Memorial

Henry VIII was born at Greenwich Palace on the 28th June 1491, the year before Columbus discovered the Americas. The second son to King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, he lived an early life of sheer luxury, with servants, musicians and jesters, all catering to his every whim. Henry grew up as an accomplished musician, being able to play many instruments by the time of his tenth birthday. When his older brother, Prince Arthur, was fifteen he married a Spanish princess called Catherine of Aragon and though seeming in good health at his wedding, he was dead within a few months. This thrust Prince Henry into the spotlight as heir to the throne. His relatively free life up until that point ended and from then on he was guarded at all times, very seldom seeing anyone new. In a bid to cement relations with Spain, when he was twelve Henry was arranged to be married to his dead brother's wife, Catherine of Aragon.

In 1509, at the age of 17, his father died, making him the new King of England. He had received very little training up until this point on how to run the country and relied heavily on his counsellors and Catherine for many years. That same year Henry received a papal decree that enabled him to marry Catherine and surprisingly, given his reputation, they stayed married for over twenty years.

Henry VIII is often seen as the hot-tempered, womanising King. But only one thing drove him down this path and that was his quest for a son and heir. The whole Tudor reign was founded on conquest and had never had a woman as its head. (Although Catherine had ran the country quite well while Henry was away for nearly a year, campaigning in France.) If a Queen was to rule England and then went on to marry, then the country would be given to the husbands family as part of the dowry. This infuriated Henry and he was not about to give up the country that his family had fought to create. During their marriage, Catherine became pregnant many times but only one child survived, a girl called Mary (Later to become Queen Mary I 'Bloody Mary'). Despite the fact Henry desperately wanted a boy he was a doting father to her. Catherine of Aragon was approaching forty and had still not produced a son for her King and so Henry began to look elsewhere.....

In her early twenties, Anne Boleyn came to Henry VIII court. She was to disgrace the family of a young man called Henry Percy, when they became (not so secretly) involved, despite the fact he was betrothed to another. Cardinal Wolsey split the couple up and Anne never forgave him, exacting her punishment by bringing about his downfall years later.

Still unable to have a son and falling for Anne Boleyn himself, Henry set about trying to end his marriage to Catherine. He petitioned the Pope in Rome, claiming he couldn't be married to Catherine because she had already married his brother. She claimed the marriage to his brother didn't count because it had never been consummated. The pope agreed (he had to really, as the Spanish armies camping just outside the gates of Rome had a very persuasive effect). For a long time Henry struggled to end the marriage but in the end he announced that he was setting up the Church of England. He banished Catherine and married Anne Boleyn in secret in January of 1533. In June of that year she was crowned Queen and 3 months later gave birth to a child, Elizabeth. (Later to become Elizabeth I)

Anne, bitter through not being able to produce a son for her King was embroiled in countless schemes over the next few years including plotting against Catherine and her daughter Mary. When Catherine died in the late winter of 1536 Anne had a doubly good reason to celebrate. She was pregnant again. If the child was a boy, her position as Queen was assured. But when, on the day of Catherine's funeral, she discovered one of her handmaidens (Jane Seymour) sitting on Henry's knee, she became so hysterical that she miscarried. The Spanish ambassador wrote "She has miscarried of her saviour," and he was correct. After dropping her handkerchief (a sign of infidelity) she was arrested and charged with having affairs with five men, including her own brother, George. Anne and all five men were convicted and sentenced to death. Henry commuted her sentence from burning at the stake to a 'mere' beheading. In mid-May 1536 the sentence was carried out and before the month was out Henry had married his third wife, Jane Seymour.

Jane was around thirty when she became pregnant in early 1537. The King must have been delighted because after so many years, in October of 1537, Jane provided him with a son, Edward. His joy was short lived however, because twelve days later Jane died. Though he grieved for her, the King knew his position was stronger with a Queen. As he finally had a son and heir, he wanted to marry for political advantage. Unsurprisingly, given his behaviour, he found it very difficult to find a European noblewoman willing to marry him. It was nearly two years before he found his next wife.

Viewing Hans Holbeins portrait of the beautiful Anne of Cleaves and on Thomas Cromwells advice, Henry signed a pact with Duke William of Cleves (Anne's brother). Anne was brought to England from Germany to marry the King. From the moment he laid eyes upon her, Henry was not happy, as the portrait had been very 'kind' with her features. In 1540, protesting all the way, Henry married Anne. Within six months Anne learned that Henry wanted rid of her and despite being very naīve, realised that her life was in danger. To his amazement, she co-operated fully with his annulment of the marriage, and in return not only did she keep her life but she was given property, money and land. Henry came to think of Anne as a sister and she was treated as such. She remained in England, outlived Henry and was arguably the most fortunate of his wives. As an aside, Henry beheaded Thomas Cromwell, among other things, for his advice over the marriage.

Within a month Henry had married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard. She was about nineteen years old and first cousin to Anne Boleyn. Although Henry thought of her as perfect and unspoiled she had many secrets. She had been engaged to a man called Francis Dereham, which alone made her illegible to be Queen. She was also involved with her music teacher Thomas Culpepper, and continued her relationship with him when she was married to Henry. It didn't take long however before her infidelity was uncovered and she was arrested. Dereham and Culpepper were both executed and a few months later in February of 1542 Catherine was beheaded. Henry also commuted this sentence from burning at the stake, the appropriate punishment for treason in Henry's time.

Despite being heartbroken about Catherine's infidelity, the following year Henry married his sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr. She was a woman with a past. Catherine was in her teens when she married first, to Lord Borough, who was 40 years her senior and in quite ill health. The marriage didn't last long as he died soon after. She then married an even older man in ill health, Lord Latimer. The King became quite fond of Lady Latimer and within five months of her second elderly husband dying, Henry married her himself. She was,in fact, in love with Thomas Seymour (Jane's brother) but she didn't dare turn down the Kings advances.

Henry was quite ill himself now, so his latest wife was more of a nurse than anything else. She tried to keep his mind active with pointed religious and political debate. So much so, that a furious Henry tried to have her arrested. It was only pleading for her life that made Henry relent. She was on very good terms with all his children and even helped reconcile differences between Henry and Catherine of Aragon's daughter Mary.

Henry died on January 28th 1547 leaving the Kingdom to Edward VI.

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King Henry VIII

28-6-1491 - 28-1-1547