BBC History - Henry VIII Henry VIII Henry VIII Henry VIII is one of the most famous kings in English history. He was the second Tudor monarch and was well-known for having six wives. His break with the papacy in Rome established the Church of England and began the Reformation. Image: Henry VIII (1491–1547) by Hans Holbein the younger (Getty Images) More information about: Henry VIII Henry, the second son of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was born on 28 June 1491 at Greenwich Palace. After the death of his elder brother Arthur in 1502, Henry became heir to the English throne. King of England When Henry VII died in 1509, this popular eighteen-year-old prince, known for his love of hunting and dancing, became King Henry VIII. Soon after he obtained the papal dispensation required to allow him to marry his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon. In the first years of his reign Henry VIII effectively relied on Thomas Wolsey to rule for him, and by 1515 Henry had elevated him to the highest role in government: Lord Chancellor.

In 1521 Pope Leo X conferred the title of Defender of the Faith on Henry for his book 'Assertio Septem Sacramentorum', which affirmed the supremacy of the Pope in the face of the reforming ideals of the German theologian, Martin Luther. Military might Henry VIII's early military campaigns began when he joined Pope Julius II's Holy League against France in 1511. Wolsey proved himself to be an outstanding minister in his organisation of the first French campaign and while the Scots saw this war as an opportunity to invade England, they were defeated at Flodden in 1513. However war with France ultimately proved expensive and unsuccessful. Henry VIII is known as the 'father of the Royal Navy.' When he became king there were five royal warships. By his death he had built up a navy of around 50 ships. He refitted several vessels with the latest guns including the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545. Henry also built the first naval dock in Britain at Portsmouth and in 1546 he established the Navy Board. This set up the administrative machinery for the control of the fleet.

A male heir Henry was acutely aware of the importance of securing a male heir during his reign. He was worried that he had only one surviving child, Mary, to show for his marriage to Catherine, who was now in her 40s. So the king asked Cardinal Wolsey to appeal to Pope Clement VII for an annulment and it soon became clear he wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, who had been a lady-in-waiting to his first wife. But, unwilling to anger Catherine of Aragon's nephew – the most powerful ruler in Europe, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V – the Pope refused. Thomas Wolsey's ascendancy was cut short by this failure. In 1533, Henry VIII broke with the church and married the now pregnant Anne Boleyn in a secret ceremony. Henry was excommunicated by the Pope. The English reformation had begun. Head of the Church After Wolsey's downfall, Thomas Cromwell became Henry's chief minister and earned the confidence of the King by helping him to break with Rome and establish Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. This act also brought him much needed wealth through the dissolution of the well-funded monasteries.

Over four years Cromwell ordered that 800 monasteries be disbanded and their lands and treasures taken for the crown. The cultural and social impact was significant, as much of the land was sold to the gentry and churches and monasteries were gutted and destroyed. Henry's personal religious beliefs remained Catholic, despite the growing number of people at court and in the nation who had adopted Protestantism. Anne Boleyn In September 1533 Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth I). Henry had grown tired of her, and after two further pregnancies ended in miscarriages, she was arrested in 1536 on trumped up charges of adultery and publicly beheaded at the Tower of London. Henry's third marriage, this time to lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour, finally produced the son he so desperately desired with the birth of Edward in 1537. Jane Seymour died after childbirth and Henry ordered that she be granted a queen's funeral. In an attempt to establish ties with the German Protestant alliance, Thomas Cromwell arranged a marriage between the king and German princess Anne of Cleves. The marriage was a disaster and Henry divorced Anne a few months later.

Henry blamed Cromwell for this mismatch and soon afterwards had him executed for treason. Final Years The final years of his reign witnessed Henry VIII's physical decline and an increasing desire to appear all-powerful. Henry continued with fruitless and expensive campaigns against Scotland and France. In 1540, the aging King married the teenage Catherine Howard. Their marriage was short lived. It was alleged that she had a previous relationship with Henry's courtier Francis Dereham and an affair with another courtier Thomas Culpeper. Catherine was executed for adultery and treason in 1542. Henry's final marriage to Catherine Parr, who acted like a nurse, was more harmonious and she would go on to outlive him. Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547 and was succeeded by his son, Edward VI. He was buried next to Jane Seymour in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Henry Vlll - Tudor king Henry Vlll Age18-56. Second son of Henry VII.

Married Catherine of Aragon (Spanish), Anne Boleyn (English), Jane Seymore (English), Anne of Cleves (Flemish-Belgian), Catherine Howard (English), Catherine Parr (English). Three children Buried in Windsor Castle. Henry Vlll is probably the most well known of the Tudor kings. He was a very selfish person and by the end of his life everyone was afraid of him, mainly because of his ruthless behaviour toward anyone who didn't agree with him. See Henry Vlll timeline Henry Vlll was born at Greenwich Palace, London on 28 June 1491 and was the second son of Henry Vll and Elizabeth of York (daughter of Edward lV). He became Prince of Wales and heir to the throne on the death of his elder brother, Prince Arthur, in 1502. When did Henry become king? He succeeded to the throne after his father's death on 21 April 1509. He was 17 years old when he became king. Henry built fine palaces, and fought wars against France and Scotland. Appearance Tall and thickset, with blue-grey eyes, short auburn hair and a beard.

