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11 | <title>King Henry VIII: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</title>
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18 | <table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="667">
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19 | <tr>
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20 | <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
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21 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="29"> </td>
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22 | <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
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24 | <tr>
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25 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
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26 | <td width="50%" height="3">
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27 | <p align="center">
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28 | <img SRC="henry8.gif" ALT="King Henry VIII" height=52 width=315></td>
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29 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
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30 | </tr>
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31 | <tr>
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32 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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33 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
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34 | <p align="center">
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35 | <img SRC="henry8main.jpg" ALT="portrait of King Henry VIII by an unknown artist" BORDER=2 height=348 width=250></p>
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36 | <p> <a href="henry8.html#One"><br></a>
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37 | View portraits of King Henry VIII at
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38 | <a href="http://www.marileecody.com/images.html">Tudor England: Images</a>.</p>
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39 | <p> <a href="henry8.html#One">A
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40 |
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41 | brief discussion of his personality and historical importance</a><br>
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42 | <a href="henry8.html#Two">Henry Tudor, duke of York: 1491-1502</a><br> <a href="henry8.html#Three">Heir
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43 |
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44 | apparent: 1502-1509</a><br> <a href="henry8.html#Four">1509-1526:
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45 |
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46 | Katharine of Aragon, Cardinal Wolsey & Princess Mary</a><br> <a href="henry8.html#Five">1526-1536:
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47 |
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48 | Anne Boleyn and the Henrician Reformation</a><br> <a href="henry8.html#Six">1536-1546:
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49 |
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50 | Four wives, Thomas Cromwell & foreign policy</a><br> <a href="henry8.html#Seven">Death
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51 |
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52 | and disorder: Henry's last months and a discussion of his illness</a></p>
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53 | <p>
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54 |
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55 | <a href="henry8.html#Eight">The
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56 |
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57 | English nobility during Henry's reign</a><br>
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58 |
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59 | <a href="henry8.html#Nine">Henry:
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60 | lapsed Catholic or Protestant reformer?</a></p>
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61 | <blockquote>
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62 | <p> <a href="../primary.html">Primary
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63 |
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64 | Sources</a></p>
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65 |
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66 | <p> <a href="henry8.html#Ten">Notable
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67 |
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68 | Dates and Events</a><br> <a href="henry8.html#Eleven">Bibliography
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69 |
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70 | and Further Reading</a><p> <b>Henry's wives:</b>
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71 | <a href="wives.html">The Six Wives of Henry VIII</a><br>
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72 | <br> <b>Henry's children:<br></b><a href="edward6.html">
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73 | King Edward VI</a><br>
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74 | <a href="mary1.html">Queen Mary I</a><a href="eliz1.html"><br>
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75 | Queen Elizabeth I</a></blockquote>
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76 | </td>
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77 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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78 | </tr>
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79 | </table>
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80 |
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81 | <blockquote>
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82 | <blockquote>
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83 |
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84 | <p><b>'My, you ought to seen old Henry the Eight when he was in bloom.
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85 |
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86 | He <i>was</i> a blossom. He used to marry a new wife every day, and
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87 |
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88 | chop off her head next morning. And he would do it just as indifferent
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89 |
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90 | as if he was ordering up eggs. 'Fetch up Nell Gwynn,' he says.
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91 |
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92 | They fetch her up. Next morning, 'Chop off her head!' And they
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93 |
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94 | chop it off. 'Fetch up Jane Shore,' he says; and up she comes.
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95 |
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96 | Next morning, 'Chop off her head' - and they chop it off. 'Ring up
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97 |
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98 | Fair Rosamun.' Fair Rosamun answers the bell. Next morning,
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99 |
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100 | 'Chop off her head.' And he made every one of them tell him a tale
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101 |
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102 | every night; and he kept that up till he had hogged a thousand and one
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103 |
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104 | tales that way, and then he put them all in a book, and called it Domesday
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105 |
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106 | Book - which was a good name and stated the case. You don't know
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107 |
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108 | kings, Jim, but I know them; and this old rip of ourn is one of the cleanest
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109 |
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110 | I've struck in history. Well, Henry he takes a notion he wants to
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111 |
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112 | get up some trouble with this country. How does he go at it - give
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113 |
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114 | notice? - give the country a show? No. All of a sudden he heaves
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115 |
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116 | all the tea in Boston Harbor overboard, and whacks out a declaration of
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117 |
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118 | independence, and dares them to come on. That was <i>his</i> style
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119 |
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120 | - he never give anybody a chance. He had suspicions of his father,
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121 |
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122 | the Duke of Wellington. Well, what did he do? - ask him to show up?
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123 |
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124 | No - drownded him in a butt of mamsey, like a cat. Spose people left
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125 |
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126 | money laying around where he was - what did he do? He collared it.
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127 |
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128 | Spose he contracted to do a thing; and you paid him, and didn't set down
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129 |
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130 | there and see that he done it - what did he do? He always done the
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131 |
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132 | other thing. Spose he opened his mouth - what then? If he didn't
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133 |
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134 | shut it up powerful quick, he'd lose a lie, every time. That's the
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135 |
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136 | kind of a bug Henry was....</b>
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137 |
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138 | <br><b>All I say is, kings is kings, and you got to make allowances.
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139 |
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140 | Take them all around, they're a mighty ornery lot. It's the way they're
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141 |
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142 | raised.'</b>
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143 |
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144 | <center>
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145 | <p><font size=-1>from Mark Twain's <i>Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</i></font></p>
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146 | <hr></center>
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147 |
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148 | </blockquote>
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149 | <p align="left"><a NAME="One"></a><font size=4>I have no fear but when you
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150 |
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151 | heard that our Prince, now Henry the Eighth, whom we may call our Octavius,
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152 |
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153 | had succeeded to his father's throne, all your melancholy left you at once.
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154 |
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155 | What may you not promise yourself from a Prince with whose extraordinary
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156 |
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157 | and almost Divine character you are acquainted? When you know what
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158 |
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159 | a hero he now shows himself, how wisely he behaves, what a lover he is
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160 |
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161 | of justice and goodness, what affection he bears to the learned I will
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162 |
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163 | venture to swear that you will need no wings to make you fly to behold
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164 |
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165 | this new and auspicious star. If you could see how all the world
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166 |
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167 | here is rejoicing in the possession of so great a Prince, how his life
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168 |
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169 | is all their desire, you could not contain your tears for joy. The
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170 |
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171 | heavens laugh, the earth exults, all things are full of milk, of honey,
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172 |
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173 | of nectar! Avarice is expelled the country. Liberality scatters
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174 |
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175 | wealth with bounteous hand. Our King does not desire gold or gems
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176 |
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177 | or precious metals, but virtue, glory, immortality. </font>
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178 | <font size=2><i>Lord Mountjoy to Erasmus</i>, 1509</font></p>
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179 | <blockquote>
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180 |
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181 | <center><hr></center>
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182 |
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183 | <p><b>A brief discussion of his personality and historical
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184 |
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185 | importance</b> </p>
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186 | <p> How can one adequately describe Henry's personality?
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187 |
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188 | Imagine yourself as Henry VIII, the second son suddenly yanked into the
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189 |
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190 | spotlight by your older brother's death. Sheltered and smothered by a father
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191 |
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192 | suddenly aware that he has just one heir left; handsome and intelligent
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193 |
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194 | and, by turns, both recklessly indulged and then denied. Any of us
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195 |
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196 | would have emerged as a mass of contradictions and frustrations.
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197 |
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198 | So Henry VIII, crowned king at the prime of his life, just eighteen years
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199 |
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200 | old and physically magnificent with more enthusiasm and energy than most
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201 |
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202 | of his contemporaries, became a conflicted and confused man. But
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203 |
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204 | it is a shame to let the last twenty years of his life color the interpretation
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205 |
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206 | of his entire life. One should not see him as simply an ogre king
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207 |
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208 | who beheaded two wives, divorced two others, and rejected another in one
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209 |
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210 | of the most humiliating ways possible.
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211 |
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212 | <br> His personality was quite amazing; his intelligence,
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213 |
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214 | learning, and curiosity impressed even the world-weary ambassadors who
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215 |
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216 | littered his court. His thirst for knowledge was insatiable, though
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217 |
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218 | it never became the near-mania that haunted Philip II. Henry VIII
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219 |
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220 | didn't spend his declining years surrounded by slips of paper detailing
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221 |
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222 | the most minute occurrences in his realm. But he did spend his entire
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223 |
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224 | reign reading dispatches, scribbling notations, meeting with diplomats
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225 |
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226 | and politicians. Very little occurred in England that escaped his
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227 |
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228 | attention; indeed, very little occurred in Europe that escaped Henry VIII.
