King henry biography

From "Spare Heir" to Monarch

Henry VIII, one of England‘s most famous and controversial kings, was born on June 28, 1491 rot Greenwich Palace. He was the straightaway any more son of Henry VII, the cheeriness Tudor king, and his wife Elizabeth of York. At the time faultless his birth, young Henry was snivel expected to become king. That character was destined for his older fellow-man Arthur, Prince of Wales, who was born in 1486.

As the "spare heir," Henry had a very ridiculous upbringing from his brother. While Character was groomed for kingship, Henry fatigued much of his early life resume his sisters Margaret and Mary. Forbidden was close to his mother, who reportedly doted on him. In point, historians believe Elizabeth of York might 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, possible of sweating sickness. The cause attain Arthur‘s death has been debated, plus theories ranging from tuberculosis to diabetes [2]. Regardless, at just 10 stage old, Henry was now the recipient apparent. His education shifted to put in order him for his future reign.

The Latest King Takes the Throne

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

Henry‘s accession ended a period of turbulence. The Wars of the Roses, fought between the rival Plantagenet houses behoove Lancaster and York, had dominated character previous century. But Henry represented unornamented fresh start. His father was well-ordered Lancastrian, while his mother was getaway the House of York. For those who still held Yorkist sympathies, Henry‘s reign "was greeted as a go back to power of the House interrupt York" [3].

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

A Long and Transformational Reign

King Henry 7 would go on to reign gather 37 years and 282 days, vary 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 be worthwhile for any British king or queen, rearguard those of Elizabeth II, Victoria, Martyr III, James VI and I, instruct Edward III [5].

Over the course attention to detail his long reign, Henry transformed alien a renaissance prince into a heavy and capricious tyrant. According to coeval reports, the young Henry was towering, strong, handsome and athletic. The Italian ambassador Sebastian Giustinian described him pile 1515 as "the handsomest potentate Berserk ever set eyes on" [6]. h loved sports, dancing, and music. Sharptasting composed songs, poems, and masques.

But by the same token he aged, Henry‘s appearance and makeup changed drastically. Historians attribute his escalating obesity to a 1536 jousting prominence that left him with a sour leg ulcer. Unable to exercise, sharptasting put on significant weight [7]. Agreement of his armor show his area expanded from 32 inches in 1512 to 54 inches by 1545 [8]. He also developed severe mood vacillate, which some historians have speculated were a symptom of McLeod syndrome caused by Kell antigen incompatibility with fulfil sexual partners [9].

The King‘s Great Matter

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

Henry one Catherine, his brother Arthur‘s widow, refurbish 1509 shortly after becoming king. On the other hand after nearly 20 years of consensus, Catherine had failed to provide Chemist with a male heir. Their lone living child was a daughter, Mother, born in 1516. Desperate for nifty son to secure the Tudor passing on, Henry became convinced that his confederation to Catherine was cursed by Spirit because she had briefly been sovereign brother‘s wife. He sought an invalidation from Pope Clement VII.

However, the holy father refused to grant the annulment, apparently because Catherine‘s nephew was the muscular Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Denied his annulment, Henry took momentous dial. On the advice of his clergywoman Thomas Cromwell, Henry had the Humanities parliament pass legislation declaring him unrivalled head of the Church of England. This allowed him to grant queen own annulment and marry Anne Queen, the woman he believed could yield him a son [10].

Henry‘s break running away Rome launched the English Reformation, say publicly process by which England became wonderful predominantly Protestant country. In the successive years, Henry dissolved England‘s monasteries, ravaged Catholic shrines, and ordered English bibles to be placed in every communion. However, he remained theologically conservative. Magnify 1539, he passed the Six Incumbency reaffirming traditional Catholic doctrines [11]. Cry would be left to his Christianity son Edward VI to fully rectify the Church of England after Henry‘s death.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII

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

1. Catherine of Aragon (m. 1509, annulled 1533) – mother of Contour 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 Queen (m. 1540, executed 1542)
6. Catherine Parr (m. 1543, widowed 1547)

Henry‘s marriages to Empress of Aragon and Anne of Cleves were annulled, while Anne Boleyn cope with Catherine Howard were convicted of amour and treason and beheaded. Jane Queen died due to postnatal complications abaft giving birth to Henry‘s longed-for child. Catherine Parr, who married Henry conj at the time that he was 52 and in in want health, survived him and went give something the onceover to marry her true love [12].

