Henry VIII: A king of contradictions.
Was he a visionary reformer, a ruthless tyrant, or both? From his six wives and the break with Rome to his dramatic legacy, I’m tackling the top 10 questions about England’s most infamous monarch.
Why did he have so many wives?
Who was his favourite?
And why did he break from Rome?
Transcript:
Henry VIII—a king whose name instantly conjures images of power, passion, and upheaval. But beyond the six wives and larger-than-life reputation lies a fascinating story of a man who transformed England forever.
In this video, I’ll be tackling the 10 most frequently asked questions about Henry VIII—from his infamous marriages to his break from Rome, his legacy, and even the man behind the crown. Whether you’re curious about his motivations, his transformations, or the truths behind the myths, this is the video for you! Let’s dive into the world of Bluff King Hal.
Why did Henry VIII have six wives?
Henry VIII is that larger than life monarch who’s famous for having six wives, but why did the king have so many wives?
Well, the answer lies in his desperate pursuit of a male heir. In Tudor England, securing the throne with a male successor was seen as vital to maintaining stability. Henry VIII’s father, Henry VII, was the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty and prior to that, two rival royal houses, the Houses of Lancaster and York, had battled for the throne. Lancastrian Henry VII had brought peace to the land, uniting the houses with his marriage to Elizabeth of York, and had passed the throne successfully on to his second son, the spare, having lost his first son, Arthur Tudor.
Henry VIII was very aware that the security of his throne lay in him having a male heir, and preferably a spare too. His first wife, Catherine of Aragon, had been pregnant at least six times but had failed to produce a surviving son. Henry had moved on to Anne Boleyn, a marriage that combined obsession or lust with the promise of a son, but had ultimately failed. His third marriage to Jane Seymour had produced the long-awaited son, before Jane had died, and then his fourth marriage had been a rather short-lived political union. Henry would still have been keen to have a spare and so when his eye was caught by the young attractive Catherine Howard he quickly made her wife number 5, only for her to end her days on the scaffold. And what was marriage number six about. Well, I think he wanted a wife who could be a companion to him in his twilight years.
Catherine was intelligent, mature and charming, the perfect queen consort and someone who could be trusted to be regent while he was campaigning, and although she was no nursemaid, she had experience of being married to a man who had health issues. She had patience and their marriage seems to have been one of affection and mutual respect, apart from a blip or two.
Who was Henry VIII’s favourite wife?
This is one of the most debated questions about Henry VIII! Many suggest Jane Seymour, his third wife, was his favourite because 1) She gave him his only legitimate son, Edward VI, the greatest gift, sacrificing her life in doing so, and 2) He chose to be laid to rest with her in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Others argue that it could have been Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, as he was married to for over 20 years and shared significant history with her. He chose to marry her, to be her knight in shining armour and save her from an uncertain future, and they were happy for many years.
Still others argue that it was Anne Boleyn, for whom he famously risked everything, breaking with the authority of Rome to marry her, moving heaven and earth to possess her. That theirs was a tragic love story. Hmmm… personally, I think it was more to do with obsession.
Only Henry VIII could answer that question, really, and I suspect he’d choose Jane simply because she gave him a son.
Why did Henry VIII break from the Catholic Church?
Henry VIII’s break from the authority of Rome is one of the most significant events in English history because it brought about the English Reformation.
The official reason for the break is that the king wanted an annulment of his first marriage and the Pope refused to grant it. But there’s more to it—Henry was also frustrated with the power of the Church and the abuses and corruption he saw in it. He saw an opportunity to tackle the abuses while also seizing control of its wealth and authority. This led to Henry declaring himself Supreme Head of the Church in England, which, although that church was very Catholic in flavour in Henry’s reign, was the beginning of the English Reformation. It wasn’t just about love or obsession, it wasn’t just about Anne Boleyn—it was about power, politics, and religion.
Was Henry VIII a good king?
Whether Henry VIII was a good king depends on your perspective. On the one hand, Henry VIII was a charismatic leader who strengthened the monarchy, modernised the navy and government, and reshaped religion in England. On the other hand, he’s remembered as a tyrant, a monster even, a man notorious for his cruelty, executions, and reckless spending. His policies brought lasting change, but his reign also left England divided and financially strained. Like many historical figures, he’s a mix of brilliance and flaws. He’s Bluff King Hal to some and a monster to others, but whatever your view, he’s a fascinating man.
How did Henry VIII change England?
