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The Tudors

King Henry VIII

King Henry VIII
Catherine of Aragon
Anne Boleyn
Jane Seymour
Anne of Cleves
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard

Henry Tudor (June 28th 1491) was to enter the Church and possibly become Archbishop of Canterbury. He was well trained in languages and prepared for the Church but not educated in politics. Although later he would write treaties on both Religion and Politics that were and are considered to be genius

When Henry was 3 years old he was named the Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of Cinque Ports. Then a year later he was named Duke of York and a bit later was named Earl Marshal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

Upon the death of Arthur Tudor, Henry became heir. Since the marriage to Catherine had been pledged and many negotiations went with it, Henry VII decided to obtain a papal dispensation to marry the young widow to his son and heir Henry or to himself as a last resort. Henry VII wanted an alliance with Spain and so Catherine of Aragon had to swear that her marriage to Arthur Tudor had never been consummated. Henry VIII was not named Prince of Wales until a year after Arthur's death. He had to wait to see if his sister-in-law Catherine of Aragon would produce an heir to Arthur's title. Henry VII considered remarrying and having other children but never did it. He put off the marriage between Catherine of Aragon and his son Henry after reconsidering it and left it undone when he died on April 21st 1509.

Meanwhile Henry was pledged to marry Catherine but as time passed even though there were considerable political antics going on he declared that the engagement was done without his knowing about it. Although after the death of his father, his advisors persuaded him to marry Catherine to maintain their alliance with Spain.

Henry VIII was married to Catherine on June 11th 1509 and he was crowned King of England, Lord of Ireland and Heir to the throne of France on June 24th 1509. His new Queen Consort was crowned at the same time.

Henry had a way of dealing with anyone he disliked or who angered him. He would have them arrested, convicted and killed. He did so well that the figures are staggering. It is said he had at least 72,000 people executed, this averages between 5 and 6 people a day put to death from his coronation to his death. Some historians say the number is much higher. The first two arrested and charged with high treason were Sir Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley, ministers of his father's. They were executed in 1510.

Henry was a sportsman, a gambler, a poet, musician, avid builder and re-modeler, author and a man who believed strongly in the Christian faith. He was also a womanizer, petty, greedy, foul-tempered, a faithless friend and an unforgiving enemy. He demanded his courtiers be well educated, good in sports, or the arts. He demanded the best and most beautiful things decorate his court. He was known to have had mistresses and liked those around him to agree with him and match his mood which was quickly changeable. He liked having his own way to such a degree that anyone who crossed him was more than likely signing their own death warrant. Many historians called him a Renaissance man because of his love of beauty, the arts and the sciences.

1511 saw him entering into a political alliance with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire against France. He wanted to increase his holdings in Northern France. In 1513 he invaded France and defeated the French at the Battle of Spurs. During this time, his forces defeated and killed James IV of Scotland who had invaded England. James was an ally of France.

Catherine presented him with a daughter on February 18th 1516, Princess Mary. She later became Queen Mary I. Mary was the only child of the six Catherine and Henry VIII had to survive childhood.

Three of Henry's mistresses were Elizabeth Blount who gave him an illegitimate son named Henry FitzRoy (June 15th 1519). Henry was trying to have the boy legitimized when the boy died. This is also the only child born out of wedlock that Henry VIII claimed. Mary Boleyn elder sister of Anne was his mistress sometime between 1519 and 1526. Mary Shelton was his mistress for 6 months in 1535.

By 1525 Henry was fed up with Catherine and her inability to produce an heir for him. He wanted a divorce. During this time he also met Anne Boleyn and fell in love with her. She was part of Queen Catherine's retinue. She refused all of his advances and flatly refused to become his mistress as her sister had. She begged him to leave her alone. Although she was no fool and told him she would only submit to his advances as his queen. The more she refused him the stronger his desire to have her. She managed to keep him interested for 14 years.