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229 |
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230 | He prided himself on this and well he should; the Spanish ambassador reported
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231 |
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232 | that Henry knew of the fall of Cadiz before the Holy Roman Emperor.
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233 |
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234 | <br> He was usually genial company. He loved music
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235 |
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236 | and wrote his own. He enjoyed dancing and entertainment. He
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237 |
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238 | held countless banquets and tournaments. He enjoyed all physical
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239 |
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240 | activities and excelled at most of them. Hunting, archery, tennis,
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241 |
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242 | jousting - the king made his court into an endless round of competition
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243 |
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244 | and celebration. When he grew older, these former pleasures became
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245 |
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246 | torments; like most former athletes, Henry became fat as he aged and the
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247 |
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248 | once-loved pastimes became bitter reminders of the ravages of time.
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249 |
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250 | And he ruled over a country where almost half the population was 18 years
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251 |
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252 | old or younger! Youth was everywhere, staring the old king in his
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253 |
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254 | face. We can imagine the effects. Quite naturally, he sought
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255 |
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256 | reassurances - from women, his courtiers, his council. Affairs could
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257 |
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258 | distract him, but love affairs were never his grand passion. Despite
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259 |
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260 | his licentious reputation, Henry VIII was really a 16th century sexual
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261 |
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262 | prude; among his European contemporaries, he philandered the least.
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263 |
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264 | State affairs indulged his taste for war and glory; family affairs gnawed
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265 |
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266 | at his conscience and pride. But Henry VIII did not want distractions.
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267 |
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268 | He wanted a grand mission, a defining statement. In the end, he got
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269 |
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270 | his wish, though in the most improbable way possible.
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271 |
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272 | <br> He began life as a second son, destined for the
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273 |
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274 | church. It was the dream of Henry VII for his eldest son, Arthur,
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275 |
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276 | to be king and for his second son, Henry, to be the highest churchman in
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277 |
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278 | England. And so, for the first ten years of his life, Henry was a
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279 |
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280 | student of theology. And for the next thirty years of his life, he
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281 |
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282 | remained a dutiful son of the church. It is ironic, then, that his
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283 |
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284 | most significant historical achievement was the destruction of the Roman
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285 |
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286 | Catholic faith in England. The impact of the Henrician reformation
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287 |
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288 | forever altered the course of English history. Henry VIII, who had
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289 |
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290 | indulged in endless diplomatic squabbles and foreign wars, left no grand
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291 |
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292 | achievement beyond his own borders. Vast amounts of money were spent
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293 |
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294 | on these foreign entanglements - and many lives lost - but, in the end,
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295 |
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296 | nothing changed in the European balance of power. England, constantly
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297 |
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298 | pulled between the two great continental powers of France and the Holy
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299 |
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300 | Roman Empire, nearly bankrupted itself in an attempt to become respected
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301 |
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302 | and feared.
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303 |
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304 | <br> Why did Henry ultimately fail in those tasks normally
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305 |
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306 | reserved for monarchs? Ultimately, he was a victim of his times.
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307 |
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308 | The 16th century was a confusing mess of changing loyalties, betrayals,
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309 |
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310 | near-constant fighting, and most importantly, a rising skepticism of that
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311 |
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312 | great institution of the fading medieval world, the Roman Catholic church.
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313 |
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314 | With the advent of the printing press a century before, literacy and intellectual
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315 |
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316 | debate grew rapidly. The High Renaissance in Italy occurred during
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317 |
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318 | the first 20 years of Henry VIII's reign. It was a time of unparalleled
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319 |
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320 | scientific experiment, intellectual fervor, and spirited debate.
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321 |
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322 | In such a time, traditional views of kingship were bound to change for
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323 |
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324 | both the ruler and those he ruled.
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325 |
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326 | <br> (As evidence of this confusion, one need only remember
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327 |
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328 | that Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor crowned by the Pope, led the brutal
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329 |
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330 | sack of Rome in 1527. Charles, supposedly the anointed defender of
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331 |
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332 | the papacy, actually ordered his imperial army to loot, pillage, and kill
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333 |
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334 | their way through Rome and the Vatican. The pope ended up fleeing
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335 |
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336 | to relative safety in his nightshirt.)
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337 |
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338 | <br> While reading any biography of Henry VIII, one must
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339 |
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340 | remember the flavor of his times and judge him, if at all, by sixteenth-century
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341 |
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342 | standards. It's always amusing to read descriptions of Henry as the
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343 |
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344 | lustful tyrant torn between bedding and beheading innocent women; in truth,
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345 |
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346 | he blushed at dirty jokes and was more faithful than many 20th century
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347 |
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348 | husbands. He was married to Katharine of Aragon for over twenty years
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349 |
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350 | and had just a handful of mistresses. He waited years to physically
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351 |
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352 | consummate his relationship with Anne Boleyn, and despite being in the
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353 |
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354 | prime of his life, remained faithful to her until marriage. Was this
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355 |
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356 | sexual prudery a result of his early church training? Perhaps.
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357 |
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358 | Whatever the case, it was a hallmark of his life. Henry VIII was
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359 |
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360 | always an incurable romantic.
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361 |
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362 | <br> His personal and political decisions were always
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363 |
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364 | grandiose, melodramatic, and played for great effect. He loved pomp
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365 |
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366 | and pageantry, even as he loathed to deal with the consequences of his
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367 |
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368 | actions. Like his father, he was caught in the transition from medieval
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369 |
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370 | England to renaissance England. And like his father, he was well-versed
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371 |
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372 | in English history and desperate to continue the Tudor dynasty, to secure
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373 |
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374 | his claims to Ireland, Scotland, and France, to raise England to the status
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375 |
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376 | of its continental neighbors, and to expand his God-given right to rule
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377 |
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378 | all Englishmen. When reading about Henry's political and dynastic
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379 |
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380 | ambitions, one is always struck by the wide scope of his desires.
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381 |
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382 | Though most came to naught in the end, he actually planned invasions of
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383 |
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384 | France, plotted to join Charles V's invasion of Italy, and intended to
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385 |
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386 | seize the Scottish throne. The word 'ambitious' hardly does Great
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387 |
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388 | Harry justice.
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389 |
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390 | <br> His political ambitions failed and he bequeathed
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391 |
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392 | a woeful mess to his nine-year-old heir, Edward VI. His greatest
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393 |
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394 | achievement was a dubious one, and one for which he was often eager to
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395 |
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396 | distance himself - the Henrician reformation, the end of Roman Catholicism
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397 |
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398 | in England and the birth of the Anglican church. The king, for all
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399 |
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400 | his contradictions and failures, helped destroy the greatest institution
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401 |
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402 | in medieval Europe. Once Germany and England fell to the new heresy,
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403 |
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404 | its spread across Europe was inevitable and invincible.
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405 |
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406 | <br> In the biography of Henry at this site, I hope to
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407 |
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408 | capture both the king's personality and assess his importance to history.
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409 |
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410 | Henry VIII's reign was as tumultuous as the king himself. If nothing
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411 |
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412 | else, it makes for entertaining reading.</p>
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413 | <p>
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414 |
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415 | <font size=-2><a href="henry8.html#Top">TOP</a></font>
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416 |
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417 | <br>
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418 |
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419 | </p>
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420 |
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421 | <hr WIDTH="100%">
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422 |
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423 | <p>
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424 |
|
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425 | <br><a NAME="Two"></a><b>Henry Tudor, duke of York: 1491-1502</b> </p>
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426 | <p> The second Henry Tudor was born on 28 June 1491 at Greenwich
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427 |
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428 | Palace in London. He was the third child of the first Tudor monarch,
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429 |
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430 | Henry VII, and his wife, Elizabeth Plantagenet, daughter of the Yorkist
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431 |
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432 | king, Edward IV. At the time of her second son's birth, Queen Elizabeth
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433 |
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434 | was just 25 years old; her husband was 34, and had been king for almost
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435 |
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436 | six years. Those six years had been difficult ones. Henry's
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437 |
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438 | marriage to Elizabeth had helped amass Yorkist support for his rule, but
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439 |
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440 | the English people were hardly enthusiastic about Henry, even as they had
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441 |
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442 | been noticeably ambivalent about his predecessor, Elizabeth's uncle, Richard
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443 |
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444 | III. Elizabeth was popular with the common people; her young life
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445 |
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446 | had all the romance and tragedy necessary for sympathetic gossip and she
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447 |
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448 | was a classical fair beauty, possessing all the female virtues necessary
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449 |
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450 | for a queen. She was quiet, demure, and charming; she was also content
|
---|
451 |
|
---|
452 | to allow her formidable mother-in-law, Margaret Beaufort, assume a position
|
---|
453 |
|
---|
454 | of unprecedented influence over the king.
|
---|
455 |
|
---|
456 | <br>
|
---|
457 |
|
---|
458 | Elizabeth's emotional attachment to her husband has been much-debated.
