King Henry VIII was born on June 28, 1491 in Greenwich Palace and was the third child of Henry Tudor VII and Elizabeth of York. Of Henry VIII’s six siblings, only three had survived infancy, Arthur (the Prince of Wales), Margaret, and Mary. Since he was the second son, and not expected to become king, Henry was being prepared for the church and there was little recorded of his childhood. What is known of Henry VIII’s chilhood is that he attended the wedding of Arthur and his wife, Katharine of Aragon, in November 1501 when he was 10 years old.
Henry was almost 18 years old when he became king, and had been preparing for it from the time of his older brother Arthur’s death. At this age, he was not the image that we usually think of when we hear or think the name Henry VIII. He was not the rude, overweight man of his later years in life. When he was young, he was handsome, tall, and athletic. He had a bright red cap of hair and beard, a far cry from the fat, balding and unhealthy man that he is often remembered as today.
Henry VIII is mostly known as the “most married king.” He had six marriages; Katharine of Aragon(formerly Henry’s late brother, Arthur’s, wife), Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Katharine Parr. His reason to marry so many times was mostly because of his desire to have a male heir to the throne. When his wives did not produce a son, he simply divorced them or executed them. Two of his six wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, were executed.
However, Henry had three children. While he was still legally married to Catherine of Aragon he married Anne Boleyn in secret on January 25, 1533 (his marriage to Catherine had to be annulled by a special act of Parliament on May 23 of the same year). Anne gave Henry a female child, Elizabeth I, but she did not give him the male heir he wanted, he had his marriage with her annulled, and had her executed on charges of adultery, and he married Jane Seymour. Jane Seymour gave Henry a male heir, but she died shortly after giving birth. The male heir was always ill, so Henry remarried, on the advice of his chancellor, Thomas Cromwell. His fourth wife was Anne of Cleves. Henry disliked her from the beginning of their marriage, and he had their marriage annulled after only a few short months. He then married Catherine Howard, a young cousin of Anne Boleyn, who also like Anne, was found guilty of adultery and treason and she was later executed. His last wife was Catherine Parr, a more mature woman, who had been married twice and widowed both times.
During his reign, from 1509 to 1547, he formed the Church of England after he was excommunicated by the Pope. He also was credited with significant and helpful contributions to the initial development of the English constitution.
Henry VIII was an important figure in the history of the English monarchy. Although in the first parts of his reign he suppressed the Reformation of the Anglican Church, he is more often known for his struggles with Rome. These struggles ultimately led to him separating the Anglican Church from Roman authority, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and establishing the English monarch as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Although some say he became a Protestant on his death-bed, he advocated Catholic ceremony and doctrine throughout his life; royal backing of the English Reformation was left to his heirs, Edward VI and Elizabeth I. Henry also oversaw the legal union of England and Wales.
Later in life, Henry became very overweight, and had to be moved with the help of mechanical inventions. His obesity was thought to have started after a jousting accident in 1536 in which he suffered a leg wound. This prevented him from exercising and it soon became ulcerated. It quickened his death to be at the age of 55 on January 28, 1547 in the Whitehall Palace. Which coincidentally was on what would have been his father’s 90th birthday. Henry VIII was buried in St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, next to his wife Jane Seymour.
After much conflict Elizabeth I became the Queen of England.