Henry Vlll was handsome in his youth, but became bloated and fat (he had a 54-inch waist when he was 50). He dressed lavishly, wearing a gold collar with a diamond as big as a walnut and many jewelled rings. Religion Henry Vlll brought religious upheaval to England. When he became king, most people belonged to the Catholic Church , which was headed by the Pope, in Rome. In 1534, Henry broke away from the Catholic Church and proclaimed himself head of the Church of England . The land and riches of the church became Henry's property and he sold off most of this land to dukes, barons and other noblemen. Sport / Hobbies Henry Vlll was a great athlete in his youth. Henry threw the javelin and enjoyed hunting, archery, jousting and tennis. He spoke French, Spanish, Latin and some Italian and was a good musician. Henry played the lute and harpsichord well and could sing from sight. Home Henry Vlll lived at Hampton Court Palace in London. Family Life Henry Vlll wanted a son to rule after him.

He first married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon but divorced her when she did not produce a male heir to the throne. He married three times more before a son was born. In total he married six times!

House of Tudor | King Henry VIII Born: June 28, 1491 at Greenwich Ascended to the throne: April 21, 1509 aged 17 years Crowned: June 24, 1509 at Westminster Married:(1) Catherine of Aragon, on June 11, 1509 Married (2): Anne Boleyn, on January 25, 1533 Married (3): Jane Seymour, on May 30, 1536 Married (4): Anne of Cleves, on January 6, 1540 Married (5): Catherine Howard, on July 28, 1540 Married (6): Catherine Parr, on July 12, 1543 Children: Mary, Elizabeth, Edward + Henry Fitzroy (illegitimate) Died: January 28, 1547 at Whitehall Palace, aged 55 years, 7 months, Buried at: St Georges Chapel, Windsor King of England from 1509, when he succeeded his father Henry VII and married Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his elder brother Arthur.

During the period 1513�29 Henry pursued an active foreign policy, largely under the guidance of his Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, who shared Henry's desire to make England stronger. Wolsey was replaced by Thomas More in 1529 for failing to persuade the Pope to grant Henry a divorce. By this time Henry's policy had become dominated by his desire to divorce Catherine because she was too old to give him an heir and he was determined to marry Anne Boleyn. At first there seemed a possibility that the divorce might be granted. The papal legate journeyed to England to hear the case, but Catherine appealed direct to the pope and the court was adjourned. The position was complicated by the fact that Charles V, Catherine's nephew, controlled Rome. Henry then proceeded to act through Parliament, and had the entire body of the clergy in England declared guilty of treason in 1531. The clergy were suitably cowed and agreed to repudiate papal supremacy and recognize Henry as supreme head of the church in England.

The English ecclesiastical courts then pronounced his marriage to Catherine null and void and he married Anne Boleyn in 1533 Henry through Thomas Cromwell continued his attack on the church with the suppression of the monasteries (1536�39); their lands were confiscated and granted to his supporters. However, although he laid the ground for the English Reformation by the separation from Rome, he had little sympathy with Protestant dogmas. As early as 1521 a pamphlet which he had written against Lutheranism had won him the title of Fidei Defensor from the pope, and Henry's own religious views are quite clearly expressed in the Statute of Six Articles in 1539 which instituted the orthodox Catholic tenets as necessary conditions for Christian belief. As a result Protestants were being burnt for heresy even while Catholics were being executed for refusing to take the oath of supremacy. Anne Boleyn was beheaded in 1536, ostensibly for adultery. Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, died in 1537.

He married Anne of Cleves in 1540 in pursuance of Thomas Cromwell's policy of allying with the German Protestants, but rapidly abandoned this policy, divorced Anne, and beheaded Cromwell. His fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was beheaded in 1542, and the following year he married Catherine Parr, who survived him. Henry ended his reign with the reputation of a tyrant, despite the promise of his earlier years � in 1536 the rebellion known as the Pilgrimage of Grace was viciously suppressed, and advisers of the calibre of More and Bishop John Fisher had died rather than sacrifice their own principles to Henry's will. But the power of the crown had been considerably strengthened by Henry's ecclesiastical policy, and the monastic confiscations gave impetus to the rise of a new nobility which was to become influential in succeeding reigns.

King Henry VIII's Signature Frequently Asked Questions And Facts About Henry VIII's Reign | Historic Royal Palaces Lady Jane Grey (for nine days in 1553) Mary I (1553-1558) Elizabeth I (1558-1603) Henry VII was the son of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, the son of Princess Catherine of Valois and Owen Tudor, and Margaret Beauford, who was a descendant of King Edward III through an illegitimate line. After his accession to the throne, following his defeat of King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, Henry VII promptly married Elizabeth of York to stifle any alternate claims to the throne. Henry VIII was their second son. [top] Why were they called the Tudors? They were called the Tudors because Henry VII was otherwise known as Henry Tudor. He was the son of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, the son of Princess Catherine of Valois and Owen Tudor, and Margaret Beauford, who was a descendant of King Edward III through an illegitimate line.

Henry Tudor became Henry VII when he won the throne from King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, and his son and grandchildren continued the Tudor dynasty until 1603. How long did Henry VIII reign? Henry VIII ruled for 37 years, 9 months and 6 days. When was Henry VIII born? Prince Henry, later Henry VIII, was born at Greenwich Palace on 28th June 1491. Who were Henry VIII’s parents? Henry was the 2nd son of King Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth of York. Henry VIII’s father, King Henry VII (or Henry Tudor), was born in 1457. He won the crown of England at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 where he defeated and killed King Richard III. This battle ended ‘the Wars of the Roses’. Henry VII was 28 when he became king and ruled for 24 years until his death on 21 April 1509, at the age of 52. Although he won the throne in battle, he became quite a ‘bureaucratic king’.