|
---|
459 |
|
---|
460 | In truth, she had known all her<img SRC="h8two.jpg" ALT="sketch of Henry VIII as a toddler" BORDER=1 height=214 width=150 align=right> life that she would never marry a man of
|
---|
461 |
|
---|
462 | her own choice. In the end, her mother, Elizabeth Woodville, conspired
|
---|
463 |
|
---|
464 | with Margaret Beaufort for Elizabeth to marry Henry Tudor, exiled son of
|
---|
465 |
|
---|
466 | Henry VI's half-brother. Henry was, by all accounts, grateful for
|
---|
467 |
|
---|
468 | the match. He appreciated its political implications. He also
|
---|
469 |
|
---|
470 | respected his new queen and was faithful to his marriage vows, an unusual
|
---|
471 |
|
---|
472 | trait in a king. Upon her marriage, Elizabeth entered a semi-retirement
|
---|
473 |
|
---|
474 | - she was queen and her duty was to produce as many heirs as possible.
|
---|
475 |
|
---|
476 | 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
|
---|
477 |
|
---|
478 | Elizabeth had wed on 18 January 1486 at Westminster Abbey in London; Prince
|
---|
479 |
|
---|
480 | Arthur was born 20 September 1486. Three years later, Elizabeth gave
|
---|
481 |
|
---|
482 | birth to their second child, a princess called Margaret after Henry VII's
|
---|
483 |
|
---|
484 | mother. She was born on 28 November 1489 at Westminster Palace in
|
---|
485 |
|
---|
486 | London. For the new king, the birth of a healthy second child, and
|
---|
487 |
|
---|
488 | his wife's rapid recovery, were good omens. Even as he attempted
|
---|
489 |
|
---|
490 | to enforce his rule in the always troublesome northern England which had
|
---|
491 |
|
---|
492 | been Richard III's base of support, Henry VII could rest assured that his
|
---|
493 |
|
---|
494 | dynasty was becoming secure. But it was only on 28 June 1491, when
|
---|
495 |
|
---|
496 | another healthy prince was born, this time at Greenwich Palace, that Henry
|
---|
497 |
|
---|
498 | VII could breathe a sigh of relief. This second son was a necessary
|
---|
499 |
|
---|
500 | insurance policy for the new Tudor dynasty. Childhood mortality was
|
---|
501 |
|
---|
502 | high and diseases such as small pox, the sweating sickness, and the plague
|
---|
503 |
|
---|
504 | were rife throughout England. A king needed as many healthy heirs
|
---|
505 |
|
---|
506 | as possible, and the birth of a second son was an occasion for celebration.
|
---|
507 |
|
---|
508 | <br> On 27 February 1490, Prince Arthur was titled prince
|
---|
509 |
|
---|
510 | of Wales at Westminster Palace in London; this was the real beginning of
|
---|
511 |
|
---|
512 | a tradition that continues to this day. And in 1494, Arthur's baby
|
---|
513 |
|
---|
514 | brother was titled duke of York, the traditional title of the king's brother.
|
---|
515 |
|
---|
516 | At this early age, all we know of Prince Henry was that he was considered
|
---|
517 |
|
---|
518 | a handsome and precocious toddler, but one would expect such descriptions
|
---|
519 |
|
---|
520 | of the king's son. He did not share his brother's fair coloring or
|
---|
521 |
|
---|
522 | slight build. Prince Henry was a sturdy, strawberry-blond boy noted
|
---|
523 |
|
---|
524 | for his energy and temper. Just a year after his birth, his mother
|
---|
525 |
|
---|
526 | bore another daughter; this child was called Elizabeth and she died three
|
---|
527 |
|
---|
528 | years later. It was the first in a series of tragedies for the young
|
---|
529 |
|
---|
530 | queen. She and Henry VII were considered good and affectionate parents,
|
---|
531 |
|
---|
532 | but they never lost sight of the political importance of their children.
|
---|
533 |
|
---|
534 | Together they decided that Prince Henry, like most second sons, was destined
|
---|
535 |
|
---|
536 | for the church, and his early schooling was planned accordingly.
|
---|
537 |
|
---|
538 | This strong emphasis upon theology and its esoteric debates remained with
|
---|
539 |
|
---|
540 | Henry for the rest of his life and made him feel uniquely qualified to
|
---|
541 |
|
---|
542 | interpret religious law during the 1520s.</p>
|
---|
543 | <p>
|
---|
544 |
|
---|
545 | <font size=-2><a href="henry8.html#Top">TOP</a></font>
|
---|
546 |
|
---|
547 | <br>
|
---|
548 |
|
---|
549 | </p>
|
---|
550 |
|
---|
551 | <hr WIDTH="100%">
|
---|
552 |
|
---|
553 | <p>
|
---|
554 |
|
---|
555 | <br><a NAME="Three"></a><b>Heir apparent: 1502-1509</b> </p>
|
---|
556 | <p> Henry's position as the second son lasted only until 2 April
|
---|
557 |
|
---|
558 | 1502, just a few months before his eleventh birthday. It was on that
|
---|
559 |
|
---|
560 | day that his brother Arthur died at Ludlow Castle, the government seat
|
---|
561 |
|
---|
562 | of the prince of Wales. The insecurity of the Tudor succession was
|
---|
563 |
|
---|
564 | suddenly unavoidable. Elizabeth of York, despite repeated pregnancies,
|
---|
565 |
|
---|
566 | had not borne another healthy son; after Henry's birth, there was just
|
---|
567 |
|
---|
568 | one more male child - a son called Edmund, born in 1499 and dead just a
|
---|
569 |
|
---|
570 | year later. The queen did become pregnant shortly after Arthur's
|
---|
571 |
|
---|
572 | death but this eighth pregnancy proved to be her last. The child,
|
---|
573 |
|
---|
574 | called Katherine, was born and died on 2 February 1503. Elizabeth
|
---|
575 |
|
---|
576 | contracted an infection and died a few days later, on 11 February, her
|
---|
577 |
|
---|
578 | thirty-seventh birthday. So in the short space of a year, Henry lost
|
---|
579 |
|
---|
580 | both his older brother and mother. But the effects of these losses
|
---|
581 |
|
---|
582 | was felt even more keenly by Henry VII. His reign had proved to be
|
---|
583 |
|
---|
584 | neither peaceful or happy. He was beset by worries - constant diplomatic
|
---|
585 |
|
---|
586 | maneuvering, subjects who mocked him as a cold-hearted, tax-hungry miser,
|
---|
587 |
|
---|
588 | and now he had lost his son and wife.
|
---|
589 |
|
---|
590 | <br> Arthur's death was more than a personal tragedy;
|
---|
591 |
|
---|
592 | it was a political tragedy as well. The young prince had been married
|
---|
593 |
|
---|
594 | to <a href="aragon.html">Princess
|
---|
595 |
|
---|
596 | Katharine of Aragon</a> on 14 November 1501 at St.Paul's Cathedral, London.
|
---|
597 |
|
---|
598 | The daughter of the 'Catholic Kings' of Spain, Ferdinand of Aragon and
|
---|
599 |
|
---|
600 | Isabella of Castile, Katharine's marriage to the Tudor heir had marked
|
---|
601 |
|
---|
602 | the high point of Henry VII's foreign diplomacy. His grip on the
|
---|
603 |
|
---|
604 | English throne had long been considered both illegitimate and untenable
|
---|
605 |
|
---|
606 | by most European powers, except in cases where it suited their interests
|
---|
607 |
|
---|
608 | to pretend otherwise. But a bond of marriage between the house of
|
---|
609 |
|
---|
610 | Tudor and the ruling dynasty of Spain gave Henry's rule a stamp of approval.
|
---|
611 |
|
---|
612 | He was now allied with one of the most powerful ruling families in Europe.
|
---|
613 |
|
---|
614 | Prince Henry met his sister-in-law and future wife on this momentous occasion,
|
---|
615 |
|
---|
616 | heading the procession that led her to the cathedral. Later, he officially
|
---|
617 |
|
---|
618 | introduced her to the citizens of London.
|
---|
619 |
|
---|
620 | <br> With Arthur's death, his teenage wife was trapped
|
---|
621 |
|
---|
622 | in England while Henry VII squabbled with her father over the remaining
|
---|
623 |
|
---|
624 | payments on her dowry. Henry VII was perhaps even then mulling over
|
---|
625 |
|
---|
626 | the idea of not letting the all-important Spanish alliance go to waste.
