WIS III King Henry VIII Lecture Notes
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Transcript of WIS III King Henry VIII Lecture Notes
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Taken from the website: http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/henry8.html
Quote from Lord Mountjoy to Erasmus, 1509
I have no fear but when you heard that our Prince, now Henry the Eighth, whom we may call our
Octavius, had succeeded to his father's throne, all your melancholy left you at once. What may you
not promise yourself from a Prince with whose extraordinary and almost Divine character you are
acquainted? When you know what a hero he now shows himself, how wisely he behaves, what a
lover he is of justice and goodness, what affection he bears to the learned I will venture to swear
that you will need no wings to make you fly to behold this new and auspicious star. If you could
see how all the world here is rejoicing in the possession of so great a Prince, how his life is all their
desire, you could not contain your tears for joy. The heavens laugh, the earth exults, all things are
full of milk, of honey, of nectar! Avarice is expelled from the country. Liberality scatters wealth
with bounteous hand. Our King does not desire gold or gems or precious metals, but virtue, glory,
immortality.
From the Venetian diplomat Pasqualigo in a dispatch, 1515
His Majesty is the handsomest potentate I ever set eyes on; above the usual height, with an
extremely fine calf to his leg, his complexion very fair and bright, auburn hair combed straight and
short, in the French fashion, and a round face so very beautiful that it would become a pretty woman,
his throat being rather long and thick.... He will enter his twenty-fifth year the month after next. He
speaks French, English and Latin, and a little Italian, plays well on the lute and harpsichord, sings
from book at sight, draws the bow with greater strength than any man in England and jousts
marvelously.... a most accomplished Prince
Henry Tudor, duke of York: 1491-1502
The second Henry Tudor was born on 28 June 1491 at Greenwich Palace in London. He was the
third child of the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII, and his wife, Elizabeth Plantagenet, daughter of the
Yorkist king, Edward IV. At the time of her second son's birth, Queen Elizabeth was just 25 years old;
her husband was 34, and had been king for almost six years. Those six years had been difficult ones.
Henry's marriage to Elizabeth had helped amass Yorkist support for his rule, but the English people
were hardly enthusiastic about Henry, even as they had been noticeably ambivalent about his
predecessor, Elizabeth's uncle, Richard III. Elizabeth was popular with the common people; her
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young life had all the romance and tragedy necessary for sympathetic gossip and she was a classical
fair beauty, possessing all the female virtues necessary for a queen. She was quiet, demure, and
charming; she was also content to allow her formidable mother-in-law, Margaret Beaufort, assume a
position of unprecedented influence over the king.
Elizabeth's emotional attachment to her husband has been much-debated. In truth, she had known all
her life that she would never marry a man of her own choice. In the end, hermother, Elizabeth Woodville, conspired with Margaret Beaufort for Elizabeth to
marry Henry Tudor, exiled son of Henry VI's half-brother. Henry was, by all
accounts, grateful for the match. He appreciated its political implications. He
also respected his new queen and was faithful to his marriage vows, an unusual
trait in a king. Upon her marriage, Elizabeth entered a semi-retirement - she was
queen and her duty was to produce as many heirs as possible. Nine months
after her marriage, she gave birth to her first child at St Swithin's Priory in
Winchester, a prince named Arthur. Henry and Elizabeth had wed on 18 January 1486 at
Westminster Abbey in London; Prince Arthur was born 20 September 1486. Three years later,
Elizabeth gave birth to their second child, a princess called Margaret after Henry VII's mother. She
was born on 28 November 1489 at Westminster Palace in London. For the new king, the birth of a
healthy second child, and his wife's rapid recovery, were good omens. Even as he attempted to
enforce his rule in the always troublesome northern England which had been Richard III's base of
support, Henry VII could rest assured that his dynasty was becoming secure. But it was only on 28
June 1491, when another healthy prince was born, this time at Greenwich Palace, that Henry VII
could breathe a sigh of relief. This second son was a necessary insurance policy for the new Tudor
dynasty. Childhood mortality was high and diseases such as small pox, the sweating sickness, and
the plague were rife throughout England. A king needed as many healthy heirs as possible, and the
birth of a second son was an occasion for celebration.
