Henry+VIII

=media type="custom" key="253601" width="33" height="58"= HENRY VIII BORN: 28 JUNE 1491 SUCCEEDED: 21 APRIL 1509 DIED: 28 JANUARY 1547

Henry VIII is the most famous Tudor king. He was a very selfish person and by the end of his life everyone was afraid of him, mainly because of his ruthless behaviour toward anyone who didn't agree with him. Henry Tudor, named after his father, Henry VII, was born June 28, 1491 in Greenwich Palace. Since he was the second son, and not expected to become king, we don’t know much about him until the death of his older brother Arthur.

We know that he attended the wedding celebrations of Arthur and his bride, Catherine of Aragon, in November 1501 when he was 10 years old. Shortly after the wedding, Arthur and Catherine went to live in Wales, as was tradition for the heir to the throne. But, four months after the marriage began, it ended, with the death of Arthur Prince of Wales. A treaty was signed that would allow Catherine to marry the next heir to the throne -- Prince Henry.

It was considered necessary to seek the pope’s permission before Henry was allowed to marry Catherine, as she was his dead brother's wife, and this marriage was prohibited in Leviticus. At the time, and throughout her life, Catherine denied that her marriage to Arthur had even been consummated (and given the boy's health, that is most likely the case) so no dispensation was needed. However, both the parties in Spain and England wanted to be sure of the legitimacy of the marriage, so permission from the pope was sought and received. This issue would be very important during the Divorce and the Break with Rome.

Henry was almost 18 years old when he became king, and had been preparing for it from the time of his older brother Arthur's death. At this age, he was not the image that we usually call to mind when we hear the name Henry VIII. He was not the overweight and ill man of his later years. In his youth, he was handsome and athletic. He was tall and had bright red hair and beard, a far cry from the fat, balding and unhealthy man that is often remembered

Henry VIII is probably best known because of his six wives. Follow the link to read about them!

The Tudors who succeeded Henry to the throne were his children [|Edward], [|Mary] and [|Elizabeth]. In addition to these [|Jane Grey] was also Queen for a very short period during the Tudor period. Follow the links to learn more about them.