|
---|
627 |
|
---|
628 | Soon enough he was openly proposing that Katharine marry young Prince Henry,
|
---|
629 |
|
---|
630 | now the heir apparent and five years her junior. What did young Prince
|
---|
631 |
|
---|
632 | Henry know of these plans? Probably very little. After Arthur's
|
---|
633 |
|
---|
634 | death, Henry VII became somewhat paranoid and tried desperately to protect
|
---|
635 |
|
---|
636 | his only son from any injury or illness. People who wished to visit
|
---|
637 |
|
---|
638 | the young prince had to receive permission from Henry VII, and this remained
|
---|
639 |
|
---|
640 | the case well into the boy's adolescence. Such strict rules may have
|
---|
641 |
|
---|
642 | irked the heir but they did not interfere with his continuing education.
|
---|
643 |
|
---|
644 | While his older brother was in Wales learning the intricacies of government,
|
---|
645 |
|
---|
646 | Henry received a primarily classical education, mastering Latin and French
|
---|
647 |
|
---|
648 | and becoming an excellent and exuberant athlete. Contemporary sources
|
---|
649 |
|
---|
650 | make it clear that he was a happy child, fond of sports and spectacle,
|
---|
651 |
|
---|
652 | and equally proud of his intellectual accomplishments. In short,
|
---|
653 |
|
---|
654 | he possessed all the personality and charm his father noticeably lacked.
|
---|
655 |
|
---|
656 | Both his physical appearance and character were similar to those of his
|
---|
657 |
|
---|
658 | Plantagenet grandfather Edward IV. This fact was much remarked upon
|
---|
659 |
|
---|
660 | by those Englishmen who had lived through the last years of the Wars of
|
---|
661 |
|
---|
662 | the Roses.
|
---|
663 |
|
---|
664 | <br> Luckily for Prince Henry, his father spent the last
|
---|
665 |
|
---|
666 | years of his reign establishing good relationships with other monarchs
|
---|
667 |
|
---|
668 | and avoiding expensive war; also, his fondness for extorting money from
|
---|
669 |
|
---|
670 | an unwilling populace never wavered. He left his son a king's greatest
|
---|
671 |
|
---|
672 | gift - a healthy treasury. Ironically, one of Henry VIII's first
|
---|
673 |
|
---|
674 | acts as king was to execute his father's most productive, and hence most
|
---|
675 |
|
---|
676 | notorious, tax collectors. But Henry VII never really decided whether
|
---|
677 |
|
---|
678 | he wanted to marry Prince Henry to Katharine of Aragon. He kept the
|
---|
679 |
|
---|
680 | young princess in England for seven years while he toyed with the idea.
|
---|
681 |
|
---|
682 | Her living conditions steadily deteriorated; she was miserably unhappy,
|
---|
683 |
|
---|
684 | many of her Spanish attendants were sent home, she lacked money for even
|
---|
685 |
|
---|
686 | basic necessities. Food and adequate clothing were constant concerns.
|
---|
687 |
|
---|
688 | She struggled to bear her hardships with the serene and regal dignity that
|
---|
689 |
|
---|
690 | was ingrained in her character as a princess of Spain, and such calm in
|
---|
691 |
|
---|
692 | the face of deprivation impressed young Prince Henry. It is certainly
|
---|
693 |
|
---|
694 | true that even years later, in the midst of an acrimonious separation,
|
---|
695 |
|
---|
696 | he never lost his respect for Katharine. This respect was always
|
---|
697 |
|
---|
698 | tinged with a bit of fear. He was keenly aware of her great ancestry
|
---|
699 |
|
---|
700 | and extensive education, her self-deprecating wit and complete mastery
|
---|
701 |
|
---|
702 | of all feminine tasks. Even as queen of England, she took particular
|
---|
703 |
|
---|
704 | pride in sewing and mending Henry's shirts.
|
---|
705 |
|
---|
706 | <br>
|
---|
707 |
|
---|
708 | They had little contact during the later years of Henry VII's reign, only
|
---|
709 |
|
---|
710 | meeting occasionally at formal<img SRC="henry8-cr.jpg" ALT="portrait of Henry VIII, c1509" BORDER=1 height=194 width=125 align=right> events. Henry was formally promised
|
---|
711 |
|
---|
712 | in marriage to Katharine on 23 June 1503; the treaty stated that he would
|
---|
713 |
|
---|
714 | marry Katharine on his fifteenth birthday, 28 June 1505, and that her parents
|
---|
715 |
|
---|
716 | send over 100,000 crowns worth of plate and jewels in addition to the dowry
|
---|
717 |
|
---|
718 | she had given when married to Prince Arthur. Henry VII was a stickler
|
---|
719 |
|
---|
720 | on the dowry issue, refusing to allow the marriage to be solemnized, much
|
---|
721 |
|
---|
722 | less celebrated and consummated, until the money arrived. But the
|
---|
723 |
|
---|
724 | Spaniards were as loathe to part with money as Henry. So 1505 came
|
---|
725 |
|
---|
726 | and went with no marriage though Prince Henry referred in letters to Katharine
|
---|
727 |
|
---|
728 | as his 'most dear and well-beloved consort, the princess my wife'.
|
---|
729 |
|
---|
730 | But his father was still king, and his father refused to allow the marriage.
|
---|
731 |
|
---|
732 | To strengthen his bargaining power with the Spaniards, he had Prince Henry
|
---|
733 |
|
---|
734 | make a formal protest to Richard Fox, the bishop of Winchester, disowning
|
---|
735 |
|
---|
736 | the marriage contract. Both parties prevaricated - until 1509, when
|
---|
737 |
|
---|
738 | Henry VII suddenly died at the age of 52, and his headstrong son, chafing
|
---|
739 |
|
---|
740 | at his father's authority, was free to make his own decisions. To
|
---|
741 |
|
---|
742 | the surprise of all, including the Spaniards, he promptly announced he
|
---|
743 |
|
---|
744 | would marry Katharine and crown her queen of England.
|
---|
745 |
|
---|
746 | <br> After years of being shut away from the world, he
|
---|
747 |
|
---|
748 | was now king. All of the boundless energy and enthusiasm of his character
|
---|
749 |
|
---|
750 | was unleashed. Perhaps out of chivalry, or adolescent affection,
|
---|
751 |
|
---|
752 | or, as he later claimed, out of respect for his father's wishes, he wed
|
---|
753 |
|
---|
754 | his late brother's wife. In light of future events, it is worth noting
|
---|
755 |
|
---|
756 | that the dowry had not been the only sticking-point in the marriage plans
|
---|
757 |
|
---|
758 | - there was the not insignificant fact that Katharine had been married
|
---|
759 |
|
---|
760 | to Henry's brother, and her marriage to Henry would be regarded as incestuous
|
---|
761 |
|
---|
762 | and unacceptable to the church. As Henry VIII would later argue,
|
---|
763 |
|
---|
764 | <i>Leviticus</i>
|
---|
765 |
|
---|
766 | clearly stated that a man was forbidden to marry his brother's widow.
|
---|
767 |
|
---|
768 | For her part, Katharine claimed, and her duenna, Dona Elvira, agreed, that
|
---|
769 |
|
---|
770 | her marriage to Arthur had never been consummated. The young prince
|
---|
771 |
|
---|
772 | of Wales had been suffering from consumption for months, even before the
|
---|
773 |
|
---|
774 | wedding, and their wedding night had passed uneventfully. If this
|
---|
775 |
|
---|
776 | was true, and it seems to have been (until it was in Henry VIII's interests
|
---|
777 |
|
---|
778 | for it not to be), there was no barrier to her union with Henry.
|
---|
779 |
|
---|
780 | Both the English and Spanish courts sought the requisite papal dispensation.
|
---|
781 |
|
---|
782 | It was granted and the path to marriage was clear.</p>
|
---|
783 | <p>
|
---|
784 |
|
---|
785 | <font size=-2><a href="henry8.html#Top">TOP</a></font>
|
---|
786 |
|
---|
787 | <br>
|
---|
788 |
|
---|
789 | </p>
|
---|
790 |
|
---|
791 | <hr WIDTH="100%">
|
---|
792 |
|
---|
793 | </blockquote>
|
---|
794 | <p><font size=4>His Majesty is the handsomest potentate I ever
|
---|
795 |
|
---|
796 | set eyes on; above the usual height, with an extremely fine calf to his
|
---|
797 |
|
---|
798 | leg, his complexion very fair and bright, auburn hair combed straight and
|
---|
799 |
|
---|
800 | short, in the French fashion, and a round face so very beautiful that it
|
---|
801 |
|
---|
802 | would become a pretty woman, his throat being rather long and thick....