On 27 February 1490, Prince Arthur was titled prince of Wales at Westminster Palace in London; this
was the real beginning of a tradition that continues to this day. And in 1494, Arthur's baby brother was
titled duke of York, the traditional title of the king's brother. At this early age, all we know of Prince
Henry was that he was considered a handsome and precocious toddler, but one would expect such
descriptions of the king's son. He did not share his brother's fair coloring or slight build. Prince Henry
was a sturdy, strawberry-blond boy noted for his energy and temper. Just a year after his birth, his
mother bore another daughter; this child was called Elizabeth and she died three years later. It was
the first in a series of tragedies for the young queen. She and Henry VII were considered good and
affectionate parents, but they never lost sight of the political importance of their children. Together
they decided that Prince Henry, like most second sons, was destined for the church, and his early
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schooling was planned accordingly. This strong emphasis upon theology and its esoteric debates
remained with Henry for the rest of his life and made him feel uniquely qualified to interpret religious
law during the 1520s.
A brief discussion of Henry VIII: his personality and historical importance
How can one adequately describe Henry's personality? Imagine yourself as Henry VIII, the second
son suddenly yanked into the spotlight by your older brother's death. Sheltered and smothered by a
father suddenly aware that he has just one heir left; handsome and intelligent and, by turns, both
recklessly indulged and then denied. Any of us would have emerged as a mass of contradictions and
frustrations. So Henry VIII, crowned king at the prime of his life, just eighteen years old and physically
magnificent with more enthusiasm and energy than most of his contemporaries, became a conflicted
and confused man. But it is a shame to let the last twenty years of his life color the interpretation ofhis entire life. One should not see him as simply an ogre king who beheaded two wives, divorced two
others, and rejected another in one of the most humiliating ways possible.
His personality was quite amazing; his intelligence, learning, and curiosity impressed even the world-
weary ambassadors who littered his court. His thirst for knowledge was insatiable. He spent his entire
reign reading dispatches, scribbling notations, meeting with diplomats and politicians. Very little
occurred in England that escaped his attention; indeed, very little occurred in Europe that escaped
Henry VIII. He prided himself on this and well he should; the Spanish ambassador reported that
Henry knew of the fall of Cadiz before the Holy Roman Emperor (pope).
He was usually genial company. He loved music and wrote his own. He enjoyed dancing and
entertainment. He held countless banquets and tournaments. He enjoyed all physical activities and
excelled at most of them. Hunting, archery, tennis, jousting - the king made his court into an endless
round of competition and celebration. Dont be fooled by the portraits of his later years. Henry was
considered a handsome man with a very attractive, athletic build. He was also very tall for era. When
he grew older, these former pleasures became torments; like most former athletes, Henry became fat
as he aged and the once-loved pastimes became bitter reminders of the ravages of time. And he
ruled over a country where almost half the population was 18 years old or younger! Youth was
everywhere, staring the old king in his face. We can imagine the effects. Quite naturally, he sought
reassurances - from women, his courtiers, and his council. Of course everyone greeted him with
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outrageous flattery to keep him in good humor, and to stay in favor with the powerful king. Affairs
could distract him, but love affairs were never his grand passion. Despite his licentious reputation,
Henry VIII was really a 16th century sexual prude; among his European contemporaries, he
philandered the least. State affairs indulged his taste for war and glory; family affairs gnawed at his
conscience and pride. But Henry VIII did not want distractions. He wanted a grand mission, a defining
statement. In the end, he got his wish, though in the most improbable way possible.
He began life as a second son, destined for the church. It was the dream of Henry VII for his eldest
son, Arthur, to be king and for his second son, Henry, to be the highest churchman in England. And
so, for the first ten years of his life, Henry was a student of theology. And for the next thirty years of
his life, he remained a dutiful son of the church. It is ironic, then, that his most significant historical
achievement was the destruction of the Roman Catholic faith in England. The impact of the
reformation he sponsored in Enland forever altered the course of English history. Henry VIII, who had
indulged in endless diplomatic squabbles and foreign wars, left no grand achievement beyond his
own borders. Vast amounts of money were spent on these foreign entanglements - and many lives
lost - but, in the end, nothing changed in the European balance of power. England, constantly pulled
between the two great continental powers of France and the Holy Roman Empire, nearly bankrupted
itself in an attempt to become respected and feared. (This would change under his daughters reign,
Elizabeth I.)