Henry VIII’s mother was a princess, Elizabeth of York (or Elizabeth Plantagenet). She was born in 1465. Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of an earlier king, Edward IV, the niece of Richard III, and the sister of ‘the Princes in the Tower’. Elizabeth married Henry VII in 1486. Their marriage created a union between the two warring houses of Lancaster (Red Rose) and York (White Rose). The Tudor Rose, which is red and white, symbolises this union. Elizabeth died in childbirth at the Tower of London in 1503 on her 38th birthday, when Henry was 11 years old. [top] Did Henry VIII have any brothers and sisters? Henry had seven siblings but only three survived infancy, and only his two sisters, Margaret and Mary, survived to see his accession in 1509. His elder brother, Arthur, was born in 1486 and was Henry VII’s heir-apparent, the Prince of Wales.

Arthur married the Spanish princess Katherine of Aragon in 1501, when he was 15 and she was 14 but the marriage only lasted five months as Arthur died suddenly at Ludlow Castle in 1502, possibly of pulmonary tuberculosis. Henry’s sister, Princess Margaret, was born in 1489. She became Queen of Scotland in 1504 when she married King James IV of Scotland and became the mother of King James V of Scotland in 1513. After James IV was defeated and killed by Henry VIII’s army at the Battle of Flodden (1513), Margaret married Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, in 1514. She divorced him (ironically) in 1527 and married Henry Stuart. Margaret died in 1541 at the age of 52. Princess Mary was born in 1496. Mary was betrothed to the future Emperor Charles V in 1508 but their marriage never took place. Instead, Henry VIII married her to King Louis XII of France in 1514.

Louis was aged 52 and Mary 18 but Mary was only Queen of France for three months as Louis soon died. Mary then quickly married Henry VIII’s close companion Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. Their daughter, Frances, was the mother of Lady Jane Grey, ‘the nine day queen’. Mary died on 25 June 1533. How old was Henry VIII when he came to the throne? Prince Henry was 17 years old when he was proclaimed King Henry VIII on 22 April 1509. [top] Why do you spell Katherine of Aragon with a ‘K’? In the 16th century, people were less hung up on spelling than we are today, and spellings were not standardised or fixed. This is why the names of Henry’s wives can be spelt in a variety of ways. Katherine of Aragon could be spelt ‘Catalina’, which was the Spanish version, or ‘Katharine’, which is written on her tomb at Peterborough.

We chose to spell Katherine with a ‘K’ because everywhere her initial appears with Henry’s initial, ‘H’ – for instance in the Westminster Tournament Roll of 1511, it says ‘H&K’. Who were Katherine of Aragon’s parents? Katherine of Aragon’s parents were King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. [top] How old were Henry VIII and Katherine when they got married? When Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon married on 11 June 1509 in the Franciscan church at Greenwich Palace, he was 17 and she was 23. [top] How long were Henry VIII and Katherine married? Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon were married for 23 years and 11 months, more than twice as long as all his other marriages put together. [top] How many children did Katherine of Aragon have? Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon had only one surviving daughter, Princess Mary, later Queen Mary I (1553-1558), born on 18 February 1516 at Greenwich Palace. But Katherine gave birth to five other children who did not survive.

They were: A daughter, miscarried or stillborn, many weeks premature on 31 January 1510 Prince Henry, born on 1 January 1511 at Richmond Palace, but died on 22 February 1511, at Richmond A son, who was born and died in November 1513, at Richmond Palace A son, who was born and died, or stillborn, in November or December 1514 A daughter, who was born and died on 9-10 November 1518 Why did Henry VIII divorce Katherine of Aragon? Henry annulled his marriage to Katherine of Aragon for two reasons: She was unable to bear him the son that he needed to secure the dynasty (see ‘Why did Henry marry six times?’) He fell head over heels in love with Anne Boleyn, who refused to be his mistress and would only accept him through marriage But Henry said that he wanted to ‘divorce’ Katherine of Aragon because it had been wrong for Pope Julius II to grant him a dispensation to marry Katherine as she had previously been married to his brother Arthur.

According to Leviticus 18.16, the union of a man with his brother’s widow is contrary to the law of God and Henry argued that this remained the case, despite the papal dispensation (Henry overlooked Deuteronomy 25.5 which instructed a man to marry his brother’s widow). Henry attributed their childlessness to this transgression of God’s law and on 23 May 1533, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, declared Henry’s marriage to Katherine null and void. Princess Mary was declared illegitimate, and the marriage of Henry to Katherine was deemed never to have occurred. [top] How did Katherine of Aragon die? Katherine became ill in late December 1535. She died about 2pm on Friday 7 January 1536 at Kimbolton, aged 50. The cause of her death may have been ‘a melanotic carcinoma’ but was diagnosed at the time as ‘slow poisoning’. Katherine was buried on 29 January 1536 in Peterborough Abbey. How many times did Henry VIII marry and who were Henry’s wives? By most measures, Henry VIII had six wives, two of whom he executed.

They were: 1. Katherine of Aragon Married, 12 July 1543 ‘Survived’ However, technically, as his marriages to Katherine of Aragon, Anne of Cleves and Anne Boleyn were annulled (Anne Boleyn’s marriage was annulled before her execution), Henry VIII only had three wives. [top] Why did Henry VIII marry six times? Henry married for different reasons every time but a central motive for all his marriages was his search for an heir. Henry – and most people at the time – believed that one of his principal responsibilities as king was to produce an adult male heir (that is, aged 15-20) who could succeed him peacefully when he died to secure his dynasty. Having daughters wasn’t sufficient because princesses were often married to other kings and princes, and Henry feared that if one of his daughters became queen then England would be ruled, or dominated, by a foreign power. Children could not rule as monarchs by themselves. Instead their powers were given to individual ‘regents’ or to groups of councillors. Disputes over the regency or between councillors could be very bloody, endangering the security, peace and prosperity of the country.