|
---|
803 |
|
---|
804 | He will enter his twenty-fifth year the month after next. He speaks
|
---|
805 |
|
---|
806 | French, English and Latin, and a little Italian, plays well on the lute
|
---|
807 |
|
---|
808 | and harpsichord, sings from book at sight, draws the bow with greater strength
|
---|
809 |
|
---|
810 | than any man in England and jousts marvelously.... a most accomplished
|
---|
811 |
|
---|
812 | Prince.</font><i><font size=4> </font><font size=-1>the Venetian diplomat Pasqualigo in a dispatch</font></i><font size=-1>, 1515</font></p>
|
---|
813 | <blockquote>
|
---|
814 | <hr>
|
---|
815 | <p><a NAME="Four"></a><b>1509-1526: Katharine of Aragon, Cardinal Wolsey
|
---|
816 |
|
---|
817 | and Princess Mary</b> </p>
|
---|
818 |
|
---|
819 | <p> Henry was crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey on 23 June 1509.
|
---|
820 |
|
---|
821 | He had married Katharine on 11 June at Grey Friars Church in Greenwich
|
---|
822 |
|
---|
823 | and she shared his coronation. It was a splendid event and continued
|
---|
824 |
|
---|
825 | throughout midsummer with much celebration and spectacle. There is
|
---|
826 |
|
---|
827 | an account of the coronation at the <a href="../primary.html">Primary
|
---|
828 |
|
---|
829 | Sources</a> section. It was soon clear that the young king, who turned
|
---|
830 |
|
---|
831 | 18 just a few days after his coronation, had little interest in the day-to-day
|
---|
832 |
|
---|
833 | business of government. While it is true that Henry was a vocal participant
|
---|
834 |
|
---|
835 | at council meetings, the early years of his reign were devoted more to
|
---|
836 |
|
---|
837 | enjoyment than the drudgery of administration. He was content to
|
---|
838 |
|
---|
839 | allow trusted nobles and ecclesiastics to rule in his name - William Warham,
|
---|
840 |
|
---|
841 | archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Howard, earl of Surrey and later 2d duke
|
---|
842 |
|
---|
843 | of Norfolk, Bishop Richard Foxe, and, beginning around 1514, <a href="../citizens/wolsey.html">Thomas
|
---|
844 |
|
---|
845 | Wolsey</a>.<br> As mentioned earlier, one of the first acts of Henry's
|
---|
846 |
|
---|
847 | reign was a particularly brutal one, especially designed to benefit his
|
---|
848 |
|
---|
849 | popularity. He ordered the executions of his father's most productive
|
---|
850 |
|
---|
851 | and hated tax collectors, Edmund Dudley and Sir Richard Empson. It
|
---|
852 |
|
---|
853 | was a bloody beginning for his reign and a taste of things to come.
|
---|
854 |
|
---|
855 | Certainly it pleased the English people for most tax collectors were hated,
|
---|
856 |
|
---|
857 | and Dudley and Empson had been particularly ruthless. But their efficiency
|
---|
858 |
|
---|
859 | had the complete support of King Henry VII, whose orders they followed.
|
---|
860 |
|
---|
861 | A problem had emerged for the new king - how could he execute the tax collectors
|
---|
862 |
|
---|
863 | when their only crime was to obey their king? He resorted, for the
|
---|
864 |
|
---|
865 | first but not the last time, to judicial murder, charging the men with
|
---|
866 |
|
---|
867 | 'constructive treason'. It was a wholly fictitious charge which no
|
---|
868 |
|
---|
869 | one fully understood, even those at the trial. This cold-blooded
|
---|
870 |
|
---|
871 | act pleased the people and demonstrated Henry's desire for popular approval.
|
---|
872 |
|
---|
873 | But it also revealed a ruthlessness to his character that grew more pronounced
|
---|
874 |
|
---|
875 | as the years passed. Many historians argue that Henry grew tyrannical
|
---|
876 |
|
---|
877 | only after Katharine of Aragon failed to provide an heir but the evidence
|
---|
878 |
|
---|
879 | proves otherwise. If someone could not be legally executed, the king
|
---|
880 |
|
---|
881 | simply invented a new charge. For example, in 1513, before leaving
|
---|
882 |
|
---|
883 | for war in France, he executed Edmund de la Pole, his Plantagenet cousin
|
---|
884 |
|
---|
885 | held prisoner in the Tower since Henry VII's reign. A benign spirit,
|
---|
886 |
|
---|
887 | locked away for most of his life, Edmund was no threat to anyone.
|
---|
888 |
|
---|
889 | But Henry executed him to remind his subjects that, though he would be
|
---|
890 |
|
---|
891 | in France, any challenge to his authority would be met with grave displeasure.
|
---|
892 |
|
---|
893 | <br> His marriage to Katharine was very happy, at least
|
---|
894 |
|
---|
895 | during these early years. She had a more reserved character than
|
---|
896 |
|
---|
897 | her husband and blushed at his ribald jests, but she entered into the spirit
|
---|
898 |
|
---|
899 | of frivolity which pervaded their court. There was dancing and music,
|
---|
900 |
|
---|
901 | for Henry was a splendid dancer and musician; he composed songs and wrote
|
---|
902 |
|
---|
903 | poetry, most of which has survived and is quite lovely. He also enjoyed
|
---|
904 |
|
---|
905 | hunting, sometimes tiring ten horses during a single hunt, and jousting;
|
---|
906 |
|
---|
907 | by all accounts, he was the greatest athlete at the court. And he
|
---|
908 |
|
---|
909 | was a dedicated and affectionate husband. Everything he built was
|
---|
910 |
|
---|
911 | decorated with an intertwined H and K, and Katharine's pomegranates were
|
---|
912 |
|
---|
913 | carved next to Tudor roses. He called himself the 'Knight of the
|
---|
914 |
|
---|
915 | Loyal Heart' and bowed before his queen after each grueling tournament.
|
---|
916 |
|
---|
917 | He also involved Katharine in the seemingly endless visits of foreign dignitaries,
|
---|
918 |
|
---|
919 | inviting the ambassadors to her apartments and openly seeking her advice
|
---|
920 |
|
---|
921 | and opinion. It was clear that they loved and respected one another,
|
---|
922 |
|
---|
923 | and those early years made his eventual disinterest all the more painful
|
---|
924 |
|
---|
925 | for the queen to bear.
|
---|
926 |
|
---|
927 | <br>
|
---|
928 |
|
---|
929 | Katharine bore their first child on 31 January 1510, just six months after
|
---|
930 |
|
---|
931 | their coronation. It was a girl, born too early to survive.
|
---|
932 |
|
---|
933 | The next birth, on 1 January 1511, was a far happier occasion. It
|
---|
934 |
|
---|
935 | was a boy, called Henry after his father and titled duke of Cornwall.
|
---|
936 |
|
---|
937 | The delighted father planned celebrations to rival his<img SRC="aragon-min.jpg" ALT="portrait of Katharine of Aragon, c1525 by Horenbout" height=168 width=166 align=right> coronation.
|
---|
938 |
|
---|
939 | The boy was apparently healthy yet died about two months later. The
|
---|
940 |
|
---|
941 | cause was unknown, but it was an age of high infant mortality. The
|
---|
942 |
|
---|
943 | young parents were devastated. Henry consoled himself by waging war
|
---|
944 |
|
---|
945 | against France, courtesy of his father-in-law Ferdinand of Aragon, and
|
---|
946 |
|
---|
947 | Katharine's fierce piety led her to kneel for hours on cold stone floors
|
---|
948 |
|
---|
949 | in prayer. But Henry's attempts to gain glory on the battlefield
|
---|
950 |
|
---|
951 | were misplaced. In June 1512, the marquess of Dorset sailed out of
|
---|
952 |
|
---|
953 | Southampton, bound for Gascony with 12,000 troops. They reached the
|
---|
954 |
|
---|
955 | port of Fuentarrabia, where they were to join the Spanish and attack Bayonne.
|
---|
956 |
|
---|
957 | But the Spanish troops never arrived. Ferdinand, without consulting
|
---|
958 |
|
---|
959 | his son-in-law, attacked and seized Navarre instead and then declared the
|
---|
960 |
|
---|
961 | 'Holy War' over. He had essentially used Henry's troops as bait;
|
---|
962 |
|
---|
963 | when the French went off to fight the English, Ferdinand seized his chance
|
---|
964 |
|
---|
965 | and attacked Navarre. To top off his treachery, he also openly criticized
|
---|
966 |
|
---|
967 | the English soldiers who, without receiving his permission, had sailed
|
---|
968 |
|
---|
969 | home after waiting four months at Fuentarrabia. Henry was too embarrassed
|
---|
970 |
|
---|
971 | by his soldiers' mutiny to call his father-in-law's bluff.
|
---|
972 |
|
---|
973 | <br> Desperate to erase the memory of that military blunder,
|
---|
974 |
|
---|
975 | he planned a grand campaign for the spring of 1513. His ambassadors
|
---|
976 |
|
---|
977 | even secured the support of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian. He
|
---|
978 |
|
---|
979 | joined the 'Holy Alliance' of England and Spain to attack France.
