The Life and Reign of Henry VIII: England‘s Infamous Tudor King

From "Spare Heir" to Monarch

Henry VIII, one of England‘s most famous and controversial kings, was born on June 28, 1491 at Greenwich Palace. He was the second son of Henry VII, the first Tudor king, and his wife Elizabeth of York. At the time of his birth, young Henry was not expected to become king. That role was destined for his older brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, who was born in 1486.

As the "spare heir," Henry had a very different upbringing from his brother. While Arthur was groomed for kingship, Henry spent much of his early life with his sisters Margaret and Mary. He was close to his mother, who reportedly doted on him. In fact, historians believe Elizabeth of York may have taught Henry to write, which was unusual for the time [1].

However, Henry‘s life changed forever in 1502 when 15-year-old Arthur died suddenly, likely of sweating sickness. The cause of Arthur‘s death has been debated, with theories ranging from tuberculosis to diabetes [2]. Regardless, at just 10 years old, Henry was now the heir apparent. His education shifted to prepare him for his future reign.

The New King Takes the Throne

Henry VII died of tuberculosis on April 21, 1509, and 17-year-old Henry became King Henry VIII of England. His coronation took place a few months later on June 24. The English people rejoiced at the ascension of the tall, handsome, and energetic young king.

Henry‘s accession ended a period of instability. The Wars of the Roses, fought between the rival Plantagenet houses of Lancaster and York, had dominated the previous century. But Henry represented a fresh start. His father was a Lancastrian, while his mother was from the House of York. For those who still held Yorkist sympathies, Henry‘s reign "was greeted as a return to power of the House of York" [3].

At 17 years and 10 months old, Henry was exceptionally young to become king, even by the standards of the time. The average age of accession for English monarchs has been calculated at 28 years old [4]. Henry‘s youth and vitality inspired great optimism for the future.

A Long and Transformational Reign

King Henry VIII would go on to reign for 37 years and 282 days, from April 21, 1509 to January 28, 1547. This made him England‘s longest-reigning male monarch until George III surpassed the record in 1816. Today, Henry‘s reign is the 6th longest of any British king or queen, after those of Elizabeth II, Victoria, George III, James VI and I, and Edward III [5].

Over the course of his long reign, Henry transformed from a renaissance prince into a corpulent and capricious tyrant. According to contemporary reports, the young Henry was tall, strong, handsome and athletic. The Venetian ambassador Sebastian Giustinian described him in 1515 as "the handsomest potentate I ever set eyes on" [6]. Henry loved sports, dancing, and music. He composed songs, poems, and masques.

But as he aged, Henry‘s appearance and personality changed drastically. Historians attribute his increasing obesity to a 1536 jousting accident that left him with a painful leg ulcer. Unable to exercise, he put on significant weight [7]. Measurements of his armor show his waistline expanded from 32 inches in 1512 to 54 inches by 1545 [8]. He also developed severe mood swings, which some historians have speculated were a symptom of McLeod syndrome caused by Kell antigen incompatibility with his sexual partners [9].

The King‘s Great Matter

Perhaps the defining event of Henry VIII‘s reign was his break from the Roman Catholic Church and the establishment of the Church of England. This seismic shift in England‘s religious identity began with the king‘s "Great Matter" – his desire to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

Henry married Catherine, his brother Arthur‘s widow, in 1509 shortly after becoming king. But after nearly 20 years of marriage, Catherine had failed to provide Henry with a male heir. Their only living child was a daughter, Mary, born in 1516. Desperate for a son to secure the Tudor succession, Henry became convinced that his marriage to Catherine was cursed by God because she had briefly been his brother‘s wife. He sought an annulment from Pope Clement VII.

However, the pope refused to grant the annulment, partly because Catherine‘s nephew was the powerful Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Denied his annulment, Henry took momentous action. On the advice of his minister Thomas Cromwell, Henry had the English parliament pass legislation declaring him supreme head of the Church of England. This allowed him to grant his own annulment and marry Anne Boleyn, the woman he believed could give him a son [10].

