Interesting stories about King Henry VIII

Henry VIII was born on 28 June 1491 and reigned as the King of England until his death on 28 January 1547. He succeeded his father Henry VII and was the second in the line of monarchs of the House of Tudor. He was a prominent figure in the history of England and Christopher Freville states that Henry is most attributed to the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church.

Henry VIII was the 6th child born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Henry had six siblings of which three died. He was fluent in French, Latin and Spanish having received the best education from excellent tutors in England. His elder brother Prince Arthur was married to Catherine of Aragon who was the daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. Christopher Freville points out that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were the same royal couple that funded the historic voyage of Christopher Columbus in search of the new trade route to the east.

Arthur however died soon after marriage at the age of 15 from tuberculosis. Since Henry VII wanted to forge an alliance between England and Spain, he offered his younger son Henry VIII in marriage to the widowed Catherine. The marriage of this nature needed Papal approval which was hard to come by. However, Henry VIII married Catherine on 11 June 1509 at Westminster Abbey after the death of his father Henry VII. Within 48 hours after his coronation, he arrested Sir Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley, two of his father's most unpopular ministers. The following year they were executed, which would eventually become Henry’s mode of dealing with people who stood in his way.

Henry excelled at hunting, jousting and real tennis. He was famous for his glamorous excess and his court was known for its artistic and scholarly innovation. Christopher Freville notes that Henry was an accomplished author, musician and poet. Pastime with Good Company or The Kynges Ballade is his best known musical composition.

Catherine gave birth to many still-born babies. However, on 18 February 1516, Mary was born who eventually ruled later as Mary I of England. Still Henry yearned for a male heir which Catherine could not produce. At around the same time, he became attracted to a young woman Anne Boleyn in the Queen's entourage. Catherine’s failure to produce a male heir combined with his attraction for Anne Boleyn made him want to annul his marriage with Catherine. Catherine was eventually stripped of her title as queen in favor of Anne who was consequently crowned queen consort on 1 June 1533.

The marriage with Anne Boleyn was just the beginning in a long line of marriages that Henry VIII had. His had a total of six wives including Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and finally Catherine Parr. Henry conveniently got rid of his marriage commitments by annulling the marriage or else executing his current wife in favor of a new bride like he did with Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Henry himself died at the age of 55 on 28 January 1547 due to what could have been untreated Type II diabetes says Christopher Freville.

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