Why did Henry ultimately fail in those tasks normally reserved for monarchs? Ultimately, he was a
victim of his times. The 16th century was a confusing mess of changing loyalties, betrayals, near-
constant fighting, and most importantly, a rising skepticism of that great institution of the fading
medieval world, the Roman Catholic church. With the advent of the printing press a century before,
literacy and intellectual debate grew rapidly. The High Renaissance in Italy occurred during the first
20 years of Henry VIII's reign. It was a time of unparalleled scientific experiment, intellectual fervor,
and spirited debate. In such a time, traditional views of kingship were bound to change for both the
ruler and those he ruled.
(As evidence of this confusion, one need only remember that Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor
crowned by the Pope, led the brutal sack of Rome in 1527. Charles, supposedly the anointed
defender of the papacy, actually ordered his imperial army to loot, pillage, and kill their way through
Rome and the Vatican. The pope ended up fleeing to relative safety in his nightshirt.)
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While reading any biography of Henry VIII, one must remember the flavor of his times and judge him,
if at all, by sixteenth-century standards. It's always amusing to read descriptions of Henry as the
lustful tyrant torn between bedding and beheading innocent women; in truth, he blushed at dirty jokes
and was more faithful than many 20th century husbands. He was married to Katharine of Aragon for
over twenty years and had just a handful of mistresses. He waited years to physically consummate
his relationship with Anne Boleyn, and despite being in the prime of his life, remained faithful to heruntil marriage. Was this sexual prudery a result of his early church training? Perhaps. Whatever the
case, it was a hallmark of his life. Henry VIII was always an incurable romantic.
His personal and political decisions were always grandiose, melodramatic, and played for great
effect. He loved pomp and pageantry, even as he loathed to deal with the consequences of his
actions. Like his father, he was caught in the transition from medieval England to renaissance
England. And like his father, he was well-versed in English history and desperate to continue the
Tudor dynasty, to secure his claims to Ireland, Scotland, and France, to raise England to the status of
its continental neighbors, and to expand his God-given right to rule all Englishmen. When reading
about Henry's political and dynastic ambitions, one is always struck by the wide scope of his desires.
Though most came to naught in the end, he actually planned invasions of France, plotted to join
Charles V's invasion of Italy, and intended to seize the Scottish throne. The word 'ambitious' hardly
does Great Harry justice.
His political ambitions failed and he bequeathed a woeful mess to his nine-year-old heir, Edward VI.
His greatest achievement was a dubious one, and one for which he was often eager to distance
himself - the Henrician reformation, the end of Roman Catholicism in England and the birth of the
Anglican church. The king, for all his contradictions and failures, helped destroy the greatest
institution in medieval Europe. Once Germany and England embraced the Protestant Reformation, its
spread across Europe was inevitable and invincible.
Stop here
Heir apparent: 1502-1509
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Henry's position as the second son lasted only until 2 April 1502, just a few months before his
eleventh birthday. It was on that day that his brother Arthur died at Ludlow Castle, the government
seat of the prince of Wales. The insecurity of the Tudor succession was suddenly unavoidable.
Elizabeth of York, despite repeated pregnancies, had not borne another healthy son; after Henry's
birth, there was just one more male child - a son called Edmund, born in 1499 and dead just a year
later. The queen did become pregnant shortly after Arthur's death but this eighth pregnancy proved tobe her last. The child, called Katherine, was born and died on 2 February 1503. Elizabeth contracted
an infection and died a few days later, on 11 February, her thirty-seventh birthday. So in the short
space of a year, Henry lost both his older brother and mother. But the effects of these losses was felt
even more keenly by Henry VII. His reign had proved to be neither peaceful nor happy. He was beset
by worries - constant diplomatic maneuvering, subjects who mocked him as a cold-hearted, tax-
hungry miser, and now he had lost his son and wife.
Arthur's death was more than a personal tragedy; it was a political tragedy as well. The young prince
had been married to Princess Katharine of Aragon on 14 November 1501 at St.Paul's Cathedral,
London. The daughter of the 'Catholic Kings' of Spain, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile,
Katharine's marriage to the Tudor heir had marked the high point of Henry VII's foreign diplomacy.
His grip on the English throne had long been considered both illegitimate and untenable by most
European powers, except in cases where it suited their interests to pretend otherwise. But a bond of
marriage between the house of Tudor and the ruling dynasty of Spain gave Henry's rule a stamp of
approval. He was now allied with one of the most powerful ruling families in Europe. Prince Henry met
his sister-in-law and future wife on this momentous occasion, heading the procession that led her to
the cathedral. Later, he officially introduced her to the citizens of London.