For the 50 years or so before Henry VIII became king, England had been in an on-off state of civil war as Henry’s father’s and mother’s families fought over the crown. Henry VIII – and the country – wanted a secure line of princes to ensure this didn’t happen again. Henry – and others – were worried that if he didn’t have one or more sons by his early thirties (at the latest) then he might die in his fifties without an adult male heir. So, when Katherine of Aragon seemed unable to bear a healthy, living son and had reached her forties, when further childbirth seemed unlikely, Henry was desperate to re-marry and secure his dynasty. Anne Boleyn also was unable to give him the son he needed, and her miscarriage of a boy child was undoubtedly an important factor in her fall from grace and subsequent execution. His next wife, Jane Seymour, did give birth to a son: she was the mother of Edward, later Edward VI, but she died of puerperal sepsis soon after childbirth. One son was no guarantee of a smooth succession as they might easily die (like Henry’s elder brother, Arthur).

To have more sons remained a political and national priority for Henry. He married Anne of Cleves for this reason, for diplomacy and because he liked the look of her picture but she did not please him, and Catherine Howard had caught his eye. He was convinced that this young woman would bear him many more sons, but her infidelity led to her downfall. He married Kateryn Parr when she was 31-32 (the same age as Anne Boleyn had been when he married her) for her wit, wisdom and intelligence, as much as anything else. She didn’t bear him a child – but could have done: she had a daughter with her fourth and last husband, Thomas Seymour. Henry was right to worry! His only son, Edward, was only 9 years old when Henry died and suffered from weak health, dying at the age of 15 in 1553. How long was Henry VIII with each wife? The lengths of Henry’s marriages (in order of length): Katherine of Aragon [top] Where did Henry VIII’s wives come from? Katherine of Aragon came from Spain as she was the daughter of King Ferdinand V of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile.

Anne Boleyn was maid-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon, and part of a court family. Her parents were Sir Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Ormond and Wiltshire, and Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, the second Duke of Norfolk and sister of the third. Jane Seymour was maid-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Her parents were Sir John Seymour of Wolf Hall, and Margery Wentworth. Jane claimed royal blood through descent from Edward III. Anne of Cleves was the daughter of the daughter of Johann III, duke of Juliers Cleves and Maria, heir of Juliers, from the Netherlands. Katherine Howard was maid-in-waiting to Anne of Cleves. She was Anne Boleyn’s cousin and daughter of Lord Edmund Howard (younger son of Thomas Howard, second duke of Norfolk) and his first wife, Elizabeth Tilney. Kateryn Parr was maid-in-waiting to Princess Mary. She was daughter of Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal, Westmorland, and Maud Green, and was probably named after her godmother Katherine of Aragon.

Her brother, William Parr, Marquess of Northampton, was one of three men who put Lady Jane Grey on the throne of England. She was married twice before Henry - to Edward Borough and to Sir John Neville. [top] Why did Henry VIII behead his wives? Henry had two of his wives beheaded for infidelity which counted as high treason when committed by a queen. Anne Boleyn was arrested for witchcraft, alleged adultery with Mark Smeaton, Henry Norris, Francis Weston and William Brereton and incest with her brother, George, Lord Rochford on 2 May 1536 and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. It is very unlikely that she was guilty of any of these offences. Anne was beheaded (with a sword) at the Tower of London on 19 May 1536 - she was about 36. Katherine Howard was arrested for her premarital sexual activity with Francis Dereham, and her alleged marital infidelity with Thomas Culpeper. She was not brought to trial.

Instead she and her aide, Lady Rochford, were condemned under a bill of attainder introduced into the House of Lords on 21 January 1542, which received the king's assent on 11 February. She was beheaded on 13 February 1542 at 9am. The primary cause of her execution was arguably that she had not been courageous or wise enough to confess her illicit past to Henry when he proposed marriage. In both cases, Henry probably had them executed because having idealised them, their failures – to have a son or to love him – enraged him and brought out his cruel streak. How many mistresses did Henry have? We know of only three mistresses. Henry had an affair with Elizabeth Blount, a maid of honour to the Queen. Their son Henry Fitzroy (‘Fitzroy’ means illegitimate king’s son), later Duke of Richmond, was born in 1519 and was Henry VIII’s only recognised illegitimate child. He also had a brief affair with Anne Boleyn’s sister Mary Boleyn, who later became Mary Carey, in the 1520s.

Finally, when Anne Boleyn was still Queen, Mary Shelton, Anne’s first cousin, became his mistress for about six months before Henry became interested in Jane Seymour. Did Henry VIII have any children? Henry VIII had four surviving children. Princess Mary, later Queen Mary I, born 1516 to Katherine of Aragon. Henry Fitzroy, born 1519, to Elizabeth Blount. Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth I, born 1533 to Anne Boleyn. Prince Edward, later King Edward VI, born 1536 to Jane Seymour. [top] Was Henry VIII really fanciable compared to other Tudor men? The answer, at least up until his 40s, seems to be a resounding yes. Henry was tall, well-built and athletic in his youth. He loved sport and was charismatic, energetic and charming. He was also good-looking: a medal of his profile from c. 1525 by Lucas Horenbout shows his aquiline nose and strong jaw-line. The attractiveness of men’s bodies in the sixteenth century was described by the beauty of their legs and Henry VIII was widely renowned to have a fine calf!

