HENRY VIII by Daniel Moon

HENRY AS A BOY

Henry was born in 1491 in Greenwich Palace near London. His father was King Henry VII. His mother was Elizabeth of York. This meant he was born into a life of wealth and privilege. He was also in line to sit on the throne. Britain may seen peaceful now but many many years ago it was nothing like it is today. Although Henry did not go to school and was taught at home he was extremely clever.Henry had a fool to amuse him when he was bored with his books. The fool told jokes and did funny things, like a clown.

HENRY'S WAR TRAINING

Henry liked horse riding, jousting and archery. Rich and poor men in Tudor times trained to be soldiers, to fight for their King. Henry wore armor and loved competing in tournaments. He liked to show off in his armor. By this time Henry was getting ready to become the new King and secretly wanted to kill his own brother so he would inherit the throne and become king. This shows that he could be a ruthless and cruel man

A NEW REIGN

Henry's brother Arthur died of sweating sickness in 1502 and his mother died the year after. Henry's father died in 1509 and Henry became king. He was crowned King Henry VIII (the 8th English king named Henry). He wanted to appear rich and brave so he built castles in cities whose populations were high. In 1520, he went to France to meet the French King Louis XII. Both kings spent enormous sums of money on feasts and showing off. Typical men!

WIFE 1

As you no doubt know Henry had 6 wives. It was very important to Henry to have a son to continue the family's reign and power after his own death. Henry's first wife was Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish princess. They were married for 20 years! In 1511, Catherine had a son, but the baby died. Catherine and Henry had a daughter Mary, but no more sons. When she became to old to have any more children Henry decided to divorce her. Although at this time divorce was not allowed by the Roman Catholic church, of which Henry was a member. He wanted to marry someone else so he broke the church's rules, made himself head of the church in England and divorced Catherine.

WIVES 2-3

Henry's second wife was Anne Boleyn. She had a daughter, Elizabeth. Henry turned against Anne. She was held prisoner in the Tower Of London on charges including treason before being beheaded in 1536. It is very likely that the charges were false. Next Henry married Jane Seymour. In 1537, she had a son, Edward, but she died two weeks later. Henry was very sad to have lost his favourite wife.

WIVES 4-5-6

Henry's fourth wife (1540) was Anne of Cleves, from Belgium. Henry had never seen her until she came to England for the wedding. He divorced her after six months because she had not given him another son. He soon married again. His fifth wife was Catherine Howard. She was only 19. She was beheaded in 1542 for the same reason. Henry's sixth wife was Catherine Parr, a widow. She outlived him and looked after his children.

HIS DEATH

On January 28, 1547, at the age of 55, King Henry VIII of England died in London. He was interred in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle alongside his deceased third wife, Jane Seymour. Henry's only surviving son, Edward, inherited the throne, becoming Edward VI. Princesses Elizabeth and Mary waited in succession.

FUN FACTS

• He was very musical, could play the lute and the organ. He owned 5 sets of bagpipes.

• During his 38 year reign he ordered the execution of around 70,000 people. That is just over 5 people a day.

• The tennis balls that he played with as a boy were stuffed with hair.

• He was a supporter of the Royal Navy when he came to the throne there were 5 Royal warships but by his death there were around 50. He built the first naval dock in Britain at Portsmouth.

• Henry was the first English king to write and publish a book.

• When he died he owned 50 palaces.

Thank youFor Listening!