|
---|
980 |
|
---|
981 | But once again Ferdinand's self-interest ruled the day. He went behind
|
---|
982 |
|
---|
983 | his allies' backs to make a secret truce with Louis XII of France, and
|
---|
984 |
|
---|
985 | so he kept Navarre peacefully. This happened in March 1513 and suitably
|
---|
986 |
|
---|
987 | angered Henry. But the English king had learned a lesson from his
|
---|
988 |
|
---|
989 | previous blunder. His forces were launched from England's only possession
|
---|
990 |
|
---|
991 | on the continent, Calais in northern France. The Spanish would not
|
---|
992 |
|
---|
993 | be involved. On 1 August 1513, about a month after he left England,
|
---|
994 |
|
---|
995 | Henry besieged the town of Therouanne. Two centuries before, Edward
|
---|
996 |
|
---|
997 | III had seized that city after the great battle of Crecy. With Maximilian
|
---|
998 |
|
---|
999 | by his side (actually as his subordinate; he allowed Henry command of his
|
---|
1000 |
|
---|
1001 | troops in exchange for paying their salaries), Henry won a victory within
|
---|
1002 |
|
---|
1003 | a fortnight. The capture of a duke, marquis, and vice-admiral fleeing
|
---|
1004 |
|
---|
1005 | the scene helped raise substantial ransoms. He gave the town to Maximilian
|
---|
1006 |
|
---|
1007 | as a gift and the emperor ordered it razed to the ground. Their next
|
---|
1008 |
|
---|
1009 | battle was one month later at Tournai. It surrendered after eight
|
---|
1010 |
|
---|
1011 | days and Henry decided it would become another English stronghold within
|
---|
1012 |
|
---|
1013 | France.
|
---|
1014 |
|
---|
1015 | <br> He had left Katharine in charge at home, officially
|
---|
1016 |
|
---|
1017 | titled Governor of the Realm and Captain-General of the Armed Forces, an
|
---|
1018 |
|
---|
1019 | honor never allowed his other wives. She had been resoundingly successful.
|
---|
1020 |
|
---|
1021 | France and Scotland had an 'Auld Alliance' against England, and James
|
---|
1022 |
|
---|
1023 | IV of Scotland, married to Henry's sister Margaret Tudor, had responded
|
---|
1024 |
|
---|
1025 | to English aggression against his ally. He led his armies into northern
|
---|
1026 |
|
---|
1027 | England. Thomas Howard, the earl of Surrey, took the few English
|
---|
1028 |
|
---|
1029 | troops left in the nation to meet him. The armies clashed at Flodden
|
---|
1030 |
|
---|
1031 | Edge, between Berwick and the Cheviots. Three hours of fighting ended
|
---|
1032 |
|
---|
1033 | the Scottish threat. The evening of 9 September 1513 saw over 10,000
|
---|
1034 |
|
---|
1035 | Scots dead, including most of their aristocracy. James IV himself
|
---|
1036 |
|
---|
1037 | was killed. Had Henry's attention been focused on his own country,
|
---|
1038 |
|
---|
1039 | he could have seized a golden opportunity - with James dead and the high
|
---|
1040 |
|
---|
1041 | nobility of Scotland destroyed, he could have marched into Edinburgh and
|
---|
1042 |
|
---|
1043 | seized his sister Margaret and her infant son, now King James V.
|
---|
1044 |
|
---|
1045 | But instead he remained enthralled with dreams of European conquest, perhaps
|
---|
1046 |
|
---|
1047 | comparing himself to his hero, Henry V. And these dreams were encouraged
|
---|
1048 |
|
---|
1049 | by news that the Pope had, in secret, promised to recognize Henry as king
|
---|
1050 |
|
---|
1051 | of France if he could physically seize possession of the country.
|
---|
1052 |
|
---|
1053 | This generous offer had been inspired by French meddling in papal affairs.
|
---|
1054 |
|
---|
1055 | <br> During this triumphant time, Katharine lost another
|
---|
1056 |
|
---|
1057 | child. In November 1513, another prince, also called Henry, duke
|
---|
1058 |
|
---|
1059 | of Cornwall, was born and soon died. It was the third miscarriage
|
---|
1060 |
|
---|
1061 | in as many years. Was Henry worried? He was still young, as
|
---|
1062 |
|
---|
1063 | was Katharine, and had been king for just five years. He was naturally
|
---|
1064 |
|
---|
1065 | optimistic, though undoubtedly disappointed. Once again, the queen
|
---|
1066 |
|
---|
1067 | was on her knees in prayer. Perhaps she felt the losses more keenly.
|
---|
1068 |
|
---|
1069 | In letters to her father, she blamed herself. She clearly saw the
|
---|
1070 |
|
---|
1071 | dead children as a reproof of some sort, a failure to fulfill the most
|
---|
1072 |
|
---|
1073 | basic feminine role. But she was able to send Henry the bloody coat
|
---|
1074 |
|
---|
1075 | of the Scottish king; it may have been some consolation.
|
---|
1076 |
|
---|
1077 | <br> Still, in 1514, as <a href="../citizens/wolsey.html">Cardinal
|
---|
1078 |
|
---|
1079 | Thomas Wolsey</a> extended his control of government, Katharine had reason
|
---|
1080 |
|
---|
1081 | to become wary. The golden happiness of the first years with Henry
|
---|
1082 |
|
---|
1083 | was wearing thin. Her father had betrayed her husband openly and
|
---|
1084 |
|
---|
1085 | scornfully, treating them both as little more than foolish children.
|
---|
1086 |
|
---|
1087 | She had been her father's best ambassador, heedlessly pressing his claims
|
---|
1088 |
|
---|
1089 | upon Henry, using the natural affection between husband and wife to urge
|
---|
1090 |
|
---|
1091 | alliances with Spain. She felt the sting of her father's betrayals.
|
---|
1092 |
|
---|
1093 | He had lied to her, misled her, and tricked her into betraying her husband.
|
---|
1094 |
|
---|
1095 | It was clear that her primary loyalty must be to Henry and the English
|
---|
1096 |
|
---|
1097 | people; she would never trust Ferdinand again. In 1514, the king
|
---|
1098 |
|
---|
1099 | returned home and his councilors told him that Henry VII's great treasury
|
---|
1100 |
|
---|
1101 | was fast running low. War with France was too costly to continue.
|
---|
1102 |
|
---|
1103 | Henry had seized Tournai and made the competent Thomas Wolsey its bishop,
|
---|
1104 |
|
---|
1105 | but more extensive campaigning was out of the question. In this,
|
---|
1106 |
|
---|
1107 | the king surprisingly agreed. He had won his share of glory - at
|
---|
1108 |
|
---|
1109 | least for now - and it would be enough. And Ferdinand's betrayal
|
---|
1110 |
|
---|
1111 | had been met with a suitable reply. Henry's younger sister
|
---|
1112 |
|
---|
1113 | <a href="../relative/brandon.html">Mary</a>,
|
---|
1114 |
|
---|
1115 | the most beautiful of the Tudor children, had been betrothed to Ferdinand's
|
---|
1116 |
|
---|
1117 | nephew, the duke of Burgundy, but now Henry made peace with France and
|
---|
1118 |
|
---|
1119 | promised Mary to Louis XII, three times her age and suffering from gout.
|
---|
1120 |
|
---|
1121 | <br> Henry's
|
---|
1122 |
|
---|
1123 | new desire for peace with France, England's traditional enemy, was encouraged
|
---|
1124 |
|
---|
1125 | by Spanish duplicity. But it<img SRC="wolsey-cr.jpg" ALT="portrait of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey" height=234 width=150 align=right> was also due to the growing influence
|
---|
1126 |
|
---|
1127 | of Wolsey. Derisively called 'Master Almoner' by those jealous of
|
---|
1128 |
|
---|
1129 | his influence, Wolsey came from a humble background and, like most talented
|
---|
1130 |
|
---|
1131 | and ambitious men from poor families, he used the church to advance in
|
---|
1132 |
|
---|
1133 | society. He attended Oxford and showed such promise that he was made
|
---|
1134 |
|
---|
1135 | bursar of Magdalen College and then chaplain to Archbishop Deane.
|
---|
1136 |
|
---|
1137 | In 1507, in his thirties and now well-connected, he became chaplain to
|
---|
1138 |
|
---|
1139 | Henry VII. Upon Henry VIII's accession, Wolsey received a seat on
|
---|
1140 |
|
---|
1141 | the council and was made king's almoner. This position allowed him
|
---|
1142 |
|
---|
1143 | personal contact with the young, impressionable monarch. He accompanied
|
---|
1144 |
|
---|
1145 | Henry to France during the successful campaigns of 1513, where he was made
|
---|
1146 |
|
---|
1147 | bishop of Tournai, and their close relationship grew stronger. Henry
|
---|
1148 |
|
---|
1149 | appreciated Wolsey's dedication to administrative detail and hard work.
