The old king had served his kingdom nobly. And why wouldn't he when he had done so much to not only win the crown at Bosworth but also to keep hold of it in the face of challenges at both home and abroad. The chronicler Polydore Vergil called Henry " a champion of justice...and gave the common people a life free from harm". Due to his high taxes, Henry would have been far from universally popular but his son, now Henry VIII, inherited a country in a financially healthy state.
June 1509 was certainly an eventful month in the life of the new king. Early in June, Henry and Catherine finally married. Catherine had been left in limbo somewhat after her initial betrothal to Henry as Henry VII seemed to change his mind on whether he want the marriage between his son and the Spanish princess to go ahead. But finally, the two were married in a private ceremony. The reason for keeping the ceremony private was obvious. Just two weeks later, the king and his consort would be crowned on the 24th June, just a few days before Henry's 18th birthday. Among those in attendance at the coronation was Henry's remarkable grandmother, Margaret Beaufort. Margaret had been instrumental in helping her one son Henry VII become king against the odds and seeing her grandson crowned would have been a bittersweet moment for her as she had outlived her son albeit only by a couple of months. Just 5 days after the coronation, Margaret died.
In the new king, the English people would have been delighted in what they saw. He was vibrant, strong, energetic and he was eager to please. One of the most notable events early in Henry's reign was the execution of two men named Edmund Dudley and Richard Empson who had both been extremely unpopular during the reign of Henry's father. In January 1510, a parliament, Henry's first, had been held which essentially scapegoated both Dudley and Empson for the supposed problems caused by the previous reign. The two stood no chance and they were both dead within the year. Henry continued to bolster his reputation with his people by touring the country and hearing complaints harboured against his father's minsters. The king held tournaments and showed off his prowess in the joust. However, it wasn't all good news. Catherine had become pregnant towards the end of 1509 but sadly miscarried in early 1510 and then, even more shockingly for the king, she miscarried another child just months later. This clearly demonstrates one of the biggest hardships for queen consorts in the 16th century. Even after the trauma of her first failed pregnancy, Catherine was expected to recover quickly, emotionally and physically, in order to carry out her main duty in providing her husband with heirs and spares. And it appeared Catherine was finally successful in giving Henry a son. A boy was born to the royal couple on New Years Day 1511, to general delight. Tragically though, the baby only lived a few short weeks to Catherine's great distress. As for Henry, he attempted to put on a brave face and did his best to comfort his wife.
Henry certainly had his eyes set on greatness. Aside from the priority of producing sons in order to secure a long lasting Tudor dynasty, Henry also seemed to harbour hopes of resurrecting the Hundred Years War by laying claim to territories in France that had been held by the English up until the reign of Henry VI. Over the years to come, Henry would seek alliances, including with the Holy Roman Empire, that would boost his chances of leading successful campaigns into France. And in 1513, Henry himself sailed for Calais, England's last possession in France, along with 13,000 men. One of his first objects was to capture a city called Therouanne which had been taken by Edward III in 1346 in a clearly symbolic move that emphasises Henry's desire to be talked about in the same breath as England's great medieval kings. Henry then met his potential ally, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian before he did capture Therouanne which promptly sacked.
But matters at home could not be neglected. Despite, so far, having to produce Henry a son, Catherine still clearly had the king's trust. When Henry set off for his continental campaign, he left Catherine to act as his regent in a great show of trust from a man who was only into his 4th year as king. And it was a good job he did trust her. Aside from the French, England's other age old enemy were the Scots and they chose this moment to attack the North of England. An English army had to be gathered and they met the Scots at the Battle of Flodden. The Scots were thoroughly routed and, even worse for them, their king James IV was killed and Catherine had his bloody coat sent to Henry. The good news kept on coming on for Henry as he now took Tournai which capitulated quickly and readily. In the Autumn of 1513, Henry returned to England
On his return to England, Henry rewarded those who aided his successful campaign in France which included making Thomas Wolsey Bishop of Lincoln. Henry then suffered a bout of illness which was probably measles in February 1514 but he made a quick recovery. In the Spring of that year, tensions between the English king and the Emperor Maximilian who appeared to be reneging on his alliance with Henry. Fearing the Emperor was now in cahoots with the French, Henry himself decided to make peace with the French king Louis XII. A favourable agreement was reached and Henry's sister Mary married Louis as a result although she would only be queen of France for a very brief period as Louis died early in 1515.