There is much debate over Henry's motives for wanting an annulment from Catherine of Aragon. It could have been that Henry was bored by Catherine and her child bearing years were behind her. Or that he had fixed his interest on Anne Boleyn. There was also the matter of having sons to show his virility and strength. Last but not least was his desire to prevent his country from being torn apart by any further succession issues by having a male heir, a son. He was well aware of how easily Queens were either overthrown or overruled by husbands. He believed he needed to have male heirs to prevent this from happening.

Historians believe that King Henry VIII had been trying to find a way of divorcing Queen Catherine of Aragon for quite a while. He expected Catherine to do as he wanted over the annulment. When she refused he tried to convince her and then tried taking things from her to force her to comply with his wishes. She loved him, she refused to have her daughter declared illegitimate, she was sure he would forget Anne and return to his family and finally she was sure the Pope would not have sanctioned their marriage if it had been unclean or wrong. He decided to make a direct appeal to the Holy See. He did not tell his advisors of his plans. Henry sent his secretary (William Knight) instead of Cardinal Wolsey to Pope Clement VII to ask for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon on the grounds that her marriage to his brother Arthur had indeed been consummated and the original dispensation had been gained under false pretences.

While he was trying different ways to convince Catherine to give in, she was trying to stay married to him and was trying everything she could to stop an annulment from taking place. She continued to love him and believe that he would relent and return to his family.

Henry made both Catherine's and Mary's lives miserable. He moved them from place to place, each worse than the one before, he removed their servants a few at a time. Possessions were taken from them. Anything he could think of to make Catherine relent and give him the annulment.

He also wanted permission to enter a new contract of marriage to any woman regardless of her relations or promised connections whether they were legally or illegally obtained (such as being a Lady-in Waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon). A Lady-in-waiting could only be released from service by the death of the queen, death of herself or permission from the queen she served. However, if the queen was not really a queen then she had no right to have a retinue. Since Anne Boleyn was a Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen, if an annulment was obtained then Henry would be free to marry Anne Boleyn, and there was the fact that Anne Boleyn was a commoner.

There were serious problems attached to William Knight's mission. Charles V, The Holy Roman Emperor, had Pope Clement VII basically imprisoned in the Vatican after his Sack of Rome in 1527. Permission to see the Pope was very hard to get. William Knight did get a conditional permission for a new marriage for Henry VIII but that was all. When William Knight returned with this, Henry was forced to inform Cardinal Wolsey and set him to work on the issue.

Wolsey did everything he could to settle the problem and get Henry what he wanted but historians believe that Charles V “advised” Pope Clement VII on this matter. Queen Catherine was Charles V’s aunt, so the Pope refused permission for a new marriage until everything could be decided in Rome. Henry saw that there were going to be great problems with his annulment from the Queen.

Anne Boleyn was convinced that Cardinal Wolsey was working against Henry VIII and herself. She continually told Henry of this and in 1529 Cardinal Wolsey was replaced by Sir Thomas More. Wolsey begged Anne to help him get back in power but she had no intention of helping him so he plotted to with the Pope and the Queen to have Anne Boleyn exiled. When Henry found out, Wolsey was arrested for Treason but died (1530) before he could be executed.

In the beginning Sir Thomas More was hopeful. He told Parliament of Wolsey's treasonous plot and of the opinions of college theologians. Sir Thomas More was a devout Catholic and knew his duty to God, His Sovereign and his family. Sir Thomas started to worry over what Henry was doing which worsened in the following year. Henry started talking against the Pope and trying to deny the Pope's powers in England.

Anne Boleyn was getting more political power. Catherine of Aragon was removed from the Court and the Queens Chambers were turned over to Anne Boleyn. Anne was even given power to appoint certain people so when the old Archbishop of Canterbury (William Warham) died she put Thomas Cranmer, the Boleyn family chaplain in his place. With the help of the King of France, she succeeded in getting the Pope to accept Thomas Cranmer and make the appointment official.

