Henry VIII

Henry Tudor

Born: 28 June 1491 (Age 18)

Occupation: King of England

Lives: In lots of palaces all over London

Hobbies and Interests: Jousting, hunting, dancing, reading, music, lay-dees

Relationship status: It’s complicated

What do we know about Henry VIII?

Henry VIII is probably one of England’s most famous monarchs (another word for king or queen). When you mention his name, almost anyone can picture a bearded, round-bellied monarch in his feathered hat and finery.  They can probably also tell you that Henry had six wives.

Was Henry fat?

Henry was a very sporty young man when he became King at the age of 18 in 1509 following the death of his father, Henry VII.  He enjoyed hunting, often wearing out eight horses in one day, and also loved dancing, jousting and wrestling.  He was very tall for a man during the Tudor period.  Historians think he could have been around 6 foot 3.

Unfortunately, Henry also had a huge appetite.

When he was 44, his horse rolled on him during a jousting tournament, leaving his leg permanently damaged.  He wasn’t able to exercise anymore, but he kept eating, and as a consequence he got very fat.  By the end of his life he weighed about 20 stone and had a 52 inch waist.

(That’s about the length of this fish)

Did he have six wives?

Henry did indeed have six wives.  But not all at the same time.  Even the King of England wasn’t allowed to do that.

Introducing...the six wives of Henry VIII!

So, what else do we know about Henry?

Henry was born in 1491, the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.  Whilst his older brother Arthur was paraded around as the future heir, Henry lived a much more sheltered life and was a bit of a mummy's boy.  Growing up, Henry had a tutor who taught him languages, maths, music and poetry.  He also had a fool to entertain him when he got bored.

DANCE FOOL !

Henry also had a whipping boy.  This was a servant employed purely to be whipped when Henry was naughty, because no one was allowed to hit the little prince. Hands up who wants that job?

When Arthur died in 1502, at the age of 15, shortly followed by Elizabeth in 1503, King Henry VII went crazy with grief, while his son, young Prince Henry, was left feeling a tad unloved.  When Henry VIII became king he promptly reversed most of his father's policies and executed his favourite servants.  Daddy issues much?

Henry was a very popular prince when he became king, known for his love of dancing and hunting. He also had an eye for the ladies and very quickly got special permission from the Pope to marry his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon.

Henry was obsessed with having a son and heir to succeed him.  When Catherine was only able to produce a daughter, Mary (which of course had nothing to do with Henry, or, y'know, maybe just bad luck), Henry started eyeing up one of Catherine's ladies-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn. (A lady-in-waiting was a bit like a personal assistant - they opened post, looked after the Queen's wardrobe and kept her up to date on all the latest gossip.)

Unfortunately for Henry, being a Catholic meant he wasn't really allowed to get divorced.

Since the Pope wouldn't let Henry divorce his wife, he threw his toys out the pram and set up his own church instead - the Church of England.

Henry is quite famous for having founded the Church of England, but in reality it wasn't until his daughter Elizabeth I came to the throne that the church really began to take off.  All Henry really did was knock down lots of monastries and steal their gold.

It was Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, who finally gave him the son he so badly wanted.  Edward VI was born in 1537 and Jane died from complications following the birth a few days later.  Henry always said that Jane was his favourite because she had given him a son, and he was buried next to her when he died on 28 January 1547 at the age of 55.

Henry was also a very clever King.  He was good at maths, knew a lot about astronomy and was very interested in politics.  He was also very cultured - he read widely and kept a library of over 1000 books, as well as playing, and some say composing, music. However, he has also been described as an overgrown child who was prone to tantrums if he didn't get his own way.  This made him very scary as, more often than not, the King's temper tantrums resulted in someone getting their head chopped off.

Why is he so famous?

Henry was quite a colourful character.  Which is another way of saying he was off his rocker!  He also remembered for his six wives (not many men have that many) and for his role in breaking away from the Catholic church and founding the Church of England.  He was a physically dominant man whose image is instantly recognisable and lots of historians have spent a lot of time studying Henry's reign as King of England.

Sound smart!

"Henry VIII spent a week blubbering in public when he found out his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, had cheated on him."

"Henry VIII executed more people per year than any other king or queen in English history - he had 330 people killed between 1532 and 1540!"

"Some of the most important achievements of Henry VIII's reign include: the creation of the Church of England, bigging up the role of Parliament, joining Wales and Ireland with England, the arrival of lots of new and exciting art and literature and building A LOT of castles."

Some other fun sources

An interesting but fun website dedicated the Henry VIII and the Tudors

The BBC history page on Henry VIII has some fun facts, as well as videos and games

And finally, what else?