|
---|
1150 |
|
---|
1151 | And both Warham and Fox, the two senior councilors Henry inherited from
|
---|
1152 |
|
---|
1153 | his father, regarded Wolsey as their protégé. They
|
---|
1154 |
|
---|
1155 | were quite happy to retire to their dioceses, leaving the younger man to
|
---|
1156 |
|
---|
1157 | deal with the headstrong and rash young king. One can easily sympathize
|
---|
1158 |
|
---|
1159 | with Warham and Fox since Henry VIII's personality was quite different
|
---|
1160 |
|
---|
1161 | from his father's. The most obvious difference was that he spent
|
---|
1162 |
|
---|
1163 | money with the same passion his father had collected it.
|
---|
1164 |
|
---|
1165 | <br> But it is important to remember that Henry VIII
|
---|
1166 |
|
---|
1167 | never completely abandoned his power to Wolsey, though court gossip believed
|
---|
1168 |
|
---|
1169 | otherwise. He carefully read the Cardinal's dispatches and proved
|
---|
1170 |
|
---|
1171 | himself well-informed about domestic and foreign affairs when dealing with
|
---|
1172 |
|
---|
1173 | ambassadors. Also, Henry possessed a lifelong love of keeping his
|
---|
1174 |
|
---|
1175 | subjects, noble or common, on their toes; he enjoyed indulging his taste
|
---|
1176 |
|
---|
1177 | for surprises. In banquets, this showed itself in his passion for
|
---|
1178 |
|
---|
1179 | elaborate costumes in which his identity was hidden. His subjects
|
---|
1180 |
|
---|
1181 | would guess which costume hid their king, to the delight of all.
|
---|
1182 |
|
---|
1183 | Once, he and several courtiers dressed as Robin Hood and his band of outlaws
|
---|
1184 |
|
---|
1185 | and then broke into Katharine of Aragon's apartments. The queen,
|
---|
1186 |
|
---|
1187 | used to such antics, wisely played along but several of her ladies were
|
---|
1188 |
|
---|
1189 | terrified. At the
|
---|
1190 |
|
---|
1191 | <a href="../primary.html">Primary
|
---|
1192 |
|
---|
1193 | Sources</a> section, you can read about Henry's first meeting with his
|
---|
1194 |
|
---|
1195 | fourth wife, Anne of Cleves; he disguised himself at their first meeting,
|
---|
1196 |
|
---|
1197 | to the amusement of his nobles and the confusion of the lady. At
|
---|
1198 |
|
---|
1199 | times, this love of surprise - of keeping those close to him on an uneven
|
---|
1200 |
|
---|
1201 | keel - was downright cruel. He would later allow his councilors to
|
---|
1202 |
|
---|
1203 | plan Thomas Cranmer's arrest, only to tell the archbishop their plan in
|
---|
1204 |
|
---|
1205 | secret. When the soldiers arrived, they were openly embarrassed and
|
---|
1206 |
|
---|
1207 | thwarted when Cranmer revealed his knowledge of the plan and the king's
|
---|
1208 |
|
---|
1209 | pardon. And his sixth and final wife, Katharine Parr, was likewise
|
---|
1210 |
|
---|
1211 | surprised. Walking in her garden with Henry, she was accosted by
|
---|
1212 |
|
---|
1213 | soldiers intending to arrest her. Their warrant had been signed by
|
---|
1214 |
|
---|
1215 | Henry himself. But when they attempted to seize the queen, Henry
|
---|
1216 |
|
---|
1217 | cursed them, beat several of them about the head and shoulders, and demanded
|
---|
1218 |
|
---|
1219 | they beg Katharine's forgiveness. One can imagine the guards' confusion.
|
---|
1220 |
|
---|
1221 | <br> All of these instances serve to illustrate Henry's
|
---|
1222 |
|
---|
1223 | desire to remain in control, to hold absolute power in his hands always.
|
---|
1224 |
|
---|
1225 | As king, he could give orders but it was also his privilege to immediately
|
---|
1226 |
|
---|
1227 | change his mind without bothering to consult anyone. His will was
|
---|
1228 |
|
---|
1229 | law. And so he demonstrated his power by doing exactly as he liked,
|
---|
1230 |
|
---|
1231 | oftimes choosing the perfect moment to throw everyone off guard and demonstrate
|
---|
1232 |
|
---|
1233 | his complete authority. It may have seemed irrational to his contemporaries,
|
---|
1234 |
|
---|
1235 | and also to us, but it was quite an effective policy. It meant that
|
---|
1236 |
|
---|
1237 | no one ever really knew where they stood with the king. And so, not
|
---|
1238 |
|
---|
1239 | knowing his true feelings, they were all the more eager to sycophantically
|
---|
1240 |
|
---|
1241 | fawn over him and seek his approval.
|
---|
1242 |
|
---|
1243 | <br> This strain of the king's character was perhaps
|
---|
1244 |
|
---|
1245 | a bit more light-hearted in the early years of his reign but, like most
|
---|
1246 |
|
---|
1247 | of Henry's good qualities, it soon developed an ugly cast. His mutability
|
---|
1248 |
|
---|
1249 | was certainly recognized by Wolsey, and famously by Sir Thomas More, and
|
---|
1250 |
|
---|
1251 | later led to the Cardinal's downfall. But in the early years of their
|
---|
1252 |
|
---|
1253 | relationship, as Wolsey's genius for administration and diplomacy led him
|
---|
1254 |
|
---|
1255 | to amass great titles and wealth, the men got along amazingly well.
|
---|
1256 |
|
---|
1257 | This continued for over a dozen years. In 1514, Wolsey was titled
|
---|
1258 |
|
---|
1259 | archbishop of York, and in 1515 he became a cardinal and lord chancellor,
|
---|
1260 |
|
---|
1261 | and in 1518 he was made papal legate. As archbishop of York, he lived
|
---|
1262 |
|
---|
1263 | at York Palace and to most outside observers this was the real seat of
|
---|
1264 |
|
---|
1265 | government power. Messengers rode constantly between York and Henry's
|
---|
1266 |
|
---|
1267 | palaces.
|
---|
1268 |
|
---|
1269 | <br> For a long while, both Wolsey and Henry were focused
|
---|
1270 |
|
---|
1271 | on foreign affairs. Wolsey was a Francophile and desired peace between
|
---|
1272 |
|
---|
1273 | the traditional enemies. He used Ferdinand's treacherous behavior
|
---|
1274 |
|
---|
1275 | to encourage a marriage between Henry's sister and Louis XII. This
|
---|
1276 |
|
---|
1277 | pro-France policy naturally placed him at odds with Katharine of Aragon.
|
---|
1278 |
|
---|
1279 | Though she recognized her father's treachery and protected her marriage
|
---|
1280 |
|
---|
1281 | by no longer pressing Spanish claims, she was still the daughter of the
|
---|
1282 |
|
---|
1283 | Spanish king. Wolsey didn't trust her, which certainly wasn't surprising.
|
---|
1284 |
|
---|
1285 | Katharine developed a natural antipathy to the Cardinal as well.
|
---|
1286 |
|
---|
1287 | She was a deeply pious woman, growing more so as she aged. She thought
|
---|
1288 |
|
---|
1289 | Wolsey far too worldly to be a man of the church. She favored councilors
|
---|
1290 |
|
---|
1291 | like <a href="../citizens/more.html">Thomas
|
---|
1292 |
|
---|
1293 | More</a> and <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/fisher.html">John
|
---|
1294 |
|
---|
1295 | Fisher</a>, bishop of Rochester, men whose dedication to the church was
|
---|
1296 |
|
---|
1297 | as passionate as her own. She was also peeved that her role as Henry's
|
---|
1298 |
|
---|
1299 | confidante and advisor was slowly stolen away by Wolsey. Katharine
|
---|
1300 |
|
---|
1301 | was jealous of the Cardinal's influence with her husband, particularly
|
---|
1302 |
|
---|
1303 | since it meant a subsequent decline in her own influence. The king
|
---|
1304 |
|
---|
1305 | no longer brought foreign ambassadors to her rooms and he no longer sought
|
---|
1306 |
|
---|
1307 | her opinions. It was as if her father's betrayals implicated her.
|
---|
1308 |
|
---|
1309 | Wolsey was the consummate diplomat, skilled at flattering the queen when
|
---|
1310 |
|
---|
1311 | they met, but their mutual dislike was open knowledge at court.
|
---|
1312 |
|
---|
1313 | <br> In December 1514, Katharine suffered another miscarriage;
|
---|
1314 |
|
---|
1315 | it was her fourth, and the third son. It was particularly galling
|
---|
1316 |
|
---|
1317 | for her since earlier that year Henry had taken his first public mistress.