With Arthur's death, his teenage wife was trapped in England while Henry VII squabbled with her
father over the remaining payments on her dowry. Henry VII was perhaps even then mulling over the
idea of not letting the all-important Spanish alliance go to waste. Soon enough he was openly
proposing that Katharine marry young Prince Henry, now the heir apparent and five years her junior.
What did young Prince Henry know of these plans? Probably very little. After Arthur's death, Henry VI
became somewhat paranoid and tried desperately to protect his only son from any injury or illness.
People who wished to visit the young prince had to receive permission from Henry VII, and this
remained the case well into the boy's adolescence. Such strict rules may have irked the heir but they
did not interfere with his continuing education. While his older brother was in Wales learning the
intricacies of government, Henry received a primarily classical education, mastering Latin and French
and becoming an excellent and exuberant athlete. Contemporary sources make it clear that he was a
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happy child, fond of sports and spectacle, and equally proud of his intellectual accomplishments. In
short, he possessed all the personality and charm his father noticeably lacked. Both his physical
appearance and character were similar to those of his Plantagenet grandfather Edward IV. This fact
was much remarked upon by those Englishmen who had lived through the last years of the Wars of
the Roses.
Luckily for Prince Henry, his father spent the last years of his reign establishing good relationshipswith other monarchs and avoiding expensive war; also, his fondness for extorting money from an
unwilling populace never wavered. He left his son a king's greatest gift - a healthy treasury. Ironically,
one of Henry VIII's first acts as king was to execute his father's most productive, and hence most
notorious, tax collectors. But Henry VII never really decided whether he wanted to marry Prince Henry
to Katharine of Aragon. He kept the young princess in England for seven years while he toyed with
the idea. Her living conditions steadily deteriorated; she was miserably unhappy, many of her Spanish
attendants were sent home, she lacked money for even basic necessities. Food and adequate
clothing were constant concerns. She struggled to bear her hardships with the serene and regal
dignity that was ingrained in her character as a princess of Spain, and such calm in the face of
deprivation impressed young Prince Henry. It is certainly true that even years later, in the midst of an
acrimonious separation, he never lost his respect for Katharine. This respect was always tinged with
a bit of fear. He was keenly aware of her great ancestry and extensive education, her self-deprecating
wit and complete mastery of all feminine tasks. Even as queen of England, she took particular pride in
sewing and mending Henry's shirts.
They had little contact during the later years of Henry VII's reign, only meeting
occasionally at formal events. Henry was formally promised in marriage to
Katharine on 23 June 1503; the treaty stated that he would marry Katharine on his
fifteenth birthday, 28 June 1505, and that her parents send over 100,000 crowns
worth of plate and jewels in addition to the dowry she had given when married to
Prince Arthur. Henry VII was a stickler on the dowry issue, refusing to allow the
marriage to be solemnized, much less celebrated and consummated, until the
money arrived. But the Spaniards were as loathe to part with money as Henry. So
1505 came and went with no marriage though Prince Henry referred in letters to Katharine as his
'most dear and well-beloved consort, the princess my wife'. But his father was still king, and his father
refused to allow the marriage. To strengthen his bargaining power with the Spaniards, he had Prince
Henry make a formal protest to Richard Fox, the bishop of Winchester, disowning the marriage
contract. Both parties prevaricated - until 1509, when Henry VII suddenly died at the age of 52, and
his headstrong son, chafing at his father's authority, was free to make his own decisions. To the
surprise of all, including the Spaniards, he promptly announced he would marry Katharine and crown
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her queen of England.
After years of being shut away from the world, he was now king. All of the boundless energy and
enthusiasm of his character was unleashed. Perhaps out of chivalry, or adolescent affection, or, as he
later claimed, out of respect for his father's wishes, he wed his late brother's wife. In light of future
events, it is worth noting that the dowry had not been the only sticking-point in the marriage plans -
there was the not insignificant fact that Katharine had been married to Henry's brother, and hermarriage to Henry would be regarded as incestuous and unacceptable to the church. As Henry VIII
would later argue, Leviticus clearly stated that a man was forbidden to marry his brother's widow. For
her part, Katharine claimed, and her duenna, Dona Elvira, agreed, that her marriage to Arthur had
never been consummated. The young prince of Wales had been suffering from consumption for
months, even before the wedding, and their wedding night had passed uneventfully. If this was true,
and it seems to have been (until it was in Henry VIII's interests for it not to be), there was no barrier to
her union with Henry. Both the English and Spanish courts sought the requisite papal dispensation. It
was granted and the path to marriage was clear.