Like England, France now had a young king. He was Francis I and Henry was eager to find out more about his counterpart. On one occasion, Henry accosted a Venetian Ambassador who was visiting his court and, speaking in French, Henry made enquiries as to what Francis was like. He asked the Ambassador if the French king was as tall as Henry, was he as stout and he even made enquiries as to the strength of Francis' legs. As if to prove a point, Henry put one of his legs on show for the Ambassador to inspect and make comparisons. In this little exchange, we can see both egotism and insecurities in Henry. What would not have been helping these insecurities was the fact that Catherine had yet another miscarriage. Even though he was still a young man at this point, I think it's safe to say that this would have been playing heavily on Henry's mind by now. The miscarriages and still births were a blow both to Henry's dynastic hopes and also his pride and how he viewed himself.
What Henry's relations were going to be with the French king was uncertain. There was a renewal of the French English peace agreement made during Louis' reign but Francis then marched into Italy where he won a brilliant victory in battle just outside Milan. Henry was not to be outdone and he now conspired against the French king despite the fact that he had professed his affection for France when he was speaking to the Venetian Ambassador. Towards the end of 1515, Thomas Wolsey was made Chancellor, shortly after the pope had made him a Cardinal.
Finally, in February 1516, Catherine gave birth to a healthy baby. Henry's joy was limited due to the fact the baby was a girl and, in his eyes, not suitable to be his successor (despite the fact that this baby would indeed grow up to rule over England as Queen Mary I) but the fact the child was healthy was a step in the right direction for the king and queen. Henry was now convinced that boys would follow. In the summer, an outbreak of Sweating Sickness, a type of Influenza, gripped London. The Sickness could come on suddenly with it said that victims could be healthy and happy one moment and dead a couple of hours later. The Royal Court had the privilege of escaping to the country whilst, of course, the lower classes had to remain in London.
In 1519, Charles V was elected Holy Roman Emperor although Francis I had designs on stopping him and even Henry himself had ideas of through his hat into the ring as a potential candidate. Also that year, a son was born to Henry. Unfortunately, this son was born to one of Henry's mistresses. He was named Henry Fitzroy and would, for a time, be considered a possibility of being made Henry's heir despite the fact he was illegitimate. The birth of Fitzroy proved in Henry's mind that he could indeed sire male heirs and it seems likely that now may have been the time when Henry started to have doubts about Catherine although it would still be some time yet before the relationship really hit the rocks. Another consideration Henry would have taken into account was the fact that Catherine was 5 years older than Henry. She was now 32 and although still certainly of childbearing age, time was starting to run out for her. Unfortunately for the royal couple, Catherine had already had her last pregnancy which ended with a daughter being born stillborn.
In May 1520, Henry hosted the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, meeting him when he landed at Dover and escorting him to Canterbury. Having spent some with Charles, Henry then sailed for France for discussions with Francis with Charles remaining in England. A summit was held between the English and French known as the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Here, the two kings did everything from jousting and wrestling to dining together and holding more serious discussion. In their wrestling match, Francis would get the better of Henry. Henry then returned to England where he would make a treaty of friendship.