Thomas Cromwell, a lawyer who supported Anne Boleyn went to Parliament with several Acts they wanted passed. They were the Supplication against the Ordinaries (complaints against the Catholic clergy in England and asked for relief against their abuse of power), and the Submission of the Clergy (the Church could not pass any Church laws without the approval and permission of the King). Both of these were designed to reduce the power of the Catholic Church and the Pope in England.

Thomas More, now Chancellor of England and Henry VIII's chief minister, was beginning to have a serious problem. He wanted to serve his King but his faith came first. He did not want to see this breach with the Pope.

In 1532 Henry VIII gained the support of the French King (Francis I) to his marriage to Anne Boleyn during a conference at Calais. As soon as he got back to England he married Anne in secret. Anne became pregnant almost immediately so there was a second public marriage on January 25th 1533.

On May 23 1533, Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury judged that the marriage of Catherine and Henry was at an end. A special court was set up so the Archbishop could attend to these matters. On May 28th 1533, the Archbishop also declared the marriage of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII to be valid.

With Catherine out of the way and her title taken from her, the way was clear to crown Anne. Anne Boleyn was crowned Queen Consort of Henry VIII on June 1 1533. On September 7 1533, Anne presented Henry with a daughter named Elizabeth in honor of his mother Elizabeth of York.

The Princess Mary hated Anne Boleyn and through her the new Princess Elizabeth. She refused to acknowledge Anne as Queen Consort or Elizabeth as a Princess. Henry had Princess Mary moved into Princess Elizabeth's household and brought to see her baby stepsister.

Princess Mary was then ordered to acknowledge Elizabeth as a Princess of the Realm. She stated she saw no other Princess there and burst into tears.

Meanwhile, Parliament also ruled the marriage to be valid. They also passed the Succession Act of 1533 which proclaimed that the Princess Mary was illegitimate and was not an heir to the throne. The newborn Princess Elizabeth was now the only heir to King Henry's throne. The Act also included a part that would require all adults to swear to the Act or they would be charged with Treason. It also showed the Parliament's powers to legislate over matters of religion. This definitely showed their anti-papal powers. Anyone who wrote or said anything against the marriage of Anne Boleyn to King Henry VIII would be arrested for Treason and all of their possessions seized.

Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England and Henry's chief minister was being torn between his duty to his faith and the Pope and his duty to his lord Henry VIII. He had to tread a very careful path.

In 1530 Sir Thomas More refused to be another signer of a letter to the Pope asking him to confirm Henry's annulment. It had been signed by leading church officials and noblemen.

In 1531 he tried to resign but Henry refused to accept it. Henry knew that Sir Thomas was an honest and honorable man who would do his best to serve him and to tell him the truth. After being forced to acknowledge that King Henry VIII was the head of the Church in England, Sir Thomas again asked to resign citing health reasons. This time Henry accepted.

Sir Thomas More did not attend the coronation of the Queen Consort Anne Boleyn, again citing health reasons. Instead sent word that he acknowledged her as the Queen Consort and wished the couple happiness. The people that considered this a snub to Anne included Henry. Soon after came the first attempt to discredit Thomas More. He was charged with accepting bribes but the case fell through. Historians believe that Richard Rich was part of the conspiracy to frame Sir Thomas.

Then in 1534 Thomas More was accused of conspiring with a nun but he had a letter showing that he had told the nun not to interfere in state politics. The nun had prophesized against the divorce of Henry and Catherine of Aragon.

The last effort to discredit him was the final one. Richard Rich, now Solicitor General, testified that he had heard Sir Thomas declare that the King was not the Supreme head of the Church in England. Others testified they had not heard this. Sir Thomas More again swore to the fact that Henry VIII was the head of the Church in England but he was still convicted on the most likely perjured testimony of Richard Rich by the judges who were all relatives of Anne Boleyn. He did speak out before his sentencing that he believed that no temporal man could be head of the spirituality. His sentence was to be hanged, drawn and quartered as a traitor. Henry later changed this to simple beheading and had Sir Thomas's head placed above London Bridge for a month.

