Does anyone else think King Henry VIII's story is interesting?

Question

I learned about King Henry VIII last year in English 12...I had an awesome teacher who knew how to make his story very interesting, and his children's stories too....

I felt upset that just that the need to have a son made him go through all that....

Do you think he would have stayed with Catherine of Aragon if he didn't need to have a son? Even if the Pope wasn't the head of the church anymore?

Who was your favorite wife?

Did you find his story interesting? What are your thoughts on King Henry VIII?

Answer 1

I'm so glad you had a good teacher who could make history come alive. I've always concentrated on the characters of historical people, because through them I can make sense of times gone by.

Henry VIII was a fascinating man; when young, he was the "ideal prince" - tall (6'2"), attractive, athletic, music-loving, intelligent, with the red-gold hair of the Plantagenets. (He also had rather a high voice.) Later in life he degenerated into an obese, sick megalomaniac, with suppurating sores on his leg.

In those days, the king was not just a figurehead, he was the ruler and ruled by the Divine Right of Kings. The crown could be usurped or challenged, which is why he needed an heir to succeed him and carry on his dynasty and, because infants had a high mortality rate, he needed as many "spares" as possible.

Katherine of Aragon was a pretty princess with lovely hair; although she was older than Henry, he fell in love with her. Unfortunately, having had miscarriages after giving him his daughter Mary, Henry had to find a way to get rid of her and father a son. He had already fallen in love with Anne Boleyn. That was when Henry's Great Matter began: the Break with Rome.
http://tudorhistory.org/aragon/youngcatherine.jpg (Katherine of Aragon as a young princess)
http://www.tudor-portraits.com/CatherineAragon1.jpg (Katherine, older)
http://jack-of-all-trades.ca/meandmine/ab1.jpg (well-known portrait of Anne Boleyn)
http://www.geocities.com/anoria_j/Medieval_images/Anne_Boleyn_18th_century_Painting.jpg (lesser-known portrait of Anne)

Anne was bewitching, stylish (having come from the French court) and feisty; she refused to be Henry's mistress and held out for the crown. Anne suffered miscarriages, too, but did give him Elizabeth. When Henry was growing tired of Anne, Jane Seymour appeared at court and caught his eye. Whether Jane was really meek, dutiful and obedient or a mistress of manipulation is still debated, but she seemed to know that after Anne's independence, her homeliness would appeal to Henry. It may be that she understood that obeying her husband and deferring to him would be a good way to keep him and her head! Whereas Anne was cruel to Henry's daughter, Mary, Jane was kind to her and Elizabeth.
http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/sca/tudor/redjane.jpg (Jane Seymour; she was not pretty, but very pale with rather large features and a pinched mouth)

Henry had lost all interest in Anne. By the time he had cooked up charges of incest and witchcraft against her and had her beheaded, he was soon galloping off to see Jane. And at last, Jane gave birth to a son, Edward VI; but she died soon after. Henry did grieve for her, and it is her next to whom he is buried at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Henry next sent for portraits of royal European ladies so that he could choose his next wife, and his eye fell on Anne of Cleves. Unfortunately, Holbein painted a very flattering portrait of her; when Henry met her, the "Mare of Flanders", he was horrified. The ending, however, was happy; he divorced her, and she led the rest of her life as Henry's "Sister".
http://www.wga.hu/art/h/holbein/hans_y/1535h/04cleves.jpg (Here's the flattering portrait!)

Next came young Catherine Howard, who had had a free and very lax childhood and various affairs, which came back to haunt her. She was only 18; he forty-nine. She was not very bright, and continued her affairs while married to Henry, who was by then obese; she had to tend to the stinking sores on his leg. When Henry found out that his "rose without a thorn" had thorns indeed, he was mortified, as he had fallen in love with her. The enormity of what she had done, deceiving a king, at last impressed itself upon her, and she was the queen whose ghost is still said to run screaming through the gallery at Hampton Court to beg Henry for her life while he was in the Chapel.
http://tudorhistory.org/howard/kathryn.jpg (well-known portrait of Catherine Howard)
http://www.wga.hu/art/h/holbein/hans_y/1535h/07howard.jpg (lesser-known. She had the "Norfolk" nose!)

Lastly, Catherine Parr was an older woman, divorced, who had leanings towards Protestantism. She did once come close to great trouble through this, but by a stroke of luck avoided it. She took care of Henry and his children, and learned not to argue but to debate with him. She was also lucky enough to survive him, and go on to have a child with Thomas Seymour; in their house, Seymour "romped" with the young Elizabeth.
http://www.geocities.com/tudorhist/katparr.jpg (Katherine Parr)
http://www.geocities.com/anoria_j/Medieval_images/Katherine_Parr_1535.jpg (Katherine Parr, well-known portrait)

If Katherine of Aragon had given Henry a son or two, I do believe he would have remained married to her; there would have been no need for the break with Rome. But, being Henry, the king who thought he could do and have anything he wanted, I think he would have continued to fall in love and have affairs while Katherine turned a blind eye - as has happened many times in history. He seems to have fallen in love, or lust, easily, and pursued the object of his desires! He did, also, have some illegitimate children, notably Henry Fitzroy by Bessie Blount, who died young.