There’s no doubt about it, Henry VIII’s reign transformed England. His break from Rome not only reshaped English religion but also led to the dissolution of monasteries, redistributing wealth and land to the crown and nobility. It changed the English landscape and abbeys were plundered and fell into ruin, and the fall of the abbeys led to a social welfare crisis as the monasteries had provided education and had acted as hospitals, care homes, and shelters.
Henry invested heavily in the navy, laying the foundation for England’s later maritime power. Politically, he centralised authority, making the monarchy more powerful. However, his changes came at a cost—religious divisions, executions, and economic challenges.
Why did Henry VIII execute so many people?
Civil war was in living memory and Henry VIII was very aware that his rule could be challenged, that he could even be deposed. He had to secure his throne, he had to show his strength and stamp on any potential challenges to his authority. He was a paranoid man, but probably with good reason. He dealt with rebellions brutally, he dealt with those who defied him in any way brutally, and he also got rid of those he saw as having any kind of claim to his throne. He became more ruthless as he aged, but then he was dealing with more challenges and he had to eliminate any perceived threats, punish those who crossed him and consolidate his power.
Did Henry VIII really become a tyrant in his later years?
Yes, I believe that Henry VIII can be called a tyrant. I think he always had that streak in him – look at how he started his reign when he was just 17 by having his late father’s former advisors executed on false charges as scapegoats for the late king’s unpopular financial legislation.
I’m sure that as he aged, the chronic pain he lived with contributed to his bad temper, and he became increasingly paranoid and controlling, relying on fear and executions to maintain authority. The once jovial, athletic, charming Renaissance prince transformed into a dangerous, autocratic monster in my view.
What did Henry VIII really look like?
Most of us picture Henry VIII as the stout, imposing figure immortalised by portraits copied from Hans Holbein’s now lost mural. That king with his broad padded shoulders, hands on hips, legs astride, an image of strength and power, a man not to be messed with. That larger than life Henry is from the later years of his reign, when he was overweight. Early in his reign, however, Henry was described as tall, athletic, and handsome, excelling in jousting and dancing. Over time, his health deteriorated, and he gained significant weight due to injuries and ill health preventing him from jousting etc. and his rich diet, which was very meat based. By the end of his life, he was nearly unrecognisable from his younger self.
As far as his colouring was concerned, he had red hair and a fair complexion.
How did Henry VIII die?
Henry VIII died on 28th January 1547, at the age of 55. In his later years, the king suffered from a range of health issues, including obesity, probable diabetes, and chronic leg ulcers that likely led to sepsis. Some theories also suggest heart disease or complications from his injuries.
What is Henry VIII’s legacy?
Henry VIII’s main legacy has to be the English Reformation. Although the Church of England as we know it today wasn’t properly founded until his daughter Elizabeth I’s reign, with her religious settlement, the break with Rome and the monarch becoming the supreme head of the English church was the catalyst of the English Reformation, and Henry VIII’s reign saw reformers like Thomas Cranmer becoming leading figures in the church and also in government.
Henry VIII can be said to have reshaped the nation’s religious and political landscape. His reign saw the English Bible being used in Churches, his Reformation Parliament saw fundamental changes in the nature of Parliament and government, and, as David Starkey notes, he was “the king who reinvented England, presided over the remaking of English as a language and literature… he carried the powers of the English monarchy to their peak.”
However, he’s also remembered for his tyranny, lavish spending, and the human cost of his reign. He plundered the monasteries, destroyed religious shrines, spent money on campaigns abroad with little to show for them, and executed wives, loyal servants to the crown, men of the church and other innocents.
So there you have it—10 burning questions about Henry VIII answered! From his pursuit of a male heir and his dramatic break with Rome to his larger-than-life personality and lasting legacy, it’s clear why Henry VIII remains one of history’s most intriguing and controversial monarchs.
But what do you think? Was he a visionary reformer, a ruthless tyrant, or perhaps a bit of both? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Later this week, I’ll be sharing my view on whether Henry VIII was a tyrant and monster.
