Henry VIII the King of England and Ireland. He was king of England from April 21, 1509 until his death. He was also the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII. He was an important figure in the history of English monarchy. But in the great part of his reign, he wickedly suppressed the Protestant reformation of the church.
He separated the Anglican Church from the hierarchy and established himself as the Supreme Head of Church of England. He advocated catholic ceremony and doctrine throughout his life. Henry VIII was born in Greenwich Palace, the third child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Among Henry’s six sibling, only three survived infancy, namely Arthur, Margaret, and Mary. As it was expected, Arthur is next in throne.[1]
In 1502, Arthur died suddenly, at 15 years old. Then his duties we’re transferred to his younger brother Henry VIII, who eventually became Prince of Wales. His father renewed marital alliance between England and Spain by offering his son Henry VIII in marriage to Prince Arthur’s widow, Catherine of Aragon. Catherine was the youngest surviving child of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. Henry VIII married Catherine on June 11 1509 after his father’s death and on June 24 1509 the two we’re crowned at Westminster Abbey.[2]
After his coronation, he arrested two of his father’s ministers, Sir Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley and charged them with treason. They we’re executed in 1510.
The Essay on Was King Henry VIII A Good Or A Bad King?
... anyone else you may suspect.” Henry VIII clearly had a very kind ... Anne of Cleves (divorced), Catherine Howard (beheaded, as Henry believed she was cheating ... wrote in 1972: “Henry gave England the government its people desired. The ... fruit was for peasants). Henry had a brother, Arthur who died before him ... money his father left.” How the French Ambassador described Henry between 1509- ...
On February 18, 1516, Queen Catherine gave birth to Princess Mary of England, Henry’s first child, and was later reined as Mary I of England. Henry also had two mistresses namely Bessie Blount and Mary Boleyn. Blount bore Henry’s illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy. The boy was made Duke of Richmond in June 1925 to legitimatize him. Mary Boleyn was the
sister of Anne Boleyn who later married Henry VIII. She was thought to have been his mistress between 1519 and 1526.[3]
Henry became impatient with Catherine’s inability to produce the male heir he wants. All of their children died during infancy except Mary. He wants a male heir to avoid claims to the crown like what caused the Wars of Roses before Henry VII his father became king. As Henry grew more impatient, he started to seek a young woman in the Queens entourage, Anne Boleyn. Anne resisted Henry’s attempts to seduce her, and declined to become his mistress as what happened to her sister Mary.
However, her refusal made Henry more attracted, and he pursued her relentlessly. Eventually, Anne gives in and sees her opportunity in Henry’s infatuation and demands to be acknowledged as a queen. Henry soon decided to annul his marriage to Catherine. Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn went through a secret marriage ad she soon became pregnant. And as a custom with royalty, there was a second wedding service, which happened in London on January 25 1533.
Events began to move quickly. And on May 23 1533, Thomas Cranmer declared the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon null and void in the special court convened at Dunstable Priory. And on May 28 1533, Cranmer declared the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne to be good and valid. Anne was crowned queen consort on June 1 1533. Anne had given birth to a girl who was christened Elizabeth, in honor of Henry VIII mother, Elizabeth of York. Parliament validated the marriage of Henry and Anne with the Act of Succession 1533. Catherine’s daughter, Lady Mary, was declared illegitimate, and Anne’s child was declared next in the line of succession.[4]
After a long time, the king and queen were not pleased with married life. Anne refused to act a submissive role expected of her. And Henry disliked Anne’s constant irritability and violent temper. After a miscarriage in 1534, he saw her failure to give him a son as a betrayal. On January 8 1536, news reached the king and queen that Catherine of Aragon had died. Henry called for public displays of joy regarding Catherine’s death. The queen was pregnant again, and she was aware of the consequences if she fails to give him an heir. But when the king was involved in an accident and was badly injured, the queen was shocked and miscarried a male child. It happened on the day of Catherine’s funeral on January 29 1536.[5]
The Essay on Queen Elizabeth I Mary England Throne
Elizabeth I King Henry VIII wanted a son. He had been married for seventeen long years and had only been given a daughter named Mary. Someday one of his children would rule England and it was supposed to be a boy. Henry decided he wanted a younger wife who could bear many children, so he formed his own church and re-married Anne Boleyn. This began the life of Elizabeth. Elizabeth was born on ...