[top] Did Henry VIII ever exercise? In the first twenty years of his reign, Henry was very athletic and spent a lot of time jousting, hunting, wrestling, shooting, dancing and playing tennis. He was incredibly fit and energetic. After his fall from his horse in 1536 and with his chronic leg ulcer, he was less and less able to participate in sport which was a factor in his increasing obesity in his later years. [top] What illnesses did Henry have? Henry suffered an attack of smallpox in February 1514 and an attack of malaria in 1521 and occasionally thereafter, especially in 1541. He was prone to headaches, sore throats and catarrh. He hurt his left foot playing tennis in 1527 and again in 1529. His greatest accident was in January 1536 when he fell from his horse whilst jousting. He was unconscious for two hours, and Anne Boleyn blamed her subsequent miscarriage of a male child on the shock at Henry’s fall. Henry had a chronic leg ulcer, first mentioned in 1528 but possibly aggravated by his fall in 1536.

The ulcer often became inflamed and Henry did not rest long enough for it to heal. Towards the end of his life he had enormously swollen, dropsical legs, due to chronic heart failure and his obesity. There is no evidence that Henry VIII was syphilitic. It is possible though that he suffered from some form of depression in the second half of his life, with a particular bout in 1541. For more on Henry’s medical health, see, Milo Keynes ‘The Personality and Health of King Henry VIII (1491-1547)’, Journal of Medical Biography (2005), 13, 174-183. How big was Henry VIII? He was a large man. He was 6ft 2” tall. Aged 23 (1514), his chest circumference was 42 inches, and his waist 35 inches. After 1528, he gradually became more stout and by 1536, his chest measurement was 45 inches, and waist 37 inches.

Yet, by 1541, aged 50, he had become enormous - with a chest measurement of 57 inches and a waist measurement of 54 inches. Especially large horses had to be used to carry him, and by 1545, he started using a sort of wheelchair, a chair called a ‘tramme’ to carry him between his chambers, and a lift to lift him up and down stairs. [top] Did Henry VIII execute a lot of people? Estimates vary widely. Some suggest that as many as 72,000 people were executed during his reign, yet other estimates are much lower. It was a violent age and, compared to other monarchs, he was not considered particularly bloodthirsty. It was his daughter, Mary, who would earn the epithet, ‘Bloody’. [top] When did Henry VIII die? Henry VIII died early on Friday, 28 January 1547 at Whitehall Palace. He was aged 55. He probably died of chronic heart failure. He was buried in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on 16 February 1547, next to his third (and favourite) queen, Jane Seymour.

[top] Who succeeded him? Henry VIII was succeeded by his son, Edward VI, who reigned 1547-1553. Edward was followed by his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, who reigned for nine days, then by his sister Mary, later Mary I, who reigned 1553-1558, and his sister Elizabeth, who became Elizabeth I, and ruled England until 1603. As Elizabeth did not marry or bear children, after her the throne passed to James VI of Scotland of the Stuart dynasty who became James I of England. The accession of Henry VIII [Spelling and punctuation modernized]. Henry was physically athletic, fond of jousting and hunting. In 1520, aged twenty-nine and growing stout, Henry (at least according to French sources) lost a wrestling match with Francis I, King of France (three years his junior,) but most people were impressed by his handsome appearance even when older.

Henry became heir apparent to the throne at the age of nearly eleven on the death of his elder brother Arthur (1502.) The utter peacefulness of his accession, though not yet eighteen, showed how far Henry VII had brought England from the disorder of the Wars of the Roses. English Coats of arms - Pollard, Stafford, Throckmorton. Britain in 1509 The size and power of England's nobility had been reduced by Henry VII. At his son's accession there was one duke (Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham), one marquess (Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset); nine earls; and thirty-one viscounts and barons. A typical nobleman had an income of about ï¿½750 p.a. from land. The roughly 9,000 gentry families had incomes of anything from about ï¿½10 to ï¿½400 p.a., largely drawn from land ownership. Knights and esquires were entitled to display a coat of arms, and all gentlemen were called "Master/ Mr." Another important landowner was the Church. Its two archbishops, nineteen bishops and c.

600 religious houses (about 12,000 monks and nuns) had a total income of about ï¿½250,000 p.a. The crown was also a major landholder. The Tudors had inherited the lands of the Houses of York and Lancaster (including much land in the Welsh borders) and Henry VII had assiduously exacted every penny from them. Wales was far more peaceful than it had earlier been. It was during the reign of Henry VIII that the whole country was fully integrated into the English system of law and government. James IV (the son of James III and Margaret of Denmark) had formally acceded to the throne of Scotland in 1488 - over his father's dead body at the Battle of Sauchieburn. James IV was aged only fifteen and Scottish factional struggles meant that he had little real power until 1495. Like Henry VII in England, James IV gradually increased his power by frugal financial management and the cautious reduction of noble power. In August 1503, James married Henry VII's elder duaghter Margaret.

England and Scotland concluded the Treaty of Perpetual Peace in 1502, but there was a long tradition of warfare between the two countries and violence was endemic in the borderlands. Henry VIII was titular ruler (Lord) of Ireland, but only in the Pale (the immediate vicinity of Dublin) and a few other areas was English power a reality. Even here control was shaky until Henry VII sent Sir Edward Poynings in 1494-95, with a small army to enforce royal rights over the Irish Parliament. In most of Ireland, Gaelic tribal chieftains held sway. The only effective control was exercised by the powerful family of Fitzgerald, who acted as quasi-autonomous provincial governors for the crown. Gerald Fitzgerald (1477-1513), 8th Earl of Kildare, was Deputy Governor of Ireland from 1481 until his death. He was succeeded in the office by his son Gerald, the 9th Earl (1487-1534) who was deputy 1513-20, 1524-28 and 1532-34.