In May 1521, Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham was executed for treason after suspicion had been aroused as Stafford attempted to gather a small force of men combined with rumours that he had been overheard talking about the possibility of taking the throne if Henry should die. Meanwhile, tensions were rising abroad between Francis and Charles with Henry sending Cardinal Wolsey to try and make peace between the two. Secretly, Henry, despite having an agreement with the French and the fact he was being paid an annual pension by them, aimed to side with Emperor Charles and Wolsey, in a somewhat secretive manner, excused himself from discussions with the French to visit the court of Charles where a treaty was signed that ensured Henry would enter the war on the side of Charles'. The following year of 1522 Charles returned to England to discuss his and Henry's campaigns against the French and in May Henry officially declared war.
In the Spring of 1523, Henry asked Parliament to help fund his wars in France. But getting the required money proved to be difficult. Parliament were reluctant to grant the sums Henry and Cardinal Wolsey were looking for. There were understandable questions about the war. What was Henry's intentions? Did he really hope to claim the French Crown? Or did he merely hope to regain the territories that had once been held by the English in France? This war could very easily and very quickly become a quagmire that gradually became more and more expensive with little to no gain. Eventually, after extremely tense discussions, Parliament backed down somewhat and granted a generous sum. Henry launched an expedition led by Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, Henry's close friend, who attacked Paris but achieved very little. Although Henry planned to try again the following year, misgivings among the king's ministers must have been growing. As a result Henry abandoned those plans, at least for the timing. He had been persuaded to do so by both the advise of Cardinal Wolsey, who was heavily involved in the planning of the campaigns, and by the fact that Emperor Charles was failing to cough up the money he had agreed to pay Henry. In 1525, Charles emphatically defeated Francis at the Battle of Pavia, taking the French king prisoner. Francis was eventually released, although not before he had suffered an illness that nearly killed him, but left his two sons as Charles' hostages. Although Henry was delighted by Charles' success, he had failed to grasp that his alliance was no longer of any real significance to the Emperor who now made it plain he could do perfectly well without the English king. It did eventually dawn on Henry that his campaigns in France were going nowhere. In late 1525, Henry made peace with the French and even lobbied for Francis' release.
There were also problems at home. Henry's relationship with Catherine was beginning to break down as the king realised the likelihood of her producing a son were now virtually nonexistent, a plague had broken out which killed large numbers of people in London and a tax called the Amicable Grant had gone down like a lead balloon with Henry's subjects and Henry was left with little choice but to abandon it. It was around 1526 that a young woman at Henry's court had taken his eye. Her name was Anne Boleyn and it wasn't long before Henry started to act like a lovestruck teenager.
Henry now began to consider his options in annulling his marriage to Catherine. Henry, conveniently from his point of view, brought up a passage in a bible that prohibited a man having relations with his brother's wife or, in this case, widow. Therefore it was God passing judgement on the marriage by denying Henry a son. Cardinal Wolsey also cast doubts over the Papal dispensation that had been granted that allowed Henry's marriage to Catherine. However, this was met with resistance from Bishop John Fisher who insisted that the dispensation was legal. But any hope Henry had of having his case heard soon by the Pope was dealt a significant blow when Emperor Charles, Catherine's nephew, sacked Rome forcing the Pope to flee.
Throughout 1528, there was no sign of a resolution to Henry's desire for an annulment. Catherine's strong religious beliefs meant she was determined to remain married to Henry and in her nephew Charles, she had a powerful ally. Catherine also rightly pointed out there was no question of the legality of the marriage at the time and both she and Henry had now been married for nearly 20 years. Whatsmore, Charles' actions in Italy meant the Pope's hands were tied. If he granted Henry's request, then he could expect to feel the wrath of the Emperor. However, despite these obvious obstacles, Henry's mind was now firmly made up. He still had a respect for Catherine and perhaps even still loved her but both his desire for a male heir and his increasingly passionate feelings for Anne Boleyn meant, in Henry's mind, he was left with little option. He would spend the Christmas of 1528 with Anne.