My favourite wife is Anne; not because I like her, but because she was wilful, strong-willed and unafraid to go for what she wanted. She could be cruel, as she was to Henry's daughters, but she was also an "enchantress" who "bewitched" the king - Henry did in fact believe that she had ensorcelled him. It was not an easy time for her; she was not beloved by the people, and was booed when she became queen - by those few who turned out.

However, we can't judge Henry by our own standards because times have changed so much. In the days of surgery without anaesthetics, diseases that killed horribly but are curable today and punishments that now fill us with horror, such brutality as Henry meted out would not seem so terrible, as life was cheaper then.

Pictures of Henry through life:
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/more/henryVIII.jpg
http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/henry%20-%20holbein.jpg
http://www.artinliverpool.com/blogarch/henry_viii.jpg
http://tudors.crispen.org/Henry8_medical/henry8_protrait.gif
http://www.editworx.co.uk/images/hever/main/henry%20VIII.jpg
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://history.wisc.edu/sommerville/361/images/oldhen8.jpg&imgrefurl=http://history.wisc.edu/sommerville/361/361-10.htm&h=312&w=225&sz=11&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=B9qg4E94rBZHVM:&tbnh=117&tbnw=84&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dageing%2Bhenry%2Bviii%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN (sorry - couldn't get a bigger one!)

Answer 2

I think Henry VIII is very interesting. I don't know that I have a favorite wife, but Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr were the only really successful wives (Jane died before Henry could get tired of her and gave him the son he'd always wanted, and Catherine Parr outlived the King). If you like his story, there is a great documentary called "The Six Wives of Henry VIII."

Answer 3

Neither were remotely correct and true. TOBG is based on a book by Philippa Gregory who is obsessively convinced, in the teeth of all the available evidence, that Mary Boleyn was pure and good and Henry VIII's Twu Wuv; The Tudors was written as a blatant vehicle for a historical shagfest with pretty clothes. Neither is at all close to real history.

Answer 4

I think that Henry VIII was an appalling man. He was a despot who had no qualms about murdering people. He invented putting people to death by boiling them in oil. I remember the outrage there was when captives in Iraq where beheaded - the press said these people were savages; but Henry VIII did this as a matter of course to his wives who has committed no worse mistake than being unable to give him a male heir. If he were alive today he would be vilified as much as Hitler or Stalin. We tend to excuse the excesses of Kings like Henry VIII (and there were many of them who ruled England) by saying that it was because of the brutal times they lived in. The only problem with such excuses is that it was Henry VIII who was responsible for the brutality.

Answer 5

It's extremely interesting. I believe that he wouldn't have divorced Catherine of Aragon if she had given him living male heirs but I think that he would still have had affairs with other women. He was notorious for it. I don;t think he would ever have broke from Rome either if he had not been convinced that he required a male heir. His primary reason for doing so was so that he could divorce Catherine and marry Anne Boleyn in the hope of producing a legitimate male heir. My favourite wife was Anne Boleyn as she is a very interesting character. She appears to have been pushed into her union with Henry by her family. They gained lands and titles from the king by allowing Anne and her sister, Mary before her to be intimate with Henry.


Very interesting stuff. Keep up the good work.

Answer 6

I thought it was terrible of him to do what he did to Catherine of Aragon. They were married for many years before he decided he needed a male heir well into middle age. Most accounts say they truly loved each other, yet when she refused to permit him an annulment, he forced her to go through a public divorce and shut her up in a prison-like castle. I think she was admirable for standing up for what she believed was right. She could have entered a convent, but she refused even after the divorce, saying she already had an earthly husband and she would not abandon her marriage.

Answer 7

I liked Anne Boleyn,I know alot of people thought she was just a home wrecker but i believe she really did love Henry and she was falsely accused.And we all know what it meant to have ason especially to someone so virile as Henry so yes I believe if Katherine of Arragon had given him a child he would never had divorced her,Also if Anne had given him a son he he would have been happy.The only reason he remarried after Jane Seymour was because prince Edward was very weak and not expected to live beyond his teens,and I guess he wanted another son as a back up!

Answer 8

Henry VIII was a fascinating man, obsessed with finding the right heir, a perfectionist, and a bit of a dictator.

The archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, was as fascinating as the king.

I don't know whether I personally LIKE Henry VIII. He murdered one of my ancestors!

Answer 9

He is not one of my favorite characters in history. Having many wives looking for a son, is not a matter thatt I like. Even change his beliefs, to kill, for the power, make many people unhappy, his poor children, is not a good thing for me.\, not interesting

Answer 10

history!!!!?
Wow!
"dude"
The Roman Caligula
the Emperor,,,,,,, Nero
Henry the VIII......yeah cute
kind of Ga-?
The Romans.....very dangerous!!!!

Answer 11

menurutku, king henry viii is a jerk... yes, he has an interesting background (i'll admit that) tetapi hatinya busuk!