TOP
1509-1526: Katharine of Aragon, Cardinal Wolsey and Princess Mary
Henry was crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey on 23 June 1509. He had married
Katharine on 11 June at Grey Friars Church in Greenwich and she shared his coronation. It was a
splendid event and continued throughout midsummer with much celebration and spectacle. It was
soon clear that the young king, who turned 18 just a few days after his coronation, had little interest in
the day-to-day business of government. While it is true that Henry was a vocal participant at council
meetings, the early years of his reign were devoted more to enjoyment than the drudgery of
administration. He was content to allow trusted nobles and ecclesiastics to rule in his name - William
Warham, archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Howard, earl of Surrey and later 2d duke of Norfolk,
Bishop Richard Foxe, and, beginning around 1514, Thomas Wolsey.
As mentioned earlier, one of the first acts of Henry's reign was a particularly brutal one, especially
designed to benefit his popularity. He ordered the executions of his father's most productive and
hated tax collectors, Edmund Dudley and Sir Richard Empson. It was a bloody beginning for his reign
and a taste of things to come. Certainly it pleased the English people for most tax collectors were
hated, and Dudley and Empson had been particularly ruthless. But their efficiency had the complete
support of King Henry VII, whose orders they followed. A problem had emerged for the new king -
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how could he execute the tax collectors when their only crime was to obey their king? He resorted, for
the first but not the last time, to judicial murder, charging the men with 'constructive treason'. It was a
wholly fictitious charge which no one fully understood, even those at the trial. This cold-blooded act
pleased the people and demonstrated Henry's desire for popular approval. But it also revealed a
ruthlessness to his character that grew more pronounced as the years passed. Many historians argue
that Henry grew tyrannical only after Katharine of Aragon failed to provide an heir but the evidenceproves otherwise. If someone could not be legally executed, the king simply invented a new charge.
For example, in 1513, before leaving for war in France, he executed Edmund de la Pole, his
Plantagenet cousin held prisoner in the Tower since Henry VII's reign. A benign spirit, locked away for
most of his life, Edmund was no threat to anyone. But Henry executed him to remind his subjects
that, though he would be in France, any challenge to his authority would be met with grave
displeasure.
His marriage to Katharine was very happy, at least during these early years. She had a more
reserved character than her husband and blushed at his ribald jests, but she entered into the spirit of
frivolity which pervaded their court. There was dancing and music, for Henry was a splendid dancer
and musician; he composed songs and wrote poetry, most of which has survived and is quite lovely.
He also enjoyed hunting, sometimes tiring ten horses during a single hunt, and jousting; by all
accounts, he was the greatest athlete at the court. And he was a dedicated and affectionate husband.
Everything he built was decorated with an intertwined H and K, and Katharine's pomegranates were
carved next to Tudor roses. He called himself the 'Knight of the Loyal Heart' and bowed before his
queen after each grueling tournament. He also involved Katharine in the seemingly endless visits of
foreign dignitaries, inviting the ambassadors to her apartments and openly seeking her advice and
opinion. It was clear that they loved and respected one another, and those early years made his
eventual disinterest all the more painful for the queen to bear.