1529 was no better for Henry. Through the early summer, the case for Henry's annulment was heard. Catherine appeared in front of the king and court and protested strongly and passionately but her words had little effect. But a heavy blow came when the Pope and Emperor Charles agreed a peace treaty. With the Pope now certain not to do anything that would upset Charles, Henry's hopes of having an annulment granted were now going down the drain. As a result, it was Henry's Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, who would be the scapegoat. He was removed from the Chancellorship and would die a broken man the following year having been accused of Treason but dying before he could stand trial.. He would be succeeded by Thomas More.
More however would only be Chancellor for less than 3 years as he resigned his post with Henry becoming increasingly headstrong in his dealings with the church. Meanwhile, Anne Boleyn was becoming a steadily more prominent figure. In October 1532, she was made Marchioness of Pembroke and then accompanied Henry as he travelled across the English Channel to visit Francis I. The French king had expressed his support for Henry's annulment, something which would have been extremely welcome to Henry, and also promised to support England in case of a decline in relations with the Holy Roman Emperor. Anne was in attendance as Henry had dinner with the French king and made herself quite at home. Anne was comfortable in these surroundings as she had spent time in France in her earlier years.
Henry and Anne's relationship grew in intensity and it was soon evident that Anne was expecting a child. This made Henry's desire for an annulment with Catherine even more urgent. Henry and Anne married in a secret ceremony before Henry declared himself as the Supreme Head of the Church in England. In May, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declared Henry's marriage to Catherine invalid and shortly after Henry's marriage to Anne was made public. On the first day of June, Anne was crowned. You can't help but feel sorry for Catherine. She had been cast aside totally. She had not even seen Henry for two years at the time of their official separation. Catherine had been a loyal queen to Henry for nearly 20 years before their relationship began to break down. Even then, she fought hard to remain Henry's wife and stood by her principals. Catherine's only real failing was to produce a son. She would die in early 1536, only a few months before her rival Anne's execution, and is buried at Peterborough Cathedral. As for Henry, his actions here were seismic. He had officially broken away from Rome all in the name of producing a male heir. It would be ironic therefore that, having gone to all this trouble to marry Anne Boleyn, she too would fail to give Henry a son.
Anne gave birth in September 1533. But to Henry's disappointment, it was a girl. The baby was named Elizabeth and would grow up to be England's first successful female ruler (her half sister Mary being queen before her but can hardly be considered a success). Unrest at Henry's controversial marriage continued at the king relied on Thomas Cromwell, one of his most prominent ministers, to stamp out opposition when and where he found it. This included the hanging and beheading of a nun, named Elizabeth Barton, alongside 5 men. The 6 unfortunate people had their heads stuck on a spike on London Bridge with Barton's head being the only female one to ever receive that dishonour. An act of succession was passed that declared Henry's second marriage legitimate and also legitimised the right to succeed to the throne of any children produced from the marriage. It was required for all to take an oath accepting the act but men like Thomas More and John Fisher. Then Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, making Henry officially the Supreme Head of the Church in England. Compliance was non-negotiable but More and Fisher refused to acknowledge the act and both men were executed. Henry's reign had now fully descended into tyranny.
In 1535, Thomas Cromwell began his investigation into the Monasteries which would eventually lead to Henry closing them in order to steal their wealth. Meanwhile, Henry was no further along in his quest for a son with Anne having a miscarriage in 1534 and then another shortly after Henry suffered a bad injury while jousting. Henry was unconscious for a significant period of time and it's speculated he suffered a brain injury as he became increasingly despotic in the years to come. After recovering from his injury, Henry began to take an interest in one of Anne's ladies in waiting, Jane Seymour. And, thanks to the machinations of Anne's rival Thomas Cromwell, it wasn't long before the king was able to rid himself of another wife. Rumours had spread of Anne committing adultery and, alongside 5 men including her brother George, were arrested and interrogated. Accusations against them included adultery, plotting against the king and, in Anne and George's case, incest. Their fate was sealed and all 6 were executed. Being a kind and loving man, Henry commuted Anne's execution from Burning to Beheading and, in another of "kindness", he ordered an expert French swordsman to carry out the act rather than the usual clumsy executions with the use of an axe. Anne was executed in May 1536. She was no Saint. She had positioned herself cleverly so that one day she would become queen but was she guilty of the accusations against her? Unlikely. She, like the 5 largely forgotten men that died with her, was just another victim of the increasingly brutal reign of Henry VIII.
