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Quick Facts
- NAME: Henry VIII
- OCCUPATION: Political Leader, King
- BIRTH DATE: June 28, 1491
- DEATH DATE: January 28, 1547
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Greenwich, London, England, United Kingdom
- PLACE OF DEATH: London, England, United Kingdom
- Originally: Henry Tudor
- AKA: King Henry VIII
- AKA: Henry VIII
- AKA: Henry VIII of England
Best Known For
Henry VIII, king of England, was famously married six times and played a critical role in the English Reformation, turning his country into a Protestant nation.
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Henry VIII - Did You Know? (2:05)
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Henry VIII - Did You Know?
You know he had six wives, but there was a lot more to this famous king.
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Play NowHenry VIII. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 10:55, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/henry-viii-9335322.
Henry VIII. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/henry-viii-9335322 [Accessed 21 May 2013].
"Henry VIII." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 21 2013, 10:55 http://www.biography.com/people/henry-viii-9335322.
"Henry VIII," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/henry-viii-9335322 [accessed May 21, 2013].
"Henry VIII," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/henry-viii-9335322 (accessed May 21, 2013).
Henry VIII [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 21] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/henry-viii-9335322.
Henry VIII, http://www.biography.com/people/henry-viii-9335322 (last visited May 21, 2013).
Henry VIII. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/henry-viii-9335322. Accessed May 21, 2013.
Synopsis
Henry Tudor, son of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth York, was born at the royal residence, Greenwich Palace, on June 28, 1491. Following the death of his brother, Arthur, he became Henry VIII, king of England. He married six times, beheaded two of his wives and was the main instigator of the English Reformation. His only surviving son, Edward VI, succeeded him after his death on January 28, 1547.
Contents
Quotes
"I beseech you now with all my heart definitely to let me know your whole mind as to the love between us; for necessity compels me to plague you for a reply, having been for more than a year now struck by the dart of love, and being uncertain either of failure or of finding a place in your heart and affection."
[Excerpt from a letter to Anne Boleyn during their courtship.]
Childhood and Early Adulthood
Henry Tudor, the son of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth York, was born on June 28, 1491, at the royal residence, Greenwich Palace, in Greenwich, London, England. He had six siblings, but only three survived: Arthur, Margaret and Mary. Arthur, being older than Henry, was expected to take the throne. In 1502, Prince Arthur married Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of the Spanish king and queen, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. After less than four months of marriage, Arthur died at the age of 15, leaving his 10-year-old brother, Henry, to assume the throne.
The patriarch, Henry VII, wanted to affirm his family's alliance with Spain, so he offered his young son Henry to Arthur's widow. The two families requested that Pope Julius II officially grant dispensation to Arthur and Catherine's marriage. The pope conceded, but the official marriage of Henry and Catherine was postponed until the death of Henry VII in 1509, when, at the age of 17, Henry married Catherine and the two were crowned at Westminster Abbey. The couple remained married until he divorced her in 1533.
As a young man and monarch, second in the Tudor Dynasty, Henry VIII exuded a charismatic athleticism and diverse appetite for art, music and culture. He was witty and highly educated, taught by private tutors for his entire upbringing. He loved music and wrote some as well. A lover of gambling and jousting, he hosted countless tournaments and banquets. His father always envisioned Arthur as king and Henry as a high-ranking church official—the appropriate role at that time for his secondary birth order. As fate would have it, Henry instead inherited an entire peaceful nation after his father ended the Wars of the Roses.
Henry was good-natured, but his court soon learned to bow to his every wish. Two days after his coronation, he arrested two of his father's ministers and promptly executed them. He began his rule seeking advisers on most matters, and would end it with absolute control.
Catherine of Aragon and Princess Mary
On February 18, 1516, Queen Catherine bore Henry his first child to survive infancy, Princess Mary. Henry grew frustrated by the lack of a male child and began keeping two mistresses at his beckon. His philandering ways were tame by the standards of his contemporaries, but they nonetheless resulted in his first divorce. One of his mistresses, Mary Boleyn, introduced him to her sister, Anne Boleyn. Anne and Henry began secretly seeing one another. Catherine, by now 42 and unable to conceive, set Henry in a tizzy. Henry configured a way to officially abandon his marriage with Catherine.
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Numerous Nuptials
View groupLife imitates art in Hollywood, where passionate romances turn into short-lived marriages and quickie divorces. Numerous nuptials are one of the hallmarks of the celebrity lifestyle. Hollywood royalty Elizabeth Taylor married eight times—even more than real royalty King Henry VIII, who married six times. Here's a look at the famous individuals who tied the knot—and then tied it again, and again, and again.
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View groupWhen one lover attacks another in a moment of unbridled emotion—or tries to eliminate their romantic competition—it's traditionally been known as 'a crime of passion.' These days, fits of rage over lost love are often chalked up to 'temporary insanity.' Whatever you call them, crimes committed in the name of love have been part of our cultural history since ancient times. Here are some of the most famous examples of passion-gone-wrong, from those who couldn't bear to part with their true love to those who found themselves on the receiving end of an obsessive romance.
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Oscar-Winning Portrayals
View groupTruth is often more fascinating than fiction. Since the beginning of movies, actors have been portraying figures from history and bringing them to life on screen. Mastering the well-known mannerisms and characteristics of real world figures can be more challenging than portraying a fictional character. Enormous amounts of research and drastic physical transformations are not uncommon for actors wanting to properly inhabit their role on film. Whether playing a scheming Queen, a country singer, a temperamental boxer, or a pioneering writer, those performers who can accurately play the part often find Oscar gold as their reward. Here are the Academy Award-winning actors, and the larger-than-life people they portrayed.
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