Katharine bore their first child on 31 January 1510, just six months after their coronation. It was a girl,
born too early to survive. The next birth, on 1 January 1511, was a far happier occasion. It was a boy,
called Henry after his father and titled duke of Cornwall. The delighted father planned celebrations to
rival his coronation. The boy was apparently healthy yet died about two
months later. The cause was unknown, but it was an age of high infant
mortality. The young parents were devastated. Henry consoled himself by
waging war against France, courtesy of his father-in-law Ferdinand of Aragon,
and Katharine's fierce piety led her to kneel for hours on cold stone floors in
prayer. But Henry's attempts to gain glory on the battlefield were misplaced. In
June 1512, the marquess of Dorset sailed out of Southampton, bound for
Gascony with 12,000 troops. They reached the port of Fuentarrabia, where they were to join the
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Spanish and attack Bayonne. But the Spanish troops never arrived. Ferdinand, without consulting his
son-in-law, attacked and seized Navarre instead and then declared the 'Holy War' over. He had
essentially used Henry's troops as bait; when the French went off to fight the English, Ferdinand
seized his chance and attacked Navarre. To top off his treachery, he also openly criticized the English
soldiers who, without receiving his permission, had sailed home after waiting four months at
Fuentarrabia. Henry was too embarrassed by his soldiers' mutiny to call his father-in-law's bluff.Desperate to erase the memory of that military blunder, he planned a grand campaign for the spring
of 1513. His ambassadors even secured the support of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian. He
joined the 'Holy Alliance' of England and Spain to attack France. But once again Ferdinand's self-
interest ruled the day. He went behind his allies' backs to make a secret truce with Louis XII of
France, and so he kept Navarre peacefully. This happened in March 1513 and suitably angered
Henry. But the English king had learned a lesson from his previous blunder. His forces were launched
from England's only possession on the continent, Calais in northern France. The Spanish would not
be involved. On 1 August 1513, about a month after he left England, Henry besieged the town of
Therouanne. Two centuries before, Edward III had seized that city after the great battle of Crecy. With
Maximilian by his side (actually as his subordinate; he allowed Henry command of his troops in
exchange for paying their salaries), Henry won a victory within a fortnight. The capture of a duke,
marquis, and vice-admiral fleeing the scene helped raise substantial ransoms. He gave the town to
Maximilian as a gift and the emperor ordered it razed to the ground. Their next battle was one month
later at Tournai. It surrendered after eight days and Henry decided it would become another English
stronghold within France.
He had left Katharine in charge at home, officially titled Governor of the Realm and Captain-General
of the Armed Forces, an honor never allowed his other wives. She had been resoundingly successful.
France and Scotland had an 'Auld Alliance' against England, and James IV of Scotland, married to
Henry's sister Margaret Tudor, had responded to English aggression against his ally. He led his
armies into northern England. Thomas Howard, the earl of Surrey, took the few English troops left in
the nation to meet him. The armies clashed at Flodden Edge, between Berwick and the Cheviots.
Three hours of fighting ended the Scottish threat. The evening of 9 September 1513 saw over 10,000
Scots dead, including most of their aristocracy. James IV himself was killed. Had Henry's attention
been focused on his own country, he could have seized a golden opportunity - with James dead and
the high nobility of Scotland destroyed, he could have marched into Edinburgh and seized his sister
Margaret and her infant son, now King James V. But instead he remained enthralled with dreams of
European conquest, perhaps comparing himself to his hero, Henry V. And these dreams were
encouraged by news that the Pope had, in secret, promised to recognize Henry as king of France if
he could physically seize possession of the country. This generous offer had been inspired by French
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meddling in papal affairs.
During this triumphant time, Katharine lost another child. In November 1513, another prince, also
called Henry, duke of Cornwall, was born and soon died. It was the third miscarriage in as many
years. Was Henry worried? He was still young, as was Katharine, and had been king for just five
years. He was naturally optimistic, though undoubtedly disappointed. Once again, the queen was on
her knees in prayer. Perhaps she felt the losses more keenly. In letters to her father, she blamedherself. She clearly saw the dead children as a reproof of some sort, a failure to fulfill the most basic
feminine role. But she was able to send Henry the bloody coat of the Scottish king; it may have been
some consolation.
Still, in 1514, as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey extended his control of government, Katharine had reason
to become wary. The golden happiness of the first years with Henry was wearing thin. Her father had
betrayed her husband openly and scornfully, treating them both as little more than foolish children.
She had been her father's best ambassador, heedlessly pressing his claims upon Henry, using the
natural affection between husband and wife to urge alliances with Spain. She felt the sting of her
father's betrayals. He had lied to her, misled her, and tricked her into betraying her husband. It was
clear that her primary loyalty must be to Henry and the English people; she would never trust
Ferdinand again. In 1514, the king returned home and his councilors told him that Henry VII's great
treasury was fast running low. War with France was too costly to continue. Henry had seized Tournai
and made the competent Thomas Wolsey its bishop, but more extensive campaigning was out of the
question. In this, the king surprisingly agreed. He had won his share of glory - at least for now - and it
would be enough. And Ferdinand's betrayal had been met with a suitable reply. Henry's younger
sisterMary, the most beautiful of the Tudor children, had been betrothed to Ferdinand's nephew, the
duke of Burgundy, but now Henry made peace with France and promised Mary to Louis XII, three
times her age and suffering from gout.