|
---|
1318 |
|
---|
1319 | He was not a lecher, and certainly less victimized by lust than his fellow
|
---|
1320 |
|
---|
1321 | monarchs, particularly Francis I of France. But kings take mistresses
|
---|
1322 |
|
---|
1323 | and around New Years' 1514, Henry's eye was caught by <a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/relative/fitzroy.html">Elizabeth
|
---|
1324 |
|
---|
1325 | Blount</a>. She was the cousin of Lord Mountjoy and one of Katharine's
|
---|
1326 |
|
---|
1327 | ladies-in-waiting. Bessie was pretty and vivacious, and quite happy
|
---|
1328 |
|
---|
1329 | to bask in the king's attention. And she had his attention for several
|
---|
1330 |
|
---|
1331 | years, which once more proves Henry's monogamous streak. And he did
|
---|
1332 |
|
---|
1333 | not neglect his wife. On 18 February 1516, Katharine and Henry's
|
---|
1334 |
|
---|
1335 | luck changed. Their only surviving child, a princess called Mary,
|
---|
1336 |
|
---|
1337 | was born. She was healthy and survived the difficult early months
|
---|
1338 |
|
---|
1339 | of infancy. Henry was proud, if disappointed, and told an ambassador:
|
---|
1340 |
|
---|
1341 | 'We are both young. If it was a daughter this time, by the grace
|
---|
1342 |
|
---|
1343 | of God the sons will follow.'
|
---|
1344 |
|
---|
1345 | <br> One can easily understand Henry's disappointment.
|
---|
1346 |
|
---|
1347 | He was a good father to Mary in those early years, proudly carrying her
|
---|
1348 |
|
---|
1349 | about and showing her off to visitors. But he was perhaps aware that
|
---|
1350 |
|
---|
1351 | time was running out for a male heir to be born. There are indications
|
---|
1352 |
|
---|
1353 | that he explored the idea of divorcing Katharine as early as 1518.
|
---|
1354 |
|
---|
1355 | An English courtier had supposedly visited the Vatican on an exploratory
|
---|
1356 |
|
---|
1357 | mission earlier that year. And gossip about Katharine's miscarriages
|
---|
1358 |
|
---|
1359 | had spread through the English court as early as 1514.
|
---|
1360 |
|
---|
1361 | <br> Henry was still affectionate towards Katharine,
|
---|
1362 |
|
---|
1363 | and they remained intimate for several years after Mary's birth, as evidenced
|
---|
1364 |
|
---|
1365 | by other pregnancies. But perhaps the bloom of the relationship had
|
---|
1366 |
|
---|
1367 | gone. His wife looked older than her years, her body worn out by
|
---|
1368 |
|
---|
1369 | ceaseless pregnancies and births. She was by nature a reserved and
|
---|
1370 |
|
---|
1371 | serious person; her mind dwelt constantly upon the failure of her most
|
---|
1372 |
|
---|
1373 | important duty as queen. On 10 November 1518, her last child - another
|
---|
1374 |
|
---|
1375 | daughter - was born, and died. Special doctors summoned from Spain
|
---|
1376 |
|
---|
1377 | arrived to help the queen conceive again. They were unsuccessful.
|
---|
1378 |
|
---|
1379 | Henry publicly vowed to lead a crusade against the <img SRC="fitzroy.jpg" ALT="miniature portrait of Henry Fitzroy, Henry VIII's illegitimate son" height=203 width=208 align=LEFT>Turks
|
---|
1380 |
|
---|
1381 | if God granted him a son.
|
---|
1382 |
|
---|
1383 | <br> But it was not to be, at least not with Katharine
|
---|
1384 |
|
---|
1385 | of Aragon. In 1519, Elizabeth Blount, his young mistress, bore him
|
---|
1386 |
|
---|
1387 | a healthy son. Henry was ecstatic. Here at last was proof that
|
---|
1388 |
|
---|
1389 | the king could father sons. Henry named the boy after himself, giving
|
---|
1390 |
|
---|
1391 | him the last name 'Fitzroy', the traditional surname of royal bastards.
|
---|
1392 |
|
---|
1393 | He would soon lavish so many titles upon the boy that Katharine felt it
|
---|
1394 |
|
---|
1395 | necessary to remind him that Princess Mary was his heir. Henry publicly
|
---|
1396 |
|
---|
1397 | chastised her and, in a fit of spite, sent several of her favorite attendants
|
---|
1398 |
|
---|
1399 | back to Spain.
|
---|
1400 |
|
---|
1401 | <br> Now we come to an important moment in what came
|
---|
1402 |
|
---|
1403 | to be called 'the king's great matter' (Henry's attempt to annul his marriage
|
---|
1404 |
|
---|
1405 | to Katharine.) Fitzroy's birth proved Henry could have a son, and
|
---|
1406 |
|
---|
1407 | no one could deny Katharine's fertility. It is doubtful Henry ever
|
---|
1408 |
|
---|
1409 | blamed her for the failure to produce a male heir after witnessing the
|
---|
1410 |
|
---|
1411 | endless cycle of pregnancies and prayer. Yet why had he and Katharine
|
---|
1412 |
|
---|
1413 | been unable to produce a living son between them? Naturally enough,
|
---|
1414 |
|
---|
1415 | the king's mind turned to God. It must be God's will that they had
|
---|
1416 |
|
---|
1417 | no male heir. But what had he done to offend God? Henry searched
|
---|
1418 |
|
---|
1419 | for an answer and soon found it quite easily. In the Bible, <i>Leviticus
|
---|
1420 |
|
---|
1421 | </i>XVIII,
|
---|
1422 |
|
---|
1423 | 16 clearly stated 'Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife:
|
---|
1424 | it is thy brother's nakedness'. And, later, in chapter XX, 'If a man shall
|
---|
1425 | take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's
|
---|
1426 | nakedness; they shall be childless'. What could be more clear? The
|
---|
1427 | Bible itself condemned his marriage to Katharine. The pope's dispensation
|
---|
1428 | was meaningless.<br> And so began one of the most fascinating decades in English
|
---|
1429 | history.<p>
|
---|
1430 |
|
---|
1431 | <font size=-2><a href="henry8.html#Top">TOP</a></font>
|
---|
1432 |
|
---|
1433 | <br>
|
---|
1434 |
|
---|
1435 | </p>
|
---|
1436 |
|
---|
1437 | <hr WIDTH="100%">
|
---|
1438 |
|
---|
1439 | <p>
|
---|
1440 |
|
---|
1441 | <br><a NAME="Five"></a><b>1526-1536: Anne Boleyn and the Henrician Reformation</b>
|
---|
1442 | </p>
|
---|
1443 | <p align="center">This section, along with the remainder of the biography, is
|
---|
1444 |
|
---|
1445 | not available as of March 2004.
|
---|
1446 |
|
---|
1447 | <br>I will post its completion soon.</p>
|
---|
1448 | <p>
|
---|
1449 |
|
---|
1450 | <font size=-2><a href="henry8.html#Top">TOP</a></font>
|
---|
1451 |
|
---|
1452 | <br>
|
---|
1453 |
|
---|
1454 | </p>
|
---|
1455 |
|
---|
1456 | <hr WIDTH="100%">
|
---|
1457 |
|
---|
1458 | <center>
|
---|
1459 |
|
---|
1460 | <p> <a href="http://www.marileecody.com/images.html">Portraits
|
---|
1461 |
|
---|
1462 | of Henry VIII</a><br> <a href="../primary.html">Primary
|
---|
1463 |
|
---|
1464 | Sources</a></p>
|
---|
1465 |
|
---|
1466 | <p> <b>Henry's wives:</b>
|
---|
1467 | <a href="wives.html">The Six Wives of Henry VIII</a><br>
|
---|
1468 | <br> <b>Henry's children:<br></b><a href="edward6.html">
|
---|
1469 | King Edward VI</a><br>
|
---|
1470 | <a href="mary1.html">Queen Mary I</a><a href="eliz1.html"><br>
|
---|
1471 | Queen Elizabeth I</a><p><a href="../tudor1.html">Test your knowledge
|
---|
1472 |
|
---|
1473 | of Henry VIII's life at Tudor Quizzes</a>.<p><font size=-1><a href="../monarchs.html">to
|
---|
1474 |
|
---|
1475 | Tudor Monarchs</a></font><br><font size=-1><a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor.html">to Tudor
|
---|
1476 |
|
---|
1477 | England</a></font></center>
|
---|
1478 |
|
---|
1479 |
|
---|
1480 |
|
---|
1481 | </blockquote>
|
---|
1482 | </blockquote>
|
---|
1483 |
|
---|
1484 | </body>
|
---|
1485 |
|
---|
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