The private life of Henry VIII

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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.

Henry Tudor, son of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth York, was born at the royal residence, Greenwich Palace, on June 28, 1491.

Arthur, his elder brother, 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, was the next for the throne. Then, at the age of 17, Henry married Catherine and the two were crowned at Westminster Abbey.

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. Henry was good-natured, but his court soon learned to bow to his every wish.

Queen Catherine bore Henry only 1 child who survived infancy, Princess Mary. One of his mistresses, Mary Boleyn, introduced him to her sister, Anne Boleyn. Anne and Henry began secretly seeing one another. Henry tried to find a way to officially abandon his marriage with Catherine. He petitioned the pope for an annulment but was refused.

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, 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.

In 1534, Henry VIII declared himself supreme head of the Church of England. After Henry declared his supremacy, the Christian church separated, forming the Church of England. 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 refused to take the oath to the king, they were beheaded at Tower Hill.

Unfortunately, Anne couldn`t gave birth to a living male heir. Henry became interested in Jane Seymour, one of Anne's ladies-in-waiting. He decided to stop his marriage, contrived an elaborate story that Anne had committed adultery, had incestuous relations and was plotting to murder him. 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.

In October 1537, Jane Seymour produced Henry's long-hoped-for son. It was a difficult pregnancy. The baby got the name Edward. Jane died nine days later from a pregnancy-related infection. Henry considered Jane to be his only "true" wife.

Three years later, Henry was ready to marry again, mainly in political reasons. Anne, the sister of the Duke of Cleves, was suggested as his future wife. 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. Henry had Catherine executed on the Tower Green.

Catherine Parr was Henry's last and sixth wife. She was the daughter of a lady-in-waiting to Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. And this lady in waiting named her daughter after the queen; thus Henry's last wife was named after his first.

On January 28, 1547, at the age of 55, King Henry VIII of England died in London. He was burried 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.

Some interesting facts:

1) Henry VIII was slim and athletic for most of his life. He had an athletic physique and excelled at sports, regularly showing off his prowess in the jousting arena. As a young man he was a champion wrestler.

2) Henry VIII sent more men and women to their deaths than any other monarch. henry monarch england protestant

3) Henry Was an Author Defense of the Seven Sacraments text became a best-seller.

4) Henry the Hypochondriac. Though Henry was a healthy young man, he was still paranoid about getting sick and dying.

5) He had a lot of illnesses. Henry survived smallpox at the age of 23, had syphilis, a terrible wound in his leg. By the end of his life he suffered from migraines, ulcers, gout, bleeding gums, cyst on his nose. Henry had McLeod syndrome: This syndrome could account for Henry's later mobility issues; it also results in cognitive impairment. Lastly, it's tied to the Kell blood group, so the pregnancy problems experienced by Henry's partners are another indication in its favor.

6) His 1st marriage was more than twice as long as the other 5 combined.

7) He had 4 sons named Henry, but none of them became a king: 2 died infants, 2 were not illegitimate. But his son Edward - became.

8) When he died, his body was placed in a lead coffin, which popped open, before he was buried, and due to gas from Henry`s rotting corpse.

9) Names for his wives: In history all his wives have special names:

v Catherine of Aragon - The Queen of hearts

v Anne Boleyn - Anne for 1000 days

v Jane Seymour - The most beautiful of wives

v Anne of Cleves - the Flemish mare

v Catherine Howard - Thorn less rose

v Catherine Parr - Kind mommy Kate

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