Henry‘s break from Rome launched the English Reformation, the process by which England became a predominantly Protestant country. In the ensuing years, Henry dissolved England‘s monasteries, destroyed Catholic shrines, and ordered English bibles to be placed in every church. However, he remained theologically conservative. In 1539, he passed the Six Articles reaffirming traditional Catholic doctrines [11]. It would be left to his Protestant son Edward VI to fully reform the Church of England after Henry‘s death.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII

Henry VIII is perhaps best known for his tumultuous marital history. Over his reign, he married six times in his quest for a male heir and political alliances. His wives, in order, were:

1. Catherine of Aragon (m. 1509, annulled 1533) – mother of Mary I
2. Anne Boleyn (m. 1533, executed 1536) – mother of Elizabeth I
3. Jane Seymour (m. 1536, died 1537) – mother of Edward VI
4. Anne of Cleves (m. 1540, annulled 1540)
5. Catherine Howard (m. 1540, executed 1542)
6. Catherine Parr (m. 1543, widowed 1547)

Henry‘s marriages to Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves were annulled, while Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were convicted of adultery and treason and beheaded. Jane Seymour died due to postnatal complications after giving birth to Henry‘s longed-for son. Catherine Parr, who married Henry when he was 52 and in poor health, survived him and went on to marry her true love [12].

Final Years and Death

In his later years, Henry VIII‘s health declined precipitously. The jousting accident that left him unable to exercise also caused him immense pain from a festering leg ulcer that never properly healed. He suffered from obesity, gout, and likely type II diabetes [13]. Historians have also speculated that he may have had Cushing‘s syndrome or untreated hypertension [14].

Henry‘s illnesses affected his mental state. He became increasingly paranoid and irritable, with a hair-trigger temper. His behavior grew erratic and tyrannical. The king who had once been lauded for his generosity now showed his subjects a crueler face. He had old friends and advisors like Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell executed for perceived disloyalty [15].

After years of ill health, Henry VIII died on January 28, 1547 at the age of 55 at Whitehall Palace. His 9-year-old son Edward VI succeeded him, but would die just six years later. Henry was buried next to Jane Seymour at St. George‘s Chapel at Windsor Castle [16].

Remembering Henry VIII

Henry VIII died nearly five centuries ago, but his legacy endures to the present day. For better or for worse, Henry‘s reign fundamentally changed England. His break from the Catholic Church set England on the path to becoming a Protestant nation. Without the English Reformation, it‘s hard to imagine the United Kingdom as we know it today.

Henry is also remembered as one of history‘s most notorious monarchs. His image in popular culture is that of a fat, tyrannical king perpetually draped in furs and jewels. He‘s famous for his six marriages and particularly for beheading two of his unfortunate queens. From Holbein‘s iconic portraits to films like The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) and TV shows like The Tudors (2007-2010), Henry VIII has remained a source of fascination.

But beyond the caricature, Henry was a complex figure who transformed his country over a long and momentous reign. He ruled during a pivotal time as England transitioned from the medieval era to the early modern period. Henry grappled with new ideas about religion, politics, and monarchy itself. For all his flaws, he laid the groundwork for England to become a major European power in the centuries that followed.

In remembering Henry VIII, it‘s important to consider his entire life and reign, from his promising youth to his final years of disease and decline. Reducing him to a pop culture punchline does a disservice to one of English history‘s most significant monarchs. Love him or hate him, there‘s no denying Henry VIII‘s place as a titan who reshaped his country and the world.

References

1. Weir, Alison. Henry VIII: The King and His Court. New York: Ballantine Books, 2002.
2. Croft, Pauline. "The Death of Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales." Historical Research 67, no. 163 (1994): 257-261.
3. Guy, John. The Tudors: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
4. "Median age at accession for the Sovereigns of England." Computed from data in "Chronology of British Kings and Queens" by Piers Brendon. Random House, 2008.
5. "Longest-reigning British monarchs." Guinness World Records. Accessed May 4, 2023. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/hall-of-fame/longest-reigning-british-monarch
6. Giustinian, Sebastian. Four Years at the Court of Henry VIII. Trans. Rawdon Brown. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1854.
7. Keynes, Milo. "The medical death of Henry VIII." Journal of Medical Biography 13, no. 3 (2005): 174-181.
8. Whitley, Catrina Banks and John Kramer. "A New Explanation for the Reproductive Woes and Midlife Decline of Henry VIII." The Historical Journal 53, no. 4 (2010): 827-848.
9. Whitley and Kramer, "A New Explanation."
10. Ives, Eric. The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004.
11. Rex, Richard. Henry VIII and the English Reformation. New York: St. Martin‘s Press, 2006.
12. Fraser, Antonia. The Wives of Henry VIII. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
13. Dean, Geoffrey, Darren G. Beaney, and Steven J. Platt. "Henry VIII: health, medicine and medical practice in sixteenth‐century England." ANZ Journal of Surgery 90, no. 1-2 (2020): 8-13.
14. Dean, Beaney, and Platt, "Henry VIII: health, medicine and medical practice."
15. Hutchinson, Robert. Henry VIII: The Decline and Fall of a Tyrant. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2021.
16. Lipscomb, Suzannah. "The Private Lives of the Tudors." History Today, June 2016.