When was Henry VIII and what's interesting about him?

Answer 1

Good Lord--what WASN"T interesting about him? When he was young, he was a superstar--good looking, "built", and a involved in many different sports, from tennis to hunting. When he married Katherine of Aragon, a member of the Spanish royalty, they were fawned on by the English people. But as he got older, he let himself go, and began to feel his own mortality. Katherine wasn't doing her "duty"--producing a male heir. They already had a daughter, Mary, but that wasn't enough--he needed a son to keep the dynasty going. Katherine had been married to his brother, who died soon afterward, but Katherine maintained (probably correctly) that the marriage had never been consummated.

Henry petitioned the Pope for an annulment of the marriage on these grounds, even though they'd been happily married for many years, claiming he had seen the error of his ways and was in fear for his very soul if the annulment weren't granted.

Unfortunately, the Pope at the time was under the thumb of the King of France at the time, who was a cousin of Katherine. His hands were tied, since there was no way the King would allow the annulment, despite many entreaties and even public hearings in which he tried to get Katherine to agree to the annulment, but she refused.

Henry had many affairs, producing many offspring, but except for Mary, the pregnancies Katherine had ended in either a miscarriage or a baby who died shortly after birth. He became convinced there was no way she could give birth to his heir, and he began looking again. Anne Boleyn was a member of Katherines entourage, and quickly became his favorite. But she was no roll in the hay--she absolutely refused him unless he made her his queen. She drove him mad with lust, and helped convince him that he, and not the Pope, should have the final say. He was the king, so his word should go. He then broke with the Catholic Church, and established the Church of England. Once he'd done that, he considered himself free to divorce Katherine and marry Anne Boleyn.

Needless to say, the British people were not amused. Katherine had been a saint in their eyes, and Anne Boleyn was one of the common people who was basically a gold-digger. She was power-hungry, and didn't care who she hurt. They came to believe that she was a witch. After Elizabeth I was born, she became pregnant again, but the baby was born prematurely. Rumors spread that the child was a demon. She was finally accused of having an orgy with several members of the court, one of which was her own brother. She was summarily found guilty and beheaded.

After Anne Boleyn, Henry found someone far less abrasive--Jane Seymour. She gave birth to a son, but she died in childbirth, and her son died soon afterward. He married three times more--one was beheaded after she was caught having an affair with an old lover. I don't remember the details of the next one, but the final wife was more of a nurse than a wife--over the years he had become extremely fat, and his health became much worse, in part because of a hunting accident in which a boar goared his leg, which never properly healed. He died never having gained the male heir he wanted, and his daughter Mary became queen. She was extremely unpopular, and was known as "Bloody Mary." She was deposed and Elizabeth I became queen instead. The Spanish were angered by this, since Mary was a Catholic of Spanish heritage, and this was one cause of the Spanish Armada.

Answer 2

I've read a few biographies about King Henry the Eighth and he was certainly interesting, ruthless and more than a little crazy, given his relentless quest in seeking a son to succeed him on the throne. His six marriages rivals the numerous marriages that some actors have had, such as actress Elizabeth Taylor (eight marriages). His ruthlessness has been compared to that of Joseph Stalin.

Answer 3

Henry VIII was born 1491, and reigned 1509-1547.

Probably the most interesting thing about him is that he had six wives:

Katherine of Aragon, who gave him a surviving daughter, Mary, who became Mary I aka "Bloody" Mary. Henry wanted to divorce her so that he could marry Anne Boleyn, but ran into difficulties with the church. So he broke from that and founded the Church of England, with himself as Supreme Head. Katherine was banished to ever more gloomy and damp castles, and eventually died from, probably, cancer of the heart.

Anne Boleyn, whom he chased until she caught him, and gave him another surviving daughter, Elizabeth I, probably the greatest queen of England. When Henry found the temperamental and feisty Anne couldn't give him a living son, he trumped up charges of incest, treason and witchcraft against her, and had her beheaded by the sword.

He already had his eye on meek Jane Seymour, who gave him the son he so desired, Edward VI (who died young), and died shortly afterwards. Henry is buried with her at Windsor.