Henry V111 was many things, but dull he certainly was not, I believe he was a mixture of both visionary reformer and merciless tyrant, multi faceted, here was a man who sent men and women to the scaffold with no qualms yet who wept on confronted with the truth of his fifth queens betrayal, a man who took a childish delight in masquerade and like an eager love sick schoolboy rode to meet his fourth wife in disguise, a man who in his youth was described as affable genial generous hearted and who put men at ease, yet when he took command, the first thing he did was send his fathers tax gatherers to the block who were, after all, only acting on Henry V11’s orders, how is it possible this man who was described as the most handsome prince in Christendom this sunny natured king was capable of dealing out the extreme penalty? Years later his frantic one time friend and loyal minister wrote to him from his cell, ‘ I beg for mercy mercy mercy ‘, to such pleas Henry was deaf, he was deaf to the anguished sobs of his fifth queen and spared no pity towards his second queen, nor her alleged lovers either, apart from the blood soaked endings of so many of his close friends and advisors his queens and relations, there is the topic of that which he did achieve, the break from Rome and his own church which he established, we can argue with the catholics who found it incomprehensible that it was a victory for those with reformist leanings and paved the way for a New England, and that it was also a victory against the corruption of the old faith which Henry V111 abhorred, at heart he was a catholic he had been brought up in that faith yet it was a barrier when he sought to rid himself of his fourth queen, and really one can wonder if this king ever regretted it, especially after Anne Boleyn gave birth to a daughter and not the desired son, in the end this obsession of his became as expendable as one of his greyhounds having become too old to hunt, a replacement could easily be found, yet Anne was seen as the central cause of the break from Rome and through her, the king had gained more power, he was now absolute ruler and yet she went the same way as Thomas More Buckingham and many others, if Anne could be held responsible for Rome than she was not to blame for the way he developed into a tyrant in his declining years, yet maybe at the onset the seeds were already there? One only has to study Epsom and Dudley and the Duke of Buckingham, look at the Carthusian monks who died the most horrible deaths, was it necessary to execute these peaceful men of god simply because they went with their conscience? Henry also having wasted much of his fathers fortune kept the riches from the monasteries for himself, an idea his chief minister was in tune with, Cromwell who had been born into poverty himself was not perturbed with the fact that these houses of refuge had clothed the sick the needy and the homeless, people whom he had once walked amongst, so the dissolution of these beautiful buildings I feel was unworthy of a king whose own subjects should have been his first consideration, although to give him credit a son was his first consideration like all rulers before and in his own time, his European brothers had the same dilemma, yet Henry more so as he was the head of a dynasty, seen by many of the much older noble families of England as a dynasty who had usurped the throne, even Richard 111’s detractors were not pleased to see a Welshman wear the ancient royal crown of England, the Plantagenets always bothered Henry, his claim came through his mother yet it would have been his father who impressed upon him the need for a son, and when he grew older and after three marriages all he had to show for was one son and two daughters, it is no wonder that he became ever more paranoid of those around him, of plots and counter plots, it appeared he trusted not his council, he berated Wriothesley when he came to arrest his queen yet Henry had signed the warrant for her arrest, he did like to appear playing them of against the other, well aware of his passing years and of his health issues he must have been afraid for young Edward, it did not bode well for a kingdom when the crown was left to a child, and Henry knew this, no wonder then that he sent Lady Pole to the block as an example of the punishment against treachery, the treachery being her son Reginald Pole, and when he heard of his mothers death he lambasted the king most bitterly, look at his other achievements, the building of the navy which set the ground for Englands later maritime power and the colonisation of many unchartered lands, and the building of fine palaces, sadly Nonsuch which was his pride and joy fell into disrepair and yet his name is connected to many others, Oatlands Whitehall Greenwich Hatfield and Hampton Court, which first belonged to Cardinal Wolsley, Henry V111 was a supreme ruler which Charles 1st did try to emulate but it was the wrong century, and he became something of a martyr to the royalists but it was Henry V111 who after shaking of the shackles of Rome reigned supreme with the divine right of kings, his hero was Henry V yet he never became another monarch like him and glorious victory in battle was denied him, though he did achieve one towards the end of his reign with his sixth queen acting as regent, he did achieve much yet his reign was controversial and littered with corpses, when we weigh up this king’s achievements with the amount of blood that was shed, we can ask does the blood of money outweigh his achievements? Because of him we have our own Church of England and the nation became a more independent one, and yet when he died the realm was left religiously divided and not as rich as when he inherited it, and he left a nine year old boy as his heir, we can ask so many questions about this king yet there are some only he can answer, the question over who was his favourite wife as Claire says, only Henry knows, but I doubt he loved any of them as much as he loved himself, his own authority his sense of self worth, even his deep feelings for Anne Boleyn were based really on the fact she was unattainable to him, when he had her the ardour soon vanished, I believe he saw his queens as expendable beings like his other possessions, his dogs his falcons his array of hats and cloaks….. he was in love with giddy Catherine Howard or so he appeared to be, but can a man really in love send the object of that love to her death? Surely incarceration would have sufficed, it is his lack of mercy that really defines Henry V111’s character and ultimately his reign.