Henry VIII

Henry VIII
A Great…something.

King Henry VIII

In the coming posts, you’ll learn about the six wives of Henry VIII, King of England from 1509 to 1547. Today though, I dedicate this post to talk about the king himself. Who was he? What was he like? What are the things we remember him for today? In the end, we’ll learn to see if it is fair for him to retain his moniker of England’s great joke of a monarch or if he ever had the potential in being a great monarch or if it all really is just a great big tragedy. I will not defame, slander or tell lies. I simply want to share and turn you onto the Tudor Dynasty, one of big subjects of my obsessions.

Eighteen year-old Henry VIII after his coronation in 1509

Who was Henry VIII?
Henry VIII was the third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth York. After his older brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, died at the age of fifteen, Henry was next in line to the throne and succeeded his father in reign. He married his brother’s widow, Catharine of Aragon in a quest by his father to keep the alliance between England and Spain via marriage. In that marriage, his only surviving child was Mary Tudor, a daughter.

Henry, c. 1531.

What was he like?
In his youth, Henry was a very kind man, always so lively and characteristically good at heart. He was jovial and was known to be around his court a goodly fellow and charismatic. He enjoyed numerous sports, including jousting, and it was very popular among court and entertaining for all to watch, but not any less lethal of course.

Throughout his years though, there was a significant change to him, most notably after his jousting accident in 1536. From that accident, he sustained a leg wound, ulcerous and was incredibly painful which prevented him from engaging in many sports like he normally did. Alongside that, it is speculated that he suffered a brain injury as well as he did a complete 180 in his behavior and personality. He went from a man who was so jovial, charismatic and so full of life, kept himself in good shape and was well known that way in court, to a man who had more of a temper, more belligerent, harsh, gluttonous and egotistical. He went from a just ruler to the full makings of what we’d associate with a tyrant.

With his leg injury preventing him from being very active and keeping him in shape as well as the possibility of that brain injury, his diet remained the same and thus he grew bigger in size, becoming a very obese man. Other speculations say that his characteristics were derivative from a case of untreated Type II diabetes among other possible health issues.

King Henry VIII in his final years.

What is he remembered for?
Aside from his infamous six wives—not at once, I promise you that—Henry is remembered for separating the Church of England from the Pope and the Holy Roman Church which led to the English Reformation. He was a man who wanted a son more than a daughter, mostly out of vanity and the belief that a woman couldn’t uphold the Tudor Dynasty and keep the peace after the War of the Roses, which paved the way for Henry VII to claim the English throne, thus embarking the Tudor Dynasty. All this led to him having six wives, in the belief that as long as he was alive, still virile and capable of copulating, he could produce a male heir and the fate of his reign wouldn’t be left in the hands of one of his daughters.

Like any ruler, he did try to be known for other things. Like his father, he wanted to be remembered for a great war. We remember his father, Henry VII for the victory of the War of the Roses which allowed the House of Tudor to rule. Unfortunately, we don’t remember Henry VIII for the wars he did take part in because they seemed more a farce than anything great as any victory seemed to undo into defeat.

Great Joke or Great Monarch?
We associate him as an egotistical tyrant who was probably way out of his mind to rule England. The truth is, Henry wasn’t always harsh, belligerent and egotistical. He was an attractive, accomplished and very well educated ruler, thought to be “one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne” (Guy, John A.).

Physical and mental deterioration paved him into the harsh, belligerent, lustful and egotistical monarch that we remember him to be. In the beginning, he had all the makings of a great monarch but in the end, that greatness turned into a sham and he died a man chasing the ghost of his youth to preserve his English reign.

No one can ever really know what happened. There are speculations, conspiracies and lots of unproved facts of what happened over five hundred years ago. How a man with such a good heart, so full of charisma, youth and life turned into a harsh, egotistical and belligerent man. People could see it that he turned into a joke. I see that it’s a great tragedy how one incident can change a man completely and have him turn into a shell of his former self, always chasing the ghost of his former existence into his own death. But what do you think? Do you think he’s a great monarch? That he could have been? Do you think he’s a great joke? Or like me, do you think that maybe it is all just a great tragedy?

What to expect?
I am a fanatic of this time period. Greatly influenced by the Showtime series, The Tudors, it fueled my already growing obsession. I want to share it with you. Like many, I took away from Henry VIII the story of his six wives. I found them to be even more interesting and maybe after reading this post, you’ll want to stick around for the meat and potatoes; his six wives. You met Henry VIII in this post. In the coming posts, you’ll meet his wives. Stay tuned and don’t write me off just yet.