King Henry VIII

King of England and Lord of Ireland

"We are, by the sufferance of God, King of England; and the Kings of England in times past never had any superior but God." Quote by King Henry VIII made to Cardinal Wolsey in 1515

Henry tutor, who is named after his father Henry VII the first of the Tudor dynasty, Henry was born on, born the 28th of June 1491. His mother Elizabeth of York and father Henry VII. The tutor dynasty is known as royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms; this included the Lordship and Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Henry’s Tutor character according to historical records handsome 6’2 man, great athlete, hunted and played tennis. He was also a great composer of music, including the “greensleves”. Not only for his great looks, Henry being very smart as well, studied theology before the age of 12, to prepare for the clergy.( Henry VIII: The King and His Court [Paperback]) King Henry VIII is viewed as one of the most controversial rulers in history. His desperation to have his name carried on with a male heir, and his need to have ultimate power led him to do what no other ruler dare to attempt. His desperation to have his name carried on with a male heir, and his need to have ultimate power led him to do what none other before him had dared attempt. To fully understand the reasons behind his actions, one needs consider his personal characteristics, the women in his life, as well as the changes he created in the nation, and thus Europe as a whole. To fully understand the reasons behind his actions, one needs consider his personal characteristics, the women in his life as well as the changes he created in the nation, and thus Europe. This is the short story of Henry VIII; To understand Henry reasons behind actions, one needs to understand his possible personal traits. Some can argue that Henry had some psychological disorders, which have been documented in his biography, and by historical researchers. They have found that Henry had these possible disorders, Paranoid personality this can cause mistrust in people that everyone is out to get you syndrome. Henry may have suffered from personality disorders mood changes, poor self-image, wanting attention from everyone in his court, and even with all the ladies from servants to princesses. The other possible reasons for Henry’s problems, was there is a suggested theory that he suffered from scurvy or malnutrition. (Kybett, M. (1989). HENRY VIII — A MALNOURISHED KING?. History Today, 39(9), 19. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database.)
Many of Henry VIII's acts of ruling an empire were the success of his religious policy, the apparent egotistic attitude he had was profound, and had personal motives for his public action. Henry was led to adopt the policy by private considerations. Henry convinced himself that he was working towards the good of the state because he thought his problems were the same as the nation faced; and it was the real coincidence of this private and public point of view that made it possible for him to convince his court that his personal problems were theirs as well. The unfortunate part of his rulings raids were innocent people killed; as many as 72,000 people are estimated to have been executed. Some historians estimate he ordered about 120 executions per month, most, but not all, beheading using these figures the total number of deaths would exceed 54,000 over the course of his 38-year reign. Other estimates have been as high as 72,000. While possible, neither number can be confirmed. It should be noted that the King was responsible for "judicial murders," which are executions carried out by order of the court or a sovereign head, not by Henry VIII himself. So even though it seems that the king has all this authority, he does not, the church was those rulings of death sentence, then go ask the king how he wants the accused to die. (Henry viii: the mask of royalty . (1973). Academy Chicago Publishers: Academy Chicago Publishers)

For instance; Lady of the bed Chamber to Catherine of Aragon named Margret Pole or Countess of Salisbury and later governess to Princess Mary; Catherin and her daughters loved her very much. But being hated and feared by Henry VIII, because her family was the rightful airs to the throne. The Countess was arrested on a fake charge of treason, and never stood trial, this brave Lady was taken to East Smithfield to be beheaded, unfortunately for her an inexperienced axe man struck her with the axe eleven times before she died in 1541, and she was sixty eight years of age. (Heritage, English. (2007). Off with her head!. 2007-07)

