King Henry VIIIKing of England

House of Tudor

King Henry VIII• Born: June 28, 1491, to

King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

• Was the sixth child of King Henry and Elizabeth. 

• Of the six children, only his older brother Arthur, and sisters Margaret and Mary made it out of infancy.

Young Life

• At aged 15, his older brother Arthur died.

• This thrust all the duties and responsibilities of becoming the new heir onto Henry.

• Henry was even arranged to marry his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon.

• This was done to keep the political alliance between England and Spain.

Young Life

• Henry was raised to be a pious and devout Catholic– He was awarded the title

"Defender of the Faith“ by the Pope after writing a treatise denouncing Martin Luther's Reformist ideas

• Upon his father’s death, he was crowned King of England in 1509. (17 years old).

Young Life

• Henry was considered a “Renaissance Man”.

• He was an accomplished musician, author, and poet. He also excelled at sports, especially jousting and hunting. He also loved gambling, playing dice and cock fighting as well as being a strong dedicated to Christian.

• Henry did not enjoy his father’s stoic and unexciting ruling style, instead favoring exciting court life.

Court Life• The court life

initiated by his father evolved into a cornerstone of Tudor government in the reign of Henry VIII.

• Henry loved the extravagance and excitement of the court drama.– He spent much of

his time being entertained by the nobles and met the last five of his wives from his court.

Henry’s Wives

Catherine of Aragon (1509-1533)

Anne Boleyn (1533-1536)

Jane Seymour (1536-1537)

Anne of Cleves (1540)

Catherine Howard (1540-1542)

Katherine Parr (1543-1547)

Catherine of Aragon (1509-1533)• Despite being married for

over 20 years, Henry became impatient with what he perceived as Catherine's inability to produce a male heir.

• All of their children died in infancy except his daughter, Mary I.

• Henry wanted a male heir to avoid rival claims to the crown.

The English Reformation

• Henry wanted a divorce, but Pope Clement VII wouldn’t invalidate the marriage.

• Henry tried to get Church to do what he wanted, and appointed Sir Thomas More as English Cardinal.

• More also would not support the divorce.

• Henry proceeded to dissolve his ties to the Pope.

• Henry then took control of the English clergy and had himself appointed the head of the new Church of England.

• He divorced Catherine and she was formally stripped from her title of Queen and banished from the court.

Anne Boleyn (1533-1536)

• Henry marries 26 year old Anne Boleyn.

• Soon after, a daughter is born, Elizabeth I.

• Henry’s daughter Mary, with Catherine, is declared illegitimate.

• After a few miscarriages, (and possibly a false pregnancy), Henry took her failure to give him an heir as an act of betrayal.

Anne Boleyn (1533-1536)

• Henry devises a way to separate from Anne.

• After miscarrying a 3rd child, (a male), Henry claimed that the marriage was a product of witchcraft.

• Henry declares Anne a traitor and accuses her of having an incestuous relationship with her brother.

• Anne is taken to the Tower of London where she is tried and then executed by beheading.

Jane Seymour (1536-1537)

• She first came to King Henry’s court under Catherine of Aragon.

• She was also a Maid of Honor under Anne Boleyn.

• While Anne was being accused of atrocities such as being a traitor, King Henry took started to take an interest in Jane.

• He married her just days after Anne’s execution.

Jane Seymour (1536-1537)

• Jane, unlike any of the other wives, gave Henry the one thing he wanted most -- a son, Prince Edward.

• Unfortunately, soon after giving birth, Jane fell ill with puerperal fever which was common for women at the time and most likely caused by an infection.

• She died just days later.• Henry was grief stricken. She was the

one he considered his “true wife”.• In fact, Jane is the only wife buried with

Henry.

Political Alliance

• Henry was single for 2 years until he decided to remarry.

• He still had one motivation – sons.• In a day when infant mortality rate was

so high, he needed to ensure that their would be an heir.

• Henry was also wary of an invasion from the Holy Roman Empire after England’s separation from the Church.

• Henry chose a new wife, Anne Cleves, a German princess who’s family controlled land to the north of the Holy Roman Empire.

Anne of Cleves (1540)• Despite this political union,

Henry was not attracted to Anne.

• He even called her “The Flanders Mare”.

• Anne was also not interested, for she was previously engaged to another and would not “give herself” to Henry.

• The marriage was never consummated and after just six months, Henry had it annulled.

Catherine Howard (1540-1542)

• While married to Anne Cleves, one of her Maid of Honors caught his eye, Catherine Howard.

• She was the cousin of Anne Boleyn.

• Just 16 days after his divorce, he married Catherine. He was 49, she was only around 15-17.

• They were an ill match from the start.

Catherine Howard (1540-1542)

• Catherine was young and vivacious, a “rose without a thorn” and Henry was becoming old, gaining weight, and worn down from worries that accompany a king.

• Despite being loved dearly and showered with expensive gifts, Catherine had an affair behind Henry’s back.

• When Henry heard of this, he had an investigation carried out which revealed many, many indiscretions by Catherine.

• When confronted, she admitted her guilt.• Henry had her executed by beheading. She

was not yet 18.

Katherine Parr (1543- 1547)

• At the advanced age of 52, Henry was in need of an affectionate companion rather than a sexual playmate.

• He chose Katherine Parr, who was well educated, of good birth and cheer.

• She served as a good step-mother to Mary, Elizabeth and Edward.

• King Henry died in 1547 and the Queen simply stepped out of the limelight.

Succession• By law, Henry’s only son Edward would take the

throne. At age 9, Edward was too young to exercise this right. Executors were placed to help him rule. However, at age 15, Edward died of tuberculosis.

• The crown then went to Mary, daughter of King Henry and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

• Mary would only rule for 5 years until her death at age 42 (possibly due to a hormone disorder).

• Having no heirs herself, the crown then went to Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn.

• Elizabeth would go on to become of the most dynamic rulers in England’s long history.

Six Wives of King Henry VIII

• An easy way to remember what happened to King Henry’s six wives:

• Divorced• Beheaded• Died• Divorced• Beheaded• Survived

Legacy• Though mainly motivated by dynastic

and personal concerns, Henry ensured that the greatest act of his reign would be one of the most radical and decisive of any English monarch.

• His break from the Roman Catholic Church was an act with enormous consequences.

• It made it possible for England to transform into a distinctive, powerful nation and seized economic and political power from the Church thus starting a Reformation of faith and ideals.

Fun Facts• Henry actually had another son out of

wedlock with Mary Boleyn, one of his mistresses and Anne’s sister.

• As many as 72,000 people were executed under his reign.

• He defeated and killed his brother-in-law, King James IV of Scotland at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513.

• Became so obese that his waist measured 54 inches!

• Rumored to have died from syphilis.• His dying words were supposedly "Monks,

Monks, Monks!"

THE ENDTHE END