Henry VIII is one of the most famous and oppressive kings in English history, who became the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty. The king is known for his six marriages, for the sake of one of which he began a high-profile divorce proceedings: he went against the Pope and made the Reformation in the religion of the country, and all for the sake of one woman - Anne Boleyn.
The personality of King Henry VIII
Henry VIII was born on June 28, 1491 at the Royal Palace of Greenwich, England. The father of the future king was Henry VII, and his mother was Elizabeth of York. After the death of his older brother Prince Arthur in 1502, Henry became heir to the throne and took the throne in 1509.
The young king was well built and well educated. He spoke French, Latin and Spanish. Also, Henry VIII entertained himself through hunting and knightly tournaments. The king was a creative person, wrote books and music, loved art and playing many musical instruments.
Henry VIII was a very devout man. Due to the fact that he condemned the religious reformer Martin Luther and supported the Roman Catholic Church, he received the nickname "Defender of the Faith."
Henry is the second king of the new (at that time) Tudor dynasty. The Tudor's rights to govern the country were very dubious, as a result of which the young king developed a mania of persecution and conspiracy. Along with his benefactors, the king was a very cruel man and subject to any influence and rumor. At the slightest suspicion that someone was trying to poison or kill him, the king quickly dealt with the conspirators by means of execution.
In 1536, the king suffered a lifelong leg injury, which changed the character of Henry VIII: the monarch experienced frequent nervous breakdowns, despotic and unbalanced behavior.
The politics of King Henry VIII
Upon accession to the throne, the king inherited a country with a stable economy and full treasury. Surrounded by aristocrats, as was customary from time immemorial at the royal court, the king made a splash when he took on the post of Chancellor and Cardinal of the Kingdom of England Thomas Wolsey in 1515 - a man of low birth, the son of a butcher. He became one of the most powerful and influential ministers in British history.
Subsequently, Thomas Wolsey will hire Thomas Cromwell, the grandson of a blacksmith and the son of an innkeeper, who received the post of secretary, lawyer and manager of the cardinal estates. Heinrich liked to surround himself with people "from the bottom", because only in them he did not see danger for himself.
For the first 15 years, the king preferred the idle life of the Renaissance, entrusting the actual government of the country to Thomas Wolsey. But under the influence of rumors about his abuse of power and the lack of results in negotiations with the Pope during the dissolution of the marriage with Catherine of Aragon, he sent Wolsey to prison, who died before the sentencing in 1530. Thomas Wolsey was replaced by Thomas Cromwell.
England's foreign policy at the time was focused on Western Europe, with ever-changing alliances with the kings of Spain, France and the Holy Roman Emperor.
Henry VIII subdued the independent northern counties and Wales, and also invested to increase the navy from 5 to 53 ships.
Under the king, palaces were built, art and literature developed.
The second half of Henry's reign was dominated by two issues that are very important for the later history of England and the monarchy: continuity and the Reformation, which would later lead to the formation of a new religion - Anglicanism. In 1534, the king will pass the "Act of Suprematism", an act of parliament that proclaims Henry VIII the sole supreme head of the English church.
Personal life of Henry VIII
The first marriage of the king was with the widow of his brother in 1509 - Catherine of Aragon. She was able to give him only one daughter in 1516 - Mary. However, in order to consolidate his dynasty on the throne, the king needed a male heir, and Catherine was already over forty.
At this time, Anne Boleyn appeared in the life of Henry VIII - a woman who played an important role in the history of England. The king fell in love with Anna and wanted to marry her, but it was not so easy to break off the marriage with Catherine of Aragon. At that time, divorces in royal families happened, but extremely rarely, and a very weighty reason was needed for the dissolution. A complex divorce process began, which ended in success only after Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church and founded a new religion in the country - Anglicanism, placing himself at the head of a new church in England. Thomas Cromwell was of great help in the matter of divorce to the king. However, all the hard way done was in vain - Anne Boleyn was able to give birth to the king only the girl Elizabeth. Later, the king lost interest in Anna, and executed her in 1536, the reason for this was the alleged "adultery".
A week after the execution of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII marries one of her maids of honor, Jane Seymour. She manages to give the king what he so desired - a son. But 12 days after the birth of the boy, Jane herself dies of childbirth fever.
Thomas Cromwell recommended Henry VIII to marry Anna of Cleves, giving the king only a portrait of the chosen one and promising a profitable alliance. Heinrich was fascinated by the girl's beauty and agreed to the marriage in absentia. But in fact, the new wife turned out to be not at all attractive and caused only disgust in the king. Thomas Cromwell fell out of favor for his mistake and was executed in 1540, and his marriage to Anna of Cleves was declared null and void.
The fifth wife of Henry VIII was Catherine Howard, the daughter of the Duke of Norfolk, close to the king, who came from an ancient and respected aristocratic family. The girl was pretty, but did not understand her important position, betraying the king, for which her head was cut off in 1542.
Finally, already at an advanced age, Henry VIII decided to marry for the sixth time. The widow Catherine Parr became the king's chosen one twice; Henry saw in her a close friend rather than a wife. Catherine barely survived Henry VIII after his death in 1547.
As a result, from six marriages, Henry had only one son - a sickly boy who became King Edward VI, who died at the age of 15. After that, the struggle for the throne began between the two daughters of Henry - Mary, a zealous Catholic known in history as "Bloody Mary", and Elizabeth - who became a great queen, whose reign in history is called the "Golden Age of England".
Death of King Henry VIII
In 1536, at a knightly tournament with Henry, an accident occurred: the 44-year-old king in full attire was knocked down from his horse, which was also armored for such battles. The horse fell and crushed the king, as a result of which Henry received serious injuries, and the leg was never able to heal to the end, as a result of which old wounds were periodically opened. The king had to leave sporting events forever. The wounds caused Henry great pain, which negatively affected his state of mind: the king had the first breakdowns and despotism.
By the end of his life, Henry was so overweight that he could not get out of bed without help. In 1547, the king's health deteriorated significantly, as a result of which Henry died.