Henry’s divorce from Catharine was not really behind the English reformation. Henry knew that he could not change an entire nation. The English despised the clergy, and lost respect for the clergy due to the corruption of the church. Nuns and monks were locked up against their will in monasteries together and were accused of moral debauchery. The Church, which held over one fourth of the land of England and collected eighth of the nation’s income, and some noble land were taken from the owners. Making Henry the richest Monarch in Europe by having lands sold to the nobles. The church clergy did not have to pay taxes and were not subject to secular law. Some of the clergy was guilty of murdering people who went against them no one dared to try them in secular courts. So many clergy’s got away with unspeakable crimes. There was no discipline for the members of the church, nor did they know the scriptures of the testament. For the English people, there was only one clergyman for every fifty people. The church always kept records on everyone no matter how rich or poor. They knew exactly how many were in a household as well as the income the people brought in. The church clergy collected on wills and mortuary dues; the unfortunate part is that people had to pay to bury their dead before they could be put in ground, if the family did not have funds the dead would be thrown in a pile with others or secretly buried on the land.
Henry VIII's goal of his marriages was to have a blood line carry on, the actions of Henry that he would do anything; including breaking any church law or personal beliefs to make that happen. In 1509 was his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon, who was the widow of his brother, Arthur, unfortunately who passed shortly after they were married in 1501. Henry’s father, King Henry VII wanted Henry to marry Catherine so the alliance between England and Spain remained in good standing. Catherine had six children, including two sons, unfortunately all of her children died except for their daughter, Mary, who later ruled England from 1553-1558, and known as “Bloody Mary”. During their marriage Henry became frustrated with Catherine because she didn’t produce a son, this in turn force henry to separate from Catherine. Henry fell in love with Anne Boleyn while she was living in court. The love affair of king and Anne began the biggest struggle between Henry and the church. Petitioning the pope to annul Henry’s marriage to Catherine, Henry was claiming that marrying his brother’s widow was incest according to Old Testament bible scriptures, and he wanted to clear his soul of any sins. The pope refused Henry’s request, which enraged him, Henry removed the English church from Papal authority and in 1534, The Act of Supremacy, which declared Henry the king the supreme head of the Church of England. After accomplishing his removal from the papal, Henry and Catherine were divorced in 1533. Catherine with a broken heart and banished from the kingdom and forced to live in isolation in a dungeon like conditions and unable to see her only child Mary. Catherine passed away on January 7th 1536 some speculation is the death was an attempt poisoning.
In that same year of 1533, Henry and Anne Boleyn were secretly married. Anne Boleyn would be the mother of the future Queen Elizabeth I. After everything Henry fought to have Anne affection, he started to lose interest in Anne. Boleyn had two pregnancies, unfortunately one was a miscarriage. When Anne failed to produce a son which upset the king more; Henry began to have affairs with other women, during this time he had become interested in Jane Seymour, a daughter of one his knights. Anne was soon charged with adultery and suspected to have been involved in several affairs, which were never proven and likely to be false but May 19, 1536, she was convicted by a unanimous vote and beheaded. This is a quote from Anne Boleyn herself before the sword cut of her head “I pray God save the king," Anne herself is reported to have said on the scaffold, "and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never; and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and sovereign lord." (n.d.). Retrieved from n.d.). www.luminarium.org/renlit/tudor.htm Jane Seymour married Henry on May 30, 1536, only eight days after Anne execution. Jane became pregnant in 1537, Henry was convinced she was carrying a boy and he believed Jane was his first true wife. She died very shortly after giving birth to her son. Some historians believe she developed complications from the birth, probably a form of Scepticaemia, which is an infection of the uterus. Jane was the first and only wife to provide Henry with a proper male heir. Jane is honored being the only wife of the king to be buried with him. King Henry’s fourth marriage was to Anne of Cleves, she was a German princess, the marriage was only for political reasons; he needed a strong political alliance with Germany. When henry had his first meeting with Anne, he was very polite to her, but said later to his council that his horse had better looks then she. Henry declared the marriage had not been and could not be consummated; and did not scruple to cast doubts on his wife's honor. Their marriage was annulled after only six months. Anne was rewarded with a large income and she remained in England given the title of "King's Sister."
Henry married his fifth wife Catherine Howard on July 28, 1540, just sixteen days after he divorced his fourth wife Anne. At this time Henry was 49 years of age and starting to gain weight, he was no longer the young handsome athletic man he once was. Catherine was a young girl no older than 19. Shortly after they were married, rumors of her being promiscuous before and after their marriage started to come out Thomas Culpepper; and Francis Dereham, to whom Catherine was betrothed to. After becoming queen she occasionally met Dereham and Culpepper for affairs. In November 1541, the Archbishop Cranmer informed henry of his unfaithful wife .Once Henry learned of this, he had Culpepper and Dereham publically executed in December 1541, Culpeper was beheaded, Dereham was stretched by his neck, and then publicly disemboweled while alive. Catherine was beheaded in the Towers of London for crimes of treason (Heritage, English. (2007). Off with her head!. 2007-07)
The last of the six wives of Henry VIII, named Katharine Parr, during this time she had just lost her husband Lord Latimer. In October 1542 his health began to fade, henry realized her husband was dying began to court Katharine. Lord Parr died in March 1543, and around July, the King proposed to Katharine. Feeling she hadn't much choice, she agreed. The marriage took place in a private ceremony on July 12, 1543, at Hampton Court. Queen Katherine Parr was the only one of Henry VIII's wives to have survived him. Henry became sick with fever on January 1, 1547; there were rumors that the king died on January 8th. However, he did recovered a little bit, but on January 19th he relapsed with fever. On January 28th, Archbishop Cranmer was sent for. Henry with his wife Katharine Parr at his side, died shortly after Cranmer arrived at around 2:00am. August 30, 1548; Katherine gave birth to a daughter named Mary. The queen contracted puerperal fever; an infection of the uterus after childbirth, which most often led to death. Sick with a fever for a week, until it became apparent she would not recover. The Queen died on September 7, 1548. Some historians suggest that Henry died from pulmonary embolism. Now new studies are suggesting it may have been malnutrition. There was no certainty of the king’s death, only because it was treason to predict or speculate on a death of a king. King Henry is buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor, along with his third wife, Jane Seymour. A plaque marks the spot, and is visited by thousands of people a day. Henry VIII established Church of England, which is still in progress today and, through his allowed divorce, produced a daughter that became one of the greatest monarchs of all time. This was also the birth of the renaissance era to Europe. Perhaps people with high political positions today whether considered a tyrant or a blessing can make positive contributions towards society in the future.

APA: References. Page 5 ;(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/tudor.htm
Page 6: Heritage, English. (2007). Off with her head!. 2007-07
Page 1-3 Henry viii: the mask of royalty . (1973). Academy Chicago Publishers: Academy Chicago Publishers
Page 1-2 Elton, G. R. England under the Tudors. London: Routledge, 1991.
Page 1-5 Henry VIII: The King and His Court [Paperback] Alison Weir
Page 4; Kybett, M. (1989). HENRY VIII — A MALNOURISHED KING?. History Today, 39(9), 19. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database.