Sir Thomas’s last words are believed to have been “I am the King’s good servant but God’s first”. His body was taken for burial to the Tower of London Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula. His daughter Margaret saved his head from being thrown in the River Thames and it was buried separately.

Parliament was extremely busy in 1534. They passed the Ecclesiastical Appointment Act, which stated that the church could only appoint bishops that were approved by the King. Then the Act of Supremacy which stated that Henry VIII was the one and only Supreme Head of the Church in England.

There was also the revocation of Peters Pence Act, which imposed a tax owed to the Pope for land in England. And last but not least, the Treason Act which meant you could not do or say anything against the King, his Queen or his heirs. You could not deny the king or queen or the heirs any title, land or property or you lost your titles, land, properties as well as your life. Life for the couple was not happy, Henry had taken a mistress and Anne was bitterly jealous and frequently fought with Henry on the subject.

Anne Boleyn was getting on the King's bad side. She had a miscarriage and Henry stated that he did not believe she was pregnant. Her failure to produce an heir was an act of betrayal as far as Henry was concerned. This all made the situation worse. Henry decided to try to find a way out of the marriage and not have to return to Catherine of Aragon.

Henry was also having to deal with still more problems over his religious changes. The people were not happy and the more he tried to suppress the problems the bigger they became. Parliament had passed a law ordering the dissolution of the large monasteries. There was the Pilgrimage of Grace. The leader was Robert Aske. Henry invited him to a feast, promised the rebels pardons and had Aske write down the issues and what had happened. Aske and the rest assumed everything would be fixed now that the King knew and understood their issues. They were very wrong. Henry broke his promise. he did not see the rebels as anything but traitors and felt he did not have to keep faith with them. Aske and his followers tried another rebellion but it was crushed. Robert Aske and his fellow leaders were tried and convicted of Treason, death followed quickly.

In 1535, Henry had taken another mistress, Margaret Shelton, a cousin of Anne’s. She was Princess Elizabeth’s governess and was married to a captain of the Princess’s guards. The affair lasted about 6 months.

In January of 1536, Catherine of Aragon died. Henry and Anne dressed in bright clothing and ordered public celebrations of joy over Catherine's death. Most of the world, including the Pope, now considered Henry to be a free man. His “wife” was dead. His marriage to Anne was not recognized. Anne Boleyn had made many enemies at court. She was called Nan Bullen behind her back to stress her humble background. The Boleyn’s were nobility, but she was considered to be a commoner since she was not a royal.

People were sure she no longer capable of producing an heir. She was now into her thirties. One Ambassador even described her as old, with withering looks and the disposition of an ass, braying one moment and stubborn the next. Although she had taken as her motto, “the most happy”, she was not. She was described as having a jealous, passionate nature and as being vindictive and sly.

Anne Boleyn was pregnant again and if she failed to give Henry a son she could very well end up like Wolsey and More. Her position was slippery at best. Henry had begun a flirtation with Jane Seymour. Jane like Anne sent Henry’s gifts back. Jane’s attitude only made him want her more just like in Anne’s case. Henry stopped his flirtation with Jane when he found out about Anne’s pregnancy. Henry was willing to continue with Anne if she gave him a son. He adopted a wait and see attitude.

When Anne was almost four months pregnant, Henry was thrown by his horse and hurt badly. People feared he would die. While he did recover, the wound to one of his legs grieved him terribly for the rest of his life. When Anne heard of the accident she lost the child she was carrying. It was the son Henry wanted so desperately.

That was the final straw as far as Henry was concerned. Henry moved Jane Seymour into new apartments. She was the opposite of Anne in many ways. She was docile, quiet, pious and chaste and while she finally accepted Henry’s gifts and attentions she would not accept anything from any others.

He had 5 men including Anne's brother arrested on the trumped up charges of incest and treason. Henry divorced the disgraced Anne Boleyn. On May 19th 1536, Anne was taken for her private beheading at Tower Green. Henry was again free to marry whoever he wanted.