Anne of Cleves, the "Mare of Flanders". Henry couldn't stand her so divorced her. She kept her head and became the "King's Sister".

Catherine Howard, who was much younger than he was, but not very bright or moral. Henry found that his "Rose without a Thorn" had a thorn indeed, and had her beheaded.

Katherine Parr, a more mature widow, who looked after him and his children until his death.

It's interesting also how Henry began life as a hugely talented, attractive and intelligent man, but became increasingly cruel, ruthless and a bloated monster.

Answer 4

Henry VIII was born in 1491 and died in 1547. He became King of England in 1509 and reigned until he died.
He was married 6 times, and broke away frorm the Catholic Church because they wouldn't let him divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon. He was responsible for the formation of the Church of England, which is still the official Church today.
He was the first English monarch to be educated under the influence of the Renaissance, and his tutors included the poet Skelton; he became an accomplished scholar, linguist, musician and athlete.

Of his six wives, two were beheaded, two divorced, one died while married to him and one survived him.

Answer 5

Henry VIII Was born on the 28th June 1491 to Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of york. He reign led him to be on the throne of England for 40 years. He married his brothers Widow Katherine of Aragon in 1509 shortly after his ascent to the throne. This marriage produced one royal child Princess Mary and after numerous miscarriges Henry decided to anull his marriage to Katherine. But by doing this Henry upset the holy Roman emperor so he decided himself and his country should not be under the rule of rome. So he set up the Church Of England which claimed his marriage over. Shortly after the marriage was declared invalid Henry fell in love with Anne Boleyn and married her in 1533. Some months later Anne gave birth to another Princess Elizabeth. And his desperation to have an heir was growing by the day. Bored and tired by his wife he sought to be rid of her forever. Claims of treason were put against her and she was Executed in the summer of 1536. Much of Henry's life consisted on his devotion to his religion and so it felt like his prayers were finally answered when his 3rd wife Jane Seymour gave birth to the long awaited heir Prince Edward in the autumn of 1536. The rest of Henry's life consisted of marrying another 3 women. And finally after 40 years on the throne Henry Died in 1547.

Answer 6

Another interesting fact is that the Pope gave him the title "Defender of the Faith." (that is, the Roman Catholic church) Several years later, Henry VIII broke ties with the Catholic church in order to divorce his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, founding the Anglican church, of which he was the head. He kept the title "Defender of the Faith," though, and English monarchs kept using it. Elizabeth II therefore keeps this title granted by the Pope while being head of the Anglican church.

Answer 7

Henry the Eighth was the second son of Henry the Seventh (Earl of Pembroke, founder of the "Tudor Dynasty"), the first son , Arthur, having died of "Sweating sickness" in youth. Born in 1491,
Coronated in 1509,
Died 1547.

Married six times, all three of his offspring (Mary, Elizabeth and Edward) becoming monarch. It was his attempts to produce a male heir that led to his multiple marriages and the subsequent schism with the Catholic church that led to "The Reformation" and the creation of the Anglican church (church of England).
Married, Catherine of Aragon (mother of Mary) in 1509 (Divorced)
Anne Boleyn (mother of Elizabeth) (Beheaded)
Jane Seymour (mother of Edward) in 1536 (Died in childbirth)
Anne of Cleeves in 1540 (Divorced)
Katherine Howard in 1540 (Beheaded)
Katherine Parr in 1543 (survived)

Also, responsible for the "Acts of Union" with Wales. 1536-1543. Effectively formalizing the annexation of the state.

Flagship of his fleet, "The Mary Rose" Capsized and sank with 700 men on board in the solent, just outside portsmouth 1545 and was salvaged in 1982.

Answer 8

after Henry V11

Answer 9

Henry the VIII was right after Henry the VII and right before Henry the IX. He wasn't particularly interesting. I can't think of a single thing about him that's noteworthy.

Answer 10

He had a problem creating an heir, so kept blaming it on his wives, so continually divorced or killed them. When the pope refused to grant him yet another divorce, he created the Church of England (in the US it is called the Anglican church).