By Dawid Rachmajda

Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) and claimant to theKingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudo, succeeding his father, Henry VII.

Besides his six marriages, Henry VIII is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. Henry's struggles with Rome led to the separation of the Church of England from papal authority, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and establishing himself as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. He changed religious ceremonies and rituals and suppressed the monasteries, while remaining a believer in core Catholic theological teachings, even after his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church.[1] Henry oversaw the legal union of England and Wales with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542.

Henry was an attractive and charismatic man in his prime, educated and accomplished.[2] He was an author and a composer. He ruled with absolute power. His desire to provide England with a male heir—which stemmed partly from personal vanity and partly because he believed a daughter would be unable to consolidate the Tudor Dynasty and the fragile peace that existed following the Wars of the Roses—led to the two things that Henry is remembered for today: his wives, and the English Reformation that made England a mostly Protestant nation. In later life he became morbidly obese and his health suffered; his public image is frequently depicted as one of a lustful, egotistical, harsh and insecure king.

The young Prince Henry, the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York was born on 28 June 1491 at Greenwich.Henry had a very spoilt childhood as you might expect of a Royal Prince. So spoiled was he that he even had his own ‘whipping boy’ who was punished every time Henry did something wrong!After his elder brother died, Henry became next in line to be King. His father died in 1509 and the young Prince became King just before his 18th birthday.Henry was vigorous and handsome. He was an incredible athlete and loved jousting and hunting

He was very clever also, he was good at Latin, maths, astronomy, cosmology and music

He was a very well educated man, he spoke 4 languages, wrote poetry, and knew a lot about religion.He was excellent at many sports. It is said that he could use a bow and arrow better than any man in England. (Perhaps no other man dared to beat him).

He was famous for wrestling and loved hunting stags in the forests which still covered most of England. He played a game very like tennis

But he was also a terrible and cruel King. He executed (had killed) anyone who disagreed with him (including two of his wives!)When he became King the country was Catholic and was controlled by the Pope in Rome. When the Pope wouldn’t let Henry get divorced from his first wife, Henry made himself head of the church in England instead and gave himself the divorce he wanted.Later Henry closed all the Monasteries and Nunneries in England and took all the money from the Monks and Nuns. He literally threw all of them out onto the streets to beg and gave their Monasteries to his friends for fine houses.This time was called the Reformation. (Find out more.....)This happened with Titchfield Abbey (in Titchfield, Fareham, Hampshire) which was given to Thomas Wriothesley, one of Henrys closest friends in 1537 and renamed Place House. William Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I are said to have visited there in later years

By the end of his life, Henry was a sad and lonely person. He was terrified of getting ill, and anyone who had had contact with small pox or the plague was not allowed in court. He had a serious weight problem, he ate vast amounts of food, meat, fish, dairy products and lots of wine and beer. He wouldn't stop eating, even when a doctor told him to cut down. He became so fat that he had to be carried everywhere by servants.He also had a bad leg, with ulcers possibly from an old jousting wound. Both legs became infected in 1538 and doctors thought he would die.On 28th January 1547, he died at Greenwich. Various theories have been put forward for the possible cause of death:   

•Old age - 56 was a ripe old age in Tudor times   

•A sexually transmitted disease   

• Over eating   

• Gangrene - where his bad legs went off   

• Scurvy - lack of Vitamin C because he didn't eat his veggies!

The usual answer was that he wanted a son to be his heir. But actually he had plenty of sons, sadly most of them died but one survived, born to his third wife so why did he have another three wives after that? Although he had one son, children died very easily in Tudor times, so he really needed a second one to make sure. Plus maybe he just fell in love easily and he was extremely spoilt and used to having what ever he wanted. He wouldn't let anything stand in his way

First she married Arthur, Henry's older brother. But after six months, he died, and Catherine was engaged to Henry instead.She was 17 and Henry was only 12!

They were married when he became King in 1509. She was older and wiser than him and often gave him advice on how to rule.She was a good and faithful wife for over twenty years.

She had many children, but only one survived, Mary, who would later become Queen

Henry fell in love with Anne when she was a servant in the Queens Household in 1522. By 1526 he was trying to get divorced from Catherine so that he could marry her.

The head of the Catholic church, the Pope, wouldn't allow it, so eventually Henry broke away from the church in Rome, and declared himself the head of a new Church of England. He granted himself a divorce.

He married Anne in 1533, and later that year she gave birth to a girl, Elizabeth who would grow up to be a strong Queen for England.

Henry soon got fed up with Anne, (apparently she was really grumpy!) so he accused her of meeting other men. There is a letter from Anne begging Henry to believe in her innocence but he didn't and in 1536 she was beheaded. Henry played tennis whilst she had her head chopped off!

11 days later Henry married this third wife

Jane was from an old and noble family. She was gentle and modest and not grumpy like Anne. She gave birth to a son in 1537, Edward, who would become King after his father.

Sadly 12 days later she died. It is said that Henry loved Jane the best of all his wives and he waited two years before marrying again.

Henry wanted to make a 'good' marriage this time and decided to look all over Europe for a bride. He sent painters to paint any eligible brides so he could see what they looked like.

A picture was shown to him of Anne of Cleves and he agreed to marry her without ever having met her!

When she arrived in England, Henry was very keen to meet her but she didn't speak any english and didn't know who he was. She was rather rude to the fat man that came to see her (Henry) and ignored him.

Henry stormed out shouting 'I like her not!

He is said to have found her repulsively ugly, and called her a horse! He couldn't break his promise to marry her but it only lasted six months.

20 days after his second divorce, Henry married his fifth wife.

Katherine was a cousin of Anne Boleyn and was only about 16 when she came to court. No-one knows her actual birthdate, but she was still a teenager when they married. (He was 49!)

She was lively, pretty,kind and a bit of a 'bird brain' but Henry thought she was perfect.

However she was previously, secretly engaged to one man and possibly a second one too. When the King found out he chopped both the men's heads off, followed by Katherine's in 1542.

The following year he married for the last time.

Kathryn had already been married twice before, but both her husbands had died. She was really in love with Thomas Seymour (Jane Seymour's brother) but she was too scared to refuse the King (which was probably wise!).

Henry was very very fat and ill by now and Kathryn was as much a nurse as a wife. She was a kind woman and was the first wife to bring all three of his children to live together under one roof.

When Henry died in 1547, Kathryn quickly married Thomas Seymour (her fourth husband). Sadly he didn't love her as much as she did him and she was very unhappy. She died in childbirth a year later in 1548

Contrary to popular opinion, Henry actually had many children. Unfortunately as was very common in Tudor times, most of them died when they were babies. Only three survived to be adults.

He actually had 11 children from three of his wives. Catherine of Aragon must have been a very strong woman as she had six babies in eight years.

1510 Unnamed Daughter - died of natural causes

1511 Henry Tudor - Son - died aged 53 days of natural causes

1513 Unnamed Son - died on day of birth of natural causes

1514 Unnamed Son - died on day of birth of natural causes

1516 Mary – survived

1518 Unnamed Daughter - died of natural causes

1533 Elizabeth – survived

1534 Henry Tudor - Son - died on day of birth of natural causes

1535 unknown - died on day of birth of natural causes

1536 Unnamed Son - died of natural causes

1537 Edward - survived