He sometimes thwarted English plans for Ireland, and sometimes fell foul of them. He died in detention in the Tower of London. Another branch of the Fitzgerald family - the Earls of Desmond - also vacillated between support for and plotting against English rule. Maynooth Castle, center of Fitzgerald power The most powerful rival of the Fitzgeralds was the family of Butler, Earls of Ormond. However, a succession dispute following the death of Thomas (7th Earl) in 1515 weakened Butler power until re-established by "Black" Tom Butler, (10th Earl, 1532-1614.) The church of St. Peter, where Henry VII entertained Philip of Burgundy in 1500 England still retained the town of Calais and a very small area of territory around it. Calais was important as the main port for the import English wool and cloth to the Continent. Early years of Henry VIII Henry VII had increased revenues, husbanded his resources, and avoided foreign adventures. From the outset of his reign, Henry VIII was a complete contrast.

His father's unpopular debt-collectors, Edmund Dudley and Richard Empson were arrested, thrown in the Tower and executed (June 1509 and October 1510 respectively.) A double rose coin of Henry VIII - it shows the crowned initials H & K for Henry and Katherine on each side of the Tudor rose. The legend reads Rosa sine spina (a rose without a thorn,) but the marriage eventually created some very thorny problems. In June 1509, Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon who had been kicking her heels in England since the death of Arthur. Henry and Catherine required a papal dispensation, for the Church's law forbade a widow's marriage to her deceased husband's brother. Henry's marriage to Catherine consolidated the alliance with Spain and heightened the rivalry with England's traditional enemy - France. In 1494, the French army (strengthened with infantry composed of Swiss mercenaries) had invaded Italy. The initial French success in conquering Naples had alarmed Milan, Venice, the Pope and Spain sufficiently for them to ally against the French threat.

England joined the alliance, and in June 1512 the Marquess of Dorset was sent with 10,000 troops to Spain to assist the Spanish in an attack on France. In fact, Ferdinand simply used the English troops to screen his flank while he invaded the independent kingdom of Navarre. Those English troops who had not died of dysentery returned home with nothing accomplished. Henry decided to retrieve England's reputation personally. In June 1513, Henry sailed for Calais and besieged the town of Thï¿½rouanne. The French force sent to relieve the town was routed at the Battle of the Spurs (so called because of eagerness with which the French cavalry spurred their horses to retreat.) Henry also captured Tournai - an important and wealthy city in the North of France. The victories in France brought no permanent benefits. Deserted by his allies, Henry VIII was forced to conclude peace with France in 1514 and return Tournai in 1518. The Peace treaty of 1514 arranged the marriage of Henry's younger sister Mary (born 1496) to Louis XII (born 1462).

The marriage supposedly killed him, and proved so distasteful to Mary that when it seemed her brother was arranging another diplomatic marriage (to Charles Hapsburg), she precipitately married Charles Brandon (who became 1st Duke of Suffolk.) The marriage was made without Henry VIII's permission, to a social inferior, who was already married (a papal annulment of the previous marriage was obtained.) The Battle of Flodden A far more significant victory was achieved by the reserve army left in England and commanded by Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey; this was at the Battle of Flodden (9 September 1513.) James IV of Scotland had allied with France and hoped to invade England while its main army was occupied in France. The Scottish army crossed the Border in late August, and took Norham Castle. Surrey hastily organized raw recruits into some sort of order at Alnwick. The Scots army took up position on Branxton Ridge, while the English approached from the north to occupy Pipers Hill. Both armies' artillery exchanged fire. Part of the Scottish army responded by attacking the weak right wing of the English army, and many of the other Scottish troops soon followed.

The Scots seemed to be gaining the upper hand, but a brigade of English soldiers under Sir Edward Stanley marched to the rear flank of the Scottish army and launched an unexpected attack. When the surprised Highlanders broke, the Scots' position collapsed. The English archers contributed significantly, and the English eight-foot halberd proved more effective at close-quarter fighting than the longer Scottish pike. King James and many noblemen as well as large numbers of Scottish troops were killed in the ensuing slaughter. The death at Flodden of the king himself, along with twelve earls, fourteen lesser lords and thousands of common soldiers destroyed Scottish military power at least in the short-term. The accession of James V (aged seventeen months) brought a new period of factional feuding that crippled Scotland politically until his coming of age in 1528. Thomas Howard was rewarded by the restoration of his father's title of Duke of Norfolk (revoked when he was attainted after the battle of Bosworth.) Henry VIII - King - Biography.com Henry VIII Henry VIII, king of England, was famously married six times and played a critical role in the English Reformation, turning his country into a Protestant nation.

IN THESE GROUPS Famous British People quotes “I beseech you now with all my heart definitely to let me know your whole mind as to the love between us; for necessity compels me to plague you for a reply, having been for more than a year now struck by the dart of love, and being uncertain either of failure or of finding a place in your heart and affection."[Excerpt from a letter to Anne Boleyn during their courtship.]” Henry VIII Henry VIII - Mini Biography (TV-PG; 3:00) Henry Tudor was born at Greenwich Palace in 1491. Following the death of his brother, he became next in line to become king. King Henry VIII is known for his many marriages and his role in English Reformation. Synopsis Henry Tudor, son of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth York, was born at the royal residence, Greenwich Palace, on June 28, 1491. Following the death of his father, he became Henry VIII, king of England. He married six times, beheaded two of his wives and was the main instigator of the English Reformation.