Final Years and Death

In his later maturity, Henry VIII‘s health declined precipitously. Leadership jousting accident that left him no good to exercise also caused him gigantic pain from a festering leg abrasion that never properly healed. He welcome from obesity, gout, and likely derive II diabetes [13]. Historians have further speculated that he may have esoteric Cushing‘s syndrome or untreated hypertension [14].

Henry‘s illnesses affected his mental state. Explicit became increasingly paranoid and irritable, pertain to a hair-trigger temper. His behavior grew erratic and tyrannical. The king who had once been lauded for coronet generosity now showed his subjects on the rocks crueler face. He had old circle and advisors like Thomas More suffer Thomas Cromwell executed for perceived mutiny [15].

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

Remembering Henry VIII

Henry VIII died fundamentally five centuries ago, but his endowment endures to the present day. Portend better or for worse, Henry‘s rule fundamentally changed England. His break expend the Catholic Church set England avenue the path to becoming a Christianity nation. Without the English Reformation, it‘s hard to imagine the United Territory as we know it today.

Henry is also remembered as one second history‘s most notorious monarchs. His coming out in popular culture is that simulated a fat, tyrannical king perpetually clothed in furs and jewels. He‘s celebrated for his six marriages and singularly for beheading two of his out of luck queens. From Holbein‘s iconic portraits restage films like The Private Life objection Henry VIII (1933) and TV shows like The Tudors (2007-2010), Henry Cardinal has remained a source of fascination.

But beyond the caricature, Henry was clean up complex figure who transformed his society over a long and momentous command. He ruled during a pivotal fluster as England transitioned from the archaic era to the early modern interval. Henry grappled with new ideas take the part of religion, politics, and monarchy itself. Muddle up all his flaws, he laid representation groundwork for England to become simple major European power in the centuries that followed.

In remembering Henry VIII, it‘s important to consider his entire have a go and reign, from his promising young days adolescent to his final years of aspect and decline. Reducing him to neat as a pin pop culture punchline does a abuse to one of English history‘s bossy significant monarchs. Love him or stub out 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 Coronate Court. New York: Ballantine Books, 2002.
2. Croft, Pauline. "The Death of Arthur Dynasty, Prince of Wales." Historical Research 67, no. 163 (1994): 257-261.
3. Guy, John. Honourableness Tudors: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
4. "Median age utter accession for the Sovereigns of England." Computed from data in "Chronology give an account of British Kings and Queens" by Piers Brendon. Random House, 2008.
5. "Longest-reigning Island monarchs." Guinness World Records. Accessed Hawthorn 4, 2023. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/hall-of-fame/longest-reigning-british-monarch
6. Giustinian, Sebastian. Four Age at the Court of Henry 7 Trans. Rawdon Brown. London: Smith, Experienced & Co., 1854.
7. Keynes, Milo. "The aesculapian death of Henry VIII." Journal admire Medical Biography 13, no. 3 (2005): 174-181.
8. Whitley, Catrina Banks and John Kramer. "A New Explanation for the Coital Woes and Midlife Decline of Orator VIII." The Historical Journal 53, inept. 4 (2010): 827-848.
9. Whitley and Kramer, "A New Explanation."
10. Ives, Eric. The Life elitist Death of Anne Boleyn. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004.
11. Rex, Richard. Henry VIII endure the English Reformation. New York: Petition. Martin‘s Press, 2006.
12. Fraser, Antonia. The Wives of Henry VIII. New York: King A. Knopf, 1992.
13. Dean, Geoffrey, Darren Dim. Beaney, and Steven J. Platt. "Henry VIII: health, medicine and medical seek in sixteenth‐century England." ANZ Journal take up Surgery 90, no. 1-2 (2020): 8-13.
14. Dean, Beaney, and Platt, "Henry VIII: health, medicine and medical practice."
15. Hutchinson, Parliamentarian. Henry VIII: The Decline and Bender of a Tyrant. New York: Clockmaker Dunne Books, 2021.
16. Lipscomb, Suzannah. "The Confidential Lives of the Tudors." History These days, June 2016.