Henry VIII

Henry VIII is one of the most famous kings in English history. He was the second
Tudor monarch and was well-known for having six wives. His break with the papacy
in Rome established the Church of England and began the Reformation.

Image: Henry VIII (1491–1547) by Hans Holbein the younger (Getty Images)

Henry VIII
Henry, the second son of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was born on 28 June
1491 at Greenwich Palace. After the death of his elder brother Arthur in 1502, Henry
became heir to the English throne.

King of England
When Henry VII died in 1509, this popular eighteen-year-old prince, known for his
love of hunting and dancing, became King Henry VIII. Soon after he obtained the
papal dispensation required to allow him to marry his brother's widow, Catherine of
Aragon.
In the first years of his reign Henry VIII effectively relied on Thomas Wolsey to rule for
him, and by 1515 Henry had elevated him to the highest role in government: Lord
Chancellor.
In 1521 Pope Leo X conferred the title of Defender of the Faith on Henry for his book
'Assertio Septem Sacramentorum', which affirmed the supremacy of the Pope in the
face of the reforming ideals of the German theologian, Martin Luther.

Military might
Henry VIII's early military campaigns began when he joined Pope Julius II's Holy
League against France in 1511. Wolsey proved himself to be an outstanding minister
in his organisation of the first French campaign and while the Scots saw this war as
an opportunity to invade England, they were defeated at Flodden in 1513. However
war with France ultimately proved expensive and unsuccessful.
Henry VIII is known as the 'father of the Royal Navy.' When he became king there
were five royal warships. By his death he had built up a navy of around 50 ships. He
refitted several vessels with the latest guns including the Mary Rose, which sank in
1545.
Henry also built the first naval dock in Britain at Portsmouth and in 1546 he
established the Navy Board. This set up the administrative machinery for the control
of the fleet.

A male heir
Henry was acutely aware of the importance of securing a male heir during his reign.
He was worried that he had only one surviving child, Mary, to show for his marriage
to Catherine, who was now in her 40s. So the king asked Cardinal Wolsey to appeal
to Pope Clement VII for an annulment and it soon became clear he wanted to marry
Anne Boleyn, who had been a lady-in-waiting to his first wife.
But, unwilling to anger Catherine of Aragon's nephew – the most powerful ruler in
Europe, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V – the Pope refused. Thomas Wolsey's
ascendancy was cut short by this failure.
In 1533, Henry VIII broke with the church and married the now pregnant Anne Boleyn
in a secret ceremony. Henry was excommunicated by the Pope. The English
reformation had begun.

Head of the Church

After Wolsey's downfall, Thomas Cromwell became Henry's chief minister and
earned the confidence of the King by helping him to break with Rome and establish
Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. This act also brought him much needed
wealth through the dissolution of the well-funded monasteries. Over four years
Cromwell ordered that 800 monasteries be disbanded and their lands and treasures
taken for the crown.
The cultural and social impact was significant, as much of the land was sold to the
gentry and churches and monasteries were gutted and destroyed. Henry's personal
religious beliefs remained Catholic, despite the growing number of people at court
and in the nation who had adopted Protestantism.

Anne Boleyn
In September 1533 Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth (the future Queen
Elizabeth I). Henry had grown tired of her, and after two further pregnancies ended in
miscarriages, she was arrested in 1536 on trumped up charges of adultery and
publicly beheaded at the Tower of London.
Henry's third marriage, this time to lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour, finally produced
the son he so desperately desired with the birth of Edward in 1537. Jane Seymour
died after childbirth and Henry ordered that she be granted a queen's funeral.
In an attempt to establish ties with the German Protestant alliance, Thomas Cromwell
arranged a marriage between the king and German princess Anne of Cleves. The
marriage was a disaster and Henry divorced Anne a few months later. Henry blamed
Cromwell for this mismatch and soon afterwards had him executed for treason.
Final Years
The final years of his reign witnessed Henry VIII's physical decline and an increasing
desire to appear all-powerful. Henry continued with fruitless and expensive
campaigns against Scotland and France.
In 1540, the aging King married the teenage Catherine Howard. Their marriage was
short lived. It was alleged that she had a previous relationship with Henry's courtier
Francis Dereham and an affair with another courtier Thomas Culpeper. Catherine
was executed for adultery and treason in 1542.
Henry's final marriage to Catherine Parr, who acted like a nurse, was more
harmonious and she would go on to outlive him.
Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547 and was succeeded by his son, Edward VI. He
was buried next to Jane Seymour in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Henry VIII love letter exhibited

00
Henry wrote Anne's initials in a
heart at the bottom of the letter
It seems even one of history's most notorious womanisers had a
romantic side - at least in the beginning.
Concealed in the Vatican for almost five centuries, a love letter from King
Henry VIII to his second wife Anne Boleyn is to go on display at the British
Library in London.
Probably written in January 1528, it shows a softer side to the infamously
bloodthirsty royal as he pursues her.
He assures Anne that "henceforth my heart will be dedicated to you alone,"
and apologises profusely for ever suggesting she could be a mere mistress.
Unfortunately, that devotion did not last and as school children learn, things
ended badly for Anne.
Henry eventually had her beheaded at the Tower of London in 1536 and
subsequently married another four women.

Turning point
The letter is part of a major exhibition on Henry VIII opening at the British
Library in April.
Never displayed publicly before, it was almost
certainly stolen from Anne.
It speaks of the king's "unchangeable
intention" to marry her and marks a turning
point in their relationship.
Before then, Anne had held out - aware of
Henry's womanising reputation - and had
refused any pre-marital sexual relations. Anne Boleyn was the second of
Henry VIII's six wives
The letter - originally written in French -
appears to show that she has finally made a "too humble submission" to his
advances.
It reads: "The demonstrations of your affection are such, and the beautiful
words of your letter are so cordially phrased, that they really oblige me to
honour, love, and serve you for ever....
"For my part, I will out-do you, if this be possible, rather than reciprocate, in
loyalty of heart and my desire to please you.
"Beseeching you also that if I have in any way offended you, you will give me
the same absolution for which you ask, assuring you that henceforth my heart
will be dedicated to you alone, and wishing greatly that my body was so too."
The letter is signed like a love-sick schoolboy, "H seeks A.B, No Other Rex,"
alongside his beloved's initials in a heart.
Historical significance
Henry battled with the Vatican throughout his
life, ultimately leading to him separating the
Anglican church from Rome and creating the
Church of England.
The exhibition - which also includes portraits,
tapestries and armour, as well as
correspondence, official documents, maps
and books - gives an insight into what drove Anne was executed at the
him. Tower of London in 1536
It is curated by historian and broadcaster Dr David Starkey, who said: "Henry
is not only England's best-known king - with his wives, his girth and his
bloodthirstiness - he is also our most important single ruler.
"When he came to the throne, Henry was the pious prince who ruled an
England at the heart of Catholic Europe.
"When he died, he was the great schismatic, who had created a national
church and an insular, xenophobic politics that shaped the development of
England for the next 500 years."
Henry VIII: Man and Monarch is open from 23 April to 6 September.