His only surviving son, Edward VI, succeeded him after his death on January 28, 1547. Childhood and Early Adulthood Henry Tudor, the son of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth York, was born on June 28, 1491, at the royal residence, Greenwich Palace, in Greenwich, London, England. He had six siblings, but only three survived: Arthur, Margaret and Mary. Arthur, being older than Henry, was expected to take the throne. In 1502, Prince Arthur married Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of the Spanish king and queen, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. After less than four months of marriage, Arthur died at the age of 15, leaving his 10-year-old brother, Henry, the next in line for the throne. The patriarch, Henry VII, wanted to affirm his family's alliance with Spain, so he offered his young son Henry to Arthur's widow. The two families requested that Pope Julius II officially grant dispensation to Arthur and Catherine's marriage. The pope conceded, but the official marriage of Henry and Catherine was postponed until the death of Henry VII in 1509.

Then, at the age of 17, Henry married Catherine and the two were crowned at Westminster Abbey. The couple remained married until he divorced her in 1533. As a young man and monarch, second in the Tudor Dynasty, Henry VIII exuded a charismatic athleticism and diverse appetite for art, music and culture. He was witty and highly educated, taught by private tutors for his entire upbringing. He loved music and wrote some as well. A lover of gambling and jousting, he hosted countless tournaments and banquets. His father always envisioned Arthur as king and Henry as a high-ranking church official—the appropriate role at that time for his secondary birth order. As fate would have it, Henry instead inherited an entire peaceful nation after his father ended the Wars of the Roses. Henry was good-natured, but his court soon learned to bow to his every wish. Two days after his coronation, he arrested two of his father's ministers and promptly executed them. He began his rule seeking advisers on most matters, and would end it with absolute control. Catherine of Aragon and Princess Mary On February 18, 1516, Queen Catherine bore Henry his first child to survive infancy, Princess Mary.

Henry grew frustrated by the lack of a male child and began keeping two mistresses at his beckon. His philandering ways were tame by the standards of his contemporaries, but they nonetheless resulted in his first divorce. One of his mistresses, Mary Boleyn, introduced him to her sister, Anne Boleyn. Anne and Henry began secretly seeing one another. Catherine, by now 42 and unable to conceive, set Henry in a mission to obtain a male heir. Henry configured a way to officially abandon his marriage with Catherine. The Book of Leviticus stated that a man who takes his brother's wife shall remain childless. Though Catherine had borne him a child, that child was a girl, which, in Henry's logic, did not count. He petitioned the pope for an annulment but was refused due to pressure from Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Catherine's nephew. The debate, during which Catherine fought mightily to maintain both her own and her daughter's titles, lasted for six years. In 1533, Henry's mistress, Anne Boleyn, became pregnant. Henry decided he didn't need the pope's permission on matters of the Church of England.

Thomas Cranmer, the new archbishop of Canterbury, presided over the trial that declared his first marriage annulled and Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn married secretly in January 1533. In September of that year, Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth . English Reformation In 1534, Henry VIII declared himself supreme head of the Church of England. From 1514 to 1529, he had relied on Thomas Wolsey, a Catholic cardinal, to guide his domestic and foreign policies. Wolsey enjoyed a lavish existence under Henry, but when Wolsey failed to deliver Henry's quick annulment from Catherine, the cardinal quickly fell out of favor. After 16 years of power, Wolsey was arrested and falsely charged with treason. He subsequently died in custody. Henry's actions upon Wolsey gave a strong signal to the pope that he would not honor the wishes of even the highest clergy and would instead exercise full power in every realm of his court. After Henry declared his supremacy, the Christian church separated, forming the Church of England.

Henry instituted several statutes that outlined the relationship between the king and the pope and the structure of the Church of England: the Act of Appeals, the Acts of Succession and the first Act of Supremacy, declaring the king was "the only Supreme Head in Earth of the Church of England." These macro reforms trickled down to minute details of worship. Henry ordered clergy to preach against superstitious images, relics, miracles and pilgrimages, and to remove almost all candles from religious settings. His 1545 catechism, called the King's Primer, left out the saints. Fully separated now from the pope, the Church of England was under England's rule, not Rome's. From 1536 to 1537, a great northern uprising known as the Pilgrimage of Grace took hold, during which 30,000 people rebelled against the king's changes. It was the only major threat to Henry's authority as monarch. The rebellion's leader, Robert Aske, and 200 others were executed. When John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, and Sir Thomas More, Henry's former Lord Chancellor, refused to take the oath to the king, they were beheaded at Tower Hill.

Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour Inside the court, Queen Anne suffered greatly from her failure to produce a living male heir. After she miscarried twice, Henry became interested in Jane Seymour, one of Anne's ladies-in-waiting. In an all-out effort to leave his unfruitful marriage, Henry contrived an elaborate story that Anne had committed adultery, had incestuous relations and was plotting to murder him. Henry charged three men on account of their adultery with his wife, and on May 15, 1536, he put her on trial. Anne, regal and calm, denied all charges against her. Four days later, Henry's marriage to Anne was annulled and declared invalid. Anne Boleyn was then taken to the Tower Green, where she was given a private beheading. Within 24 hours of Anne's execution, Jane Seymour and Henry VIII formally wed. Birth of a Prince In October 1537, Jane Seymour produced Henry's long-hoped-for son. It was a difficult pregnancy. The baby, named Edward, was christened on October 15, and Jane died nine days later from a pregnancy-related infection. Henry considered Jane to be his only "true" wife.