Henry spent little time mourning for Anne and days later he married his third wife Jane Seymour. Jane would produce Henry a son, his successor Edward VI, but she would die only a couple of weeks after giving birth, leaving Henry distraught. Jane is sometimes portrayed as something of a shrinking violet but this was not necessarily the case. She proved on occasions that she could stand up to her husband and, had she lived longer, she may well have proved to have been a stabilising force in Henry's later years. Also in 1536, an uprising in protest against Henry and his government's actions over the previous few years took place, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace. The uprising was suppressed brutally and it's leaders, including a man named Robert Aske were executed.
Throughout 1538, Henry, aided by Cromwell, became increasingly oppressive. A friar named John Forrest was burned at the stake, relics and shrines were destroyed and there was a serious clampdown on pilgrimages. A woman named Margaret Pole,in her mid 60s, Countess of Salisbury and mother of a cardinal named Reginald, was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London. She would eventually be executed with her supposed crime a mystery to her. To make things even worse for the poor woman, her execution was carried out by a young man completely inexpert in his trade and he made a complete mess of it though Margaret perhaps didn't help by refusing to keep her head still in one last act of defiance.
In 1539, Henry ordered the country's defences to be strengthened, particularly along the coast and he also gathered a sizeable army. Henry's paranoia was not helped by a peace treaty being agreed by Francis I and Charles V. Henry V feared his actions against the Catholic Church would one day lead to a foreign superpower, or perhaps an alliance of superpowers, invading his country. Meanwhile, Henry was still without a wife and so he sent his court painter Hans Holbein The Younger to paint a portrait of a young woman named Anne of Cleves. On seeing the portrait, he agreed to marry her and, of course, this would prove to be a total disaster. And it would be Cromwell who paid the price. He was accused of numerous crimes including Treason and he would be executed. It's hard to feel sorry for him given how Cromwell had ensured Anne Boleyn would fall and given the role he played in the increasingly brutal nature of Henry's government. Ironically, Anne of Cleves probably fair better in allowing the divorce from Henry without having any objections and his next wife, a young girl named Katherine Howard, was not so fortunate.
By this stage, Henry was in a wretched state. Grossly overweight, no end of ailments afflicting him and incapable of performing in marital affairs, being married to such a man, especially one as brutish as Henry, would have been quite horrifying for a young girl not even out of her teens. It was no surprise that Katherine would seek comfort elsewhere and she, alongside her lover Thomas Culpeper and former lover Francis Dereham, would go to the block. In 1543, Henry married his sixth and final wife, Katherine Parr with whom he'd have a good relationship with. By the mid 1540s, Henry was at war with both Scotland and France and struggling both to finance the campaigns due to lack of money and also to lead due to his increasingly bad health. In 1546 Henry agreed a peace with the French and he would die in January 1547 aged 55.
So ended the life of a remarkable man. At the start of his reign, the English nation was hopeful. Here was an energetic, powerful young man eager to please his people. But beneath the surface, there were clearly troubling aspects to Henry's personality. Henry clearly wanted to be a big player on the European stage hence why he considered making himself a candidate to be Holy Roman Emperor. He had visions of conquering France and reigniting England's glory days during the Hundred Years War. But this was all well beyond his capabilities and his foreign policies would prove to be enormously expensive. His reign at home became increasingly brutal and some estimates say as many as 72,000 people were executed during his 37 and a half year reign. An appalling number though possibly an exaggeration. Men and women died violent deaths with many being almost completely innocent of what they were accused of. And of course Henry's treatment of his wives was ghastly. It's not hard to see why history is so fascinated by this man, the most famous of all our kings...Henry VIII.