As Anne recovered from her final miscarriage, Henry VIII declared that his marriage is a product of witchcraft. Jane Seymour, the king’s new mistress was quickly moved into new quarters. Anne’s brother together with four men we’re arrested on charges of incest and treason, accused of having sexual relations with the queen. Anne was then arrested and taken to the Tower of London on May 2 1536. She was accused of adultery, incest, and high treason. The accused we’re found guilty even though the evidence against them are not substantial. George Boleyn and the other men we’re executed on May 17 1536. The queen was executed at the Tower Green early morning on May 19 1536.
A day after Anne’s execution, Henry became engaged to Jane Seymour, and we’re married ten day’s later. At the same time his third marriage, Henry declared the Act of Succession 1536, which makes Henry’s children to Queen Jane to be next in line of succession and declared both Lady Mary and Lady Elizabeth illegitimate, excluding them from the throne. In 1537, Jane bore a son, Prince Edward, the future Edward VI. But the queen died after giving birth due to an infection at Greenwich Palace on October 24 1537. After her death, the entire court mourned with Henry. He considered Jane to be his true wife, because she is the only one who had given him a male heir.[6]
After two years, Henry was forced to marry Anne Cleves to secure an alliance. They were married on January 6, 1540. Anne’s upbringing had concentrated on domestic skills and not of music and literature. Henry doesn’t find her attractive and feels he wants to end the marriage. And eventually, he had become attracted to young Kathryn Howard. After the dissolved marriage of Henry and Anne of Cleves, Anne accepted a title as the “King’s Sister” and she was given property, including Hever Castle. Sixteen days after, Henry VIII married Kathryn Howard.
The Essay on Henry VIII : The King who made History
King Henry VIII was a man who knew what he wanted in life. Henry wanted a world that revolved around him, no matter what the consequences were. Henry didn't wait for life to pass him by. He went out to get done what he wanted. And he did. At just eighteen years of age, Henry became King of England after his brother Arthur had died in 1502. Henry was known for his marriages to six different women; ...
The young Kathryn brought back some of Henry’s zest for life and the king in turn lavished gifts to her new wife. Not long after, rumors of the new queen’s infidelity began. The young queen had an affair with Thomas Culpeper. At first, Henry did not believe the accusations but he motioned for another investigation and enough evidence was gathered showing that the queen had been promiscuous. She was execute on February 13, 1542 at the Tower Green and laid beside her cousin Anne Boleyn in the Chapel of Saint Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London.[7]
Henry married a wealthy widow named Catherine Parr, his last wife, in 1543. She often argued with Henry regarding religion. She was interested in the reformed faith, and Henry remained conservative. This behavior nearly brought her to prison but she saved herself by showing submissiveness. She helped Henry to reconcile with his first two daughters and in 1544, an Act of Parliament put the daughters back in the lie of succession though they we’re still illegitimate.[8]
Bibliography
Ashley, Mike. British Kings & Queens. (2002) ISBN 0-7867-1104-3.
Childs, Jessie. Henry VIII’s Last Victim: The Life and Times of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. London: Jonathan Cape, 2006 (hardback, ISBN 0-224-06325-1).
Starkey, David. Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII. (2003) ISBN 0060005505.
Wier, Allison. The Six Wives of Henry VIII. (1991) ISBN 0802136834
Wier, Allison. Henry VIII: The King and His Court. (2002) ISBN 034543708X.
http://tudorhistory.org/wives/
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/henry_viii_and_his_six_wives.htm