Henry's new desire for peace with France, England's traditional enemy, was encouraged by Spanish
duplicity. But it was also due to the growing influence of Wolsey. Derisively
called 'Master Almoner' by those jealous of his influence, Wolsey came from a
humble background and, like most talented and ambitious men from poor
families, he used the church to advance in society. He attended Oxford and
showed such promise that he was made bursar of Magdalen College and then
chaplain to Archbishop Deane. In 1507, in his thirties and now well-connected,
he became chaplain to Henry VII. Upon Henry VIII's accession, Wolsey received
a seat on the council and was made king's almoner. This position allowed him
personal contact with the young, impressionable monarch. He accompanied
Henry to France during the successful campaigns of 1513, where he was made bishop of Tournai,
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and their close relationship grew stronger. Henry appreciated Wolsey's dedication to administrative
detail and hard work. And both Warham and Fox, the two senior councilors Henry inherited from his
father, regarded Wolsey as their protg. They were quite happy to retire to their dioceses, leaving
the younger man to deal with the headstrong and rash young king. One can easily sympathize with
Warham and Fox since Henry VIII's personality was quite different from his father's. The most
obvious difference was that he spent money with the same passion his father had collected it.But it is important to remember that Henry VIII never completely abandoned his power to Wolsey,
though court gossip believed otherwise. He carefully read the Cardinal's dispatches and proved
himself well-informed about domestic and foreign affairs when dealing with ambassadors. Also, Henry
possessed a lifelong love of keeping his subjects, noble or common, on their toes; he enjoyed
indulging his taste for surprises. In banquets, this showed itself in his passion for elaborate costumes
in which his identity was hidden. His subjects would guess which costume hid their king, to the delight
of all. Once, he and several courtiers dressed as Robin Hood and his band of outlaws and then broke
into Katharine of Aragon's apartments. The queen, used to such antics, wisely played along but
several of her ladies were terrified. At the Primary Sourcessection, you can read about Henry's first
meeting with his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves; he disguised himself at their first meeting, to the
amusement of his nobles and the confusion of the lady. At times, this love of surprise - of keeping
those close to him on an uneven keel - was downright cruel. He would later allow his councilors to
plan Thomas Cranmer's arrest, only to tell the archbishop their plan in secret. When the soldiers
arrived, they were openly embarrassed and thwarted when Cranmer revealed his knowledge of the
plan and the king's pardon. And his sixth and final wife, Katharine Parr, was likewise surprised.
Walking in her garden with Henry, she was accosted by soldiers intending to arrest her. Their warrant
had been signed by Henry himself. But when they attempted to seize the queen, Henry cursed them,
beat several of them about the head and shoulders, and demanded they beg Katharine's forgiveness.
One can imagine the guards' confusion.
All of these instances serve to illustrate Henry's desire to remain in control, to hold absolute power in
his hands always. As king, he could give orders but it was also his privilege to immediately change
his mind without bothering to consult anyone. His will was law. And so he demonstrated his power by
doing exactly as he liked, oftimes choosing the perfect moment to throw everyone off guard and
demonstrate his complete authority. It may have seemed irrational to his contemporaries, and also to
us, but it was quite an effective policy. It meant that no one ever really knew where they stood with
the king. And so, not knowing his true feelings, they were all the more eager to sycophantically fawn
over him and seek his approval.
This strain of the king's character was perhaps a bit more light-hearted in the early years of his reign
but, like most of Henry's good qualities, it soon developed an ugly cast. His mutability was certainly
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recognized by Wolsey, and famously by Sir Thomas More, and later led to the Cardinal's downfall.
But in the early years of their relationship, as Wolsey's genius for administration and diplomacy led
him to amass great titles and wealth, the men got along amazingly well. This continued for over a
dozen years. In 1514, Wolsey was titled archbishop of York, and in 1515 he became a cardinal and
lord chancellor, and in 1518 he was made papal legate. As archbishop of York, he lived at York
Palace and to most outside observers this was the real seat of government power. Messengers rodeconstantly between York and Henry's palaces.