Henry quickly married Jane Seymour. She just happened to have been Anne Boleyn's Lady-in-Waiting. She was also the first truly legal wife he had. Jane was no fool. Jane's coronation had to be put on hold because plague had broken and Henry was concerned about her health. Henry told her it should wait until the following spring. He planned a lavish ceremony for her. Some historians believe he may have had another reason for waiting. He may not have wanted to crown her as Queen Consort until after he saw if she would give him his required son. If not then, it would be easier to get rid of her. An heir was a political necessity which took precedence over his personal feelings. His country was tired of civil war and wanted no more over a succession issue.

Once Queen, Jane chose a phoenix rising from a castle filled with Tudor roses and the panther for her heraldry. This allowed Anne's leopards and falcons to be easily changed. She chose as her motto “bound to obey and serve”. She banned the French fashions of Anne's time and was extremely strict in the clothing worn by her ladies. She apparently detailed what could and could not be worn. Her reign was one of decorum in fashion and deed by the Ladies. She was considered to be formal, strict and quiet. Henry was incredibly generous in the dowry he gave Jane. He gave her 104 manors and 5 castles as well as forests and gardens.

She only once stated her political opinion to Henry. He told her to remember what happened to the last queen who meddled in his affairs. There are articles which say she asked pardons for the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace and others say she mentioned that Henry's political problems were God's answer to his closing of the monasteries. Jane was able to "counsel" Henry many times by being submissive, quiet and obedient. She did not argue with him as Anne did so Henry had few occasions to be angered by her. She is not known to have pressed him on religion even though she was a Catholic.

Jane counseled Henry to legitimize his daughters and put them back into the line of succession. He told her to look to her own children by him. Jane convinced Henry to visit Mary. After the visit Mary wrote the Pope that her mother's marriage to Henry was invalid. She also managed to write a secret message to the Pope saying the letter was written under pressure from her father. Mary was allowed back at court.

The Second Act of Succession was passed making Princess Mary and Princess Elizabeth illegitimate and only children of his by Jane Seymour heirs. With his Acts of Succession, he effectively removed the title of Princess from his daughters.

Henry was very fond of his daughter Elizabeth and called her his “little Madam Ysabeau”. He even allowed his daughters precedence over their “Royal” cousins at court. No matter how fond of them he was he still wanted a male heir. He was determined to get one.

Henry was very busy. He united England and Wales. He also lost his illegitimate son, Henry FitzRoy which made having another son crucial.

Jane Seymour was busy too, she had conceived. Again Jane Seymour's coronation was put on hold. Henry was known to have indulged her while she was pregnant. She developed a craving for quail so he immediately ordered them from France.

Henry was very involved with the upcoming birth. He had a Garter Stall made at St. George's Chapel in Windsor and remodeled the Royal apartments at Hampton Court Palace.

In 1537, Prince Edward was born. When King Henry VIII took his newborn son into his arms he cried. On 18 October, Henry had his son proclaimed Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Carnarvon. Jane was warmly wrapped and carried to the chapel to see the christening of her son. Jane's coronation was set to take place right after the christening of Prince Edward. At Prince Edward's christening, Mary stood as his godmother, while Elizabeth, now four, was carried by Thomas Seymour who planned to marry her when she was older.

Some historians believe that Jane Seymour was the true love of his life, while others believe he considered her his only queen because she gave him his precious son. Her reign as queen was to be short lived. The birth was hard. She developed an infection and died on October 24th 1537 – without ever having a coronation.

Henry and his court mourned Jane for three months, unlike the deaths of Catherine and Anne. Upon her death, Hampton Court was hung with black. Henry did not attend her funeral but mourned in private. Princess Mary was the head mourner. It was over 2 years before Henry remarried. This is the longest he had been without a wife, although he had already started looking around and finally entered into negotiations for a new bride.