He and his court mourned for an extended period of time after her passing. Three years later, Henry was ready to marry again, mainly to ensure the succession of his crown. He inquired in foreign courts about the appearances of available women. Anne, the sister of the Duke of Cleves, was suggested. The German artist Hans Holbein the Younger, who served as the king's official painter, was sent out to create a portrait of her. Henry disapproved of Anne in the flesh and divorced her after six months. She received the title of "The King's Sister" and was given Hever Castle as ample residence. Within weeks, Henry married the very young Catherine Howard, a first cousin to Anne Boleyn. Henry, 49, and Catherine, 19, started out a happy pair. Henry was now dealing with tremendous weight gain and a bad leg. His new wife gave him zest for life, and he repaid her with a lavish gifts. But happiness would not last long for the couple. A pretty woman, Catherine began seeking the attention of men her own age—a tremendously dangerous endeavor for the queen of England. After an investigation into her behavior, she was deemed guilty of adultery.

On February 13, 1542, Henry had Catherine executed on the Tower Green. Catherine Parr Independent and well-educated, Catherine Parr was Henry's last and sixth wife. She was the daughter of Maud Green, a lady-in-waiting to Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Maud named her daughter after the queen; thus Henry's last wife was named after his first. Parr was a twice-made widow. The two were married in 1543. The most well-documented incident of Catherine Parr's life was her effort to ban books, a truly horrible act under her husband's leadership that practically got her arrested. When Henry came to admonish her for her brash actions, she submitted to him, saying she was merely looking to create a circumstance when he could teach her the proper way to behave. Henry accepted the sentiment, either true or devised, saving her from a brutal end. Later life and Death As a middle-aged man, Henry became covered with pus-filled boils and possibly suffered from gout. It was a jousting accident that opened a violent wound in his leg. The wound ulcerated and left him unable to play sports. His eventual obesity required that he be moved with mechanical inventions.

His habit of binge-eating highly fatty meats was perhaps a symptom of stress. A recent and credible theory suggests that he suffered from untreated type II diabetes. On January 28, 1547, at the age of 55, King Henry VIII of England died in London. He was interred in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle alongside his deceased third wife, Jane Seymour. Henry's only surviving son, Edward, inherited the throne, becoming Edward VI. Princesses Elizabeth and Mary waited in succession. Videos King Henry VIII | Britroyals Children: Three legitimate who survived infancy; Mary, Elizabeth and Edward, and at least one illegitimate child Henry Fitzroy. Died: January 28, 1547 at Whitehall Palace, London, aged 55 years, 7 months, Buried at: Windsor Reigned for: 37 years, 9 months, and 7 days Succeeded by: his son Edward VI King of England from 1509, when he succeeded his father Henry VII and married Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his elder brother Arthur.

During the period 1513�29 Henry pursued an active foreign policy, largely under the guidance of his Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, who shared Henry's desire to make England stronger. Wolsey was replaced by Thomas More in 1529 for failing to persuade the Pope to grant Henry a divorce. By this time Henry's policy had become dominated by his desire to divorce Catherine because she was too old to give him an heir and he was determined to marry Anne Boleyn. At first there seemed a possibility that the divorce might be granted. The papal legate journeyed to England to hear the case, but Catherine appealed direct to the pope and the court was adjourned. The position was complicated by the fact that Charles V, Catherine's nephew, controlled Rome. Henry then proceeded to act through Parliament, and had the entire body of the clergy in England declared guilty of treason in 1531. The clergy were suitably cowed and agreed to repudiate papal supremacy and recognize Henry as supreme head of the church in England.

The English ecclesiastical courts then pronounced his marriage to Catherine null and void and he married Anne Boleyn in 1533 Henry through Thomas Cromwell continued his attack on the church with the suppression of the monasteries (1536�39); their lands were confiscated and granted to his supporters. However, although he laid the ground for the English Reformation by the separation from Rome, he had little sympathy with Protestant dogmas. As early as 1521 a pamphlet which he had written against Lutheranism had won him the title of Fidei Defensor from the Pope, and Henry's own religious views are quite clearly expressed in the Statute of Six Articles in 1539 which instituted the orthodox Catholic tenets as necessary conditions for Christian belief. As a result Protestants were being burnt for heresy even while Catholics were being executed for refusing to take the oath of supremacy. Anne Boleyn was beheaded in 1536, ostensibly for adultery. Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, died in 1537.

He married Anne of Cleves in 1540 in pursuance of Thomas Cromwell's policy of allying with the German Protestants, but rapidly abandoned this policy, divorced Anne, and beheaded Cromwell. His fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was beheaded in 1542, and the following year he married Catherine Parr, who survived him. Henry ended his reign with the reputation of a tyrant, despite the promise of his earlier years � in 1536 the rebellion known as the Pilgrimage of Grace was viciously suppressed, and advisers of the calibre of More and Bishop John Fisher had died rather than sacrifice their own principles to Henry's will. But the power of the crown had been considerably strengthened by Henry's ecclesiastical policy, and the monastic confiscations gave impetus to the rise of a new nobility which was to become influential in succeeding reigns. King Henry VIII's Signature Quotes: �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 'If a man shall take his brother's wife it is an unclean thing...

they shall be childless' � King Henry VIII (quoting The Bible, Leviticus, XX,21, as justification for seeking divorce from Catherine of Aragon who had previously been married to his brother Prince Arthur) �...to wish myself (specially an evening) in my sweetheart's arms, whose pretty ducks [breasts] I trust shortly to kiss�� - King Henry VIII (love letter to Ann Boleyn) �You have sent me a Flanders mare!� - King Henry VIII (on first meeting Anne of Cleves who was about to become his 4th wife) Timeline for King Henry VIII Year

Question: Henry 8th became King because of the death of his elder brother, what was his name?
Answer: Arthur