For a long while, both Wolsey and Henry were focused on foreign affairs. Wolsey was a Francophile
and desired peace between the traditional enemies. He used Ferdinand's treacherous behavior to
encourage a marriage between Henry's sister and Louis XII. This pro-France policy naturally placed
him at odds with Katharine of Aragon. Though she recognized her father's treachery and protected
her marriage by no longer pressing Spanish claims, she was still the daughter of the Spanish king.
Wolsey didn't trust her, which certainly wasn't surprising. Katharine developed a natural antipathy to
the Cardinal as well. She was a deeply pious woman, growing more so as she aged. She thought
Wolsey far too worldly to be a man of the church. She favored councilors like Thomas More and John
Fisher, bishop of Rochester, men whose dedication to the church was as passionate as her own. She
was also peeved that her role as Henry's confidante and advisor was slowly stolen away by Wolsey.
Katharine was jealous of the Cardinal's influence with her husband, particularly since it meant a
subsequent decline in her own influence. The king no longer brought foreign ambassadors to her
rooms and he no longer sought her opinions. It was as if her father's betrayals implicated her. Wolsey
was the consummate diplomat, skilled at flattering the queen when they met, but their mutual dislike
was open knowledge at court.
In December 1514, Katharine suffered another miscarriage; it was her fourth, and the third son. It was
particularly galling for her since earlier that year Henry had taken his first public mistress. He was not
a lecher, and certainly less victimized by lust than his fellow monarchs, particularly Francis I of
France. But kings take mistresses and around New Years' 1514, Henry's eye was caught by
Elizabeth Blount. She was the cousin of Lord Mountjoy and one of Katharine's ladies-in-waiting.
Bessie was pretty and vivacious, and quite happy to bask in the king's attention. And she had his
attention for several years, which once more proves Henry's monogamous streak. And he did not
neglect his wife. On 18 February 1516, Katharine and Henry's luck changed. Their only surviving
child, a princess called Mary, was born. She was healthy and survived the difficult early months of
infancy. Henry was proud, if disappointed, and told an ambassador: 'We are both young. If it was a
daughter this time, by the grace of God the sons will follow.'
One can easily understand Henry's disappointment. He was a good father to Mary in those early
years, proudly carrying her about and showing her off to visitors. But he was perhaps aware that time
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was running out for a male heir to be born. There are indications that he explored the idea of
divorcing Katharine as early as 1518. An English courtier had supposedly visited the Vatican on an
exploratory mission earlier that year. And gossip about Katharine's miscarriages had spread through
the English court as early as 1514.
Henry was still affectionate towards Katharine, and they remained intimate for several years after
Mary's birth, as evidenced by other pregnancies. But perhaps the bloom of the relationship had gone.His wife looked older than her years, her body worn out by ceaseless pregnancies and births. She
was by nature a reserved and serious person; her mind dwelt constantly upon the failure of her most
important duty as queen. On 10 November 1518, her last child - another daughter - was born, and
died. Special doctors summoned from Spain arrived to help the queen conceive again. They were
unsuccessful. Henry publicly vowed to lead a crusade against the Turks
if God granted him a son.
But it was not to be, at least not with Katharine of Aragon. In 1519,
Elizabeth Blount, his young mistress, bore him a healthy son. Henry
was ecstatic. Here at last was proof that the king could father sons.
Henry named the boy after himself, giving him the last name 'Fitzroy',
the traditional surname of royal bastards. He would soon lavish so many
titles upon the boy that Katharine felt it necessary to remind him that
Princess Mary was his heir. Henry publicly chastised her and, in a fit of spite, sent several of her
favorite attendants back to Spain.
Now we come to an important moment in what came to be called 'the king's great matter' (Henry's
attempt to annul his marriage to Katharine.) Fitzroy's birth proved Henry could have a son, and no
one could deny Katharine's fertility. It is doubtful Henry ever blamed her for the failure to produce a
male heir after witnessing the endless cycle of pregnancies and prayer. Yet why had he and
Katharine been unable to produce a living son between them? Naturally enough, the king's mind
turned to God. It must be God's will that they had no male heir. But what had he done to offend God?
Henry searched for an answer and soon found it quite easily. In the Bible, Leviticus XVIII, 16 clearly
stated 'Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness'. And,
later, in chapter XX, 'If a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered
his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless'. What could be more clear? The Bible itself
condemned his marriage to Katharine. The pope's dispensation was meaningless.
And so began one of the most fascinating decades in English history.
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