Henry wanted to marry again to guarantee the succession. Thomas Cromwell now, 1st Earl of Essex and Henry's chief minister, suggested Anne of Cleves. She was well connected. Her brother was a well known Protestant and Duke of Cleves. Henry sent some of his courtiers and Hans Holbein the Younger to see her and to have Holbein paint her. Henry wanted to know what she looked like and what her disposition was before he would agree to marry her. His courtiers told him that Anne of Cleves was gentle and docile. The portrait might have been a little more flattering than truthful, so King Henry agreed to the marriage.

Their wedding night was not successful and Henry came away saying he did not like her. Henry tried everything to get out of the marriage but could not do so without causing political problems with the Germans. They were formally married on January 6th 1540. By June, Henry wanted Anne of Cleves gone and on June 24th he ordered her out of the Court. Henry is said to have referred to Anne of Cleves as the “Flanders Mare” during their short marriage. It was the same as calling her ugly or horse-faced.

Less than 2 weeks later she was asked to agree to an annulment. She swore that Henry only kissed her forehead when he came to her room each night. She was no fool and offered no trouble with the annulment. The marriage was officially dissolved on July 9th.

After the end of the marriage Anne of Cleves was given the title of Henry’s “beloved sister” and stayed in England. She was given a good settlement which included some of the Boleyn property. Upon her death, she was buried in Westminster Abbey. While Mary was a Catholic and Anne was a Lutheran, they became friends and remained friends throughout their lives.

Henry VIII never forgave Thomas Cromwell for arranging the marriage to Anne of Cleves. Cromwell lost all favor in Henry's court. He was accused of treason and beheaded on July 28th 1540.

On the same day, Henry VIII married again. This time it was one of Anne Boleyn’s cousins, Catherine Howard, who was a bit loose in her morals. Henry seemed very happy with this new Queen Consort but Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, hated the Howard family and happily passed on the news of Catherine's doings to Henry VIII. Henry was told by Cranmer that Catherine Howard had been having an affair before their marriage and that she even had the audacity to hire her partner in crime as her secretary. His name was Francis Dereham and he was once informally engaged to Catherine Howard.

Henry did not want to believe what was going on but he allowed Cranmer to conduct a further investigation. Catherine made things worse for herself by lying. Had she admitted to her engagement to Dereham, it would have voided her marriage to Henry and possibly saved her life. She accused Dereham of forcing her into an affair after she was married to Henry. Dereham knew his life was forfeit but he had a last victory, he exposed her affair with one of the courtiers, Thomas Culpepper, shortly after she and Henry were married. Catherine Howard was executed on February 13th 1542. Henry again divorced his wife before executing her.

King Henry VIII finished closing all of the monasteries and all of the property now belonged to the Crown. The Abbots and Priors who were in the House of Lords lost their seats and the Lords Temporal now for the first time outnumbered the Lords Spiritual.

His last wife was Katherine Parr. She was a rich widow and a reformer. She dared to argue with Henry over religion and only managed to survive by being submissive. She convinced Henry to reinstate his daughters. In the Third Act of Succession they were still classified as illegitimate but they would come after Prince Edward in line of succession. Katherine Parr managed to keep her head in spite of Henry’s well known temper, paranoia and cruel disposition.

Henry was dying. He had weeping boils on his body, gout, and had to be helped to move around. He was also extremely fat. His waist measured 54 inches. One hundred years after his death there were rumors that he had syphillis but it is much more likely that he had Type 2 Diabetes which would not have been treated. He was a perfect candidate for diabetes and historians believe this was the true cause of his death.

Henry liked to design and build, and loved to remodel. He had enlarged, remodeled or built many of the royal castles and palaces. He also had many defensive fortifications and castles built to protect England from invasion. He also had the whole of England surveyed. He wrote books, poetry and songs. He had artists with the “new way of perspective painting” brought to England. He decorated his homes and properties with art and beautiful tapestries. He kept up on the sciences and loved new inventions. He believed that at least some women should be educated, especially in languages and the arts. He was a man of many faces. He died on January 28th 1547.

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