I think Henry might've had mixed feelings towards Elizabeth.  I agree with what you said Christinamarie about Henry being angry about her not having children – and there's no way that he would ever admit that his actions may have had something to do with the choices ELizabeth made later in either!  I also kinda think he might resent her accomplishments too, simply because she was female.

On the other hand he was certainly proud of her learning and intellectual accomplishments while he was alive and I can see him taking great satisfaction in her rule of England and it becoming the world power under her guidance that he always dreamed it could be (especially the defeat of the Armada; I wonder if he constantly reminds Charles V that HIS daughter beat his son good and proper…. ) 

Given Henry's view of the role of women, and their lack of ability to rule (a la Lady Mary), his feelings toward Elizabeth would have been complicated.

Yes, she was his daughter who inherited his Tudor coloration, intellect, temper, and ability to rule with a combination of love and fear. Yes, he might reconize Elizabeth's successes in her reign, and would probably delight in the Spanish Armada's defeat.

However, I feel Elizabeth was the least loved child, a reminder of Anne, and Henry's percieved mistakes. I think The Tudors do this with great intelligence and nuance. Elizabeth in many ways was her Mother's Daughter.

The thing, though, that would have set Henry off is Elizabeth's choice not to marry or have children- the destruction of Henry's much desired Tudor line. It would have been a kick in the face to everything Henry did. The bloodshed, breaking with Rome, killing Anne was for nought. I've always believed Elizabeth's choice not to marry was in direct defiance to everything her father did and her mother's fate.

However, Henry's delusional, meglomanic personality might struggle to be proud of anyone, especially a woman whose independence, intelligence, and self-confidence was contrary to the natural order of things.

Sharon said:

 

I wonder what he would have to say about his daughter Mary's reign?     

Well that's a whole other kettle of fish. Mary did marry, so he could not fault her there. Well, maybe he could. Mary did marry a Spainard and they were disliked in England. Mary did try for an heir, so Henry could love her for trying, but she did not succeed, so he would probably take issue with that.

She tried to bring Catholicism back to England, contrary to Henry's wishes, so I could only imagine his reaction.

The burnings of heretics were in line with Henry's own policies, but I'm sure he could find fault with it.

Mary declared her parent's marriage valid: that would have infuriated Henry.

Mary lost Calais, England's French prize and would not have been popular with Henry.

However, Mary did fight for her right to reign, and I cannot image Henry would fault that. She was fighting for her heitage and birthright. In essence, reaffirming Henry's Act of Succession. In her fight, she showed the greatness of her father.

Chrystinamarie123 said:

What do you guys think he would have thought of her affair with Robert Dudley?

The Dudley's were traitors, even before the Lady Jane Grey debacle.

Edmund Dudley, Robert's grandfather, was a minster to Henry VII and was responsible for collecting the King's debts. In the process, Edmund became quite wealthy and fell out of favour. Upon Henry VII's death, he was arrested and imprisoned in the tower. He tried to change Henry VIII's mind by writing The Tree of  Commonwealth, but the document never reached the new king. Edmund was executed on a charge of constructive treason.

So, the Dudleys were never in Henry's good books. They did serve the King because of their status, but Henry had a long memory, and must have treated them with some distrust.

The Dudley's were evangelicals, brought up in the enw faith. They were friends with the Seymours, So, they did have powerful friends at court.

As for Robert, I've never liked the man. He reminds me of a snake oil salesman. I hope Henry would have warned Elizabeth of what getting involved with the Dudley's could mean. Robert was a treacherous, cunning, power-hungry man, whose was stained with his family's deception. I doubt Henry would approve of his daughter carrying on with Robert so publically and ruining her reputation as a princess and lady. I am sure Henry's paternal instincts would have kicked in, like any father, and put both Robert and Elizabeth in their places.

However, Elizabeth was her own woman. I doubt she would have given Robert up for anything or anyone!

Chrystinamarie123 said:

With everything that Elizabeth accomplished she truly was more mighty than any son Henry could have dreamed of…but knowing all of that do you think Henry would have been proud? Before you jump to a full on yes, really think about Henry's personality. Apart of me feels like he would actually be little angry about Elizabeth's reign, the fact that she was Anne's daughter and the fact that Elizabeth had no children to carry on the Tudor blood seems like something that would anger Henry to me. 

 

I know with all of the many other good things Elizabeth did that he should be proud (whether he knew from beyond the grave or a simple “if” scenario) but Henry was a real wild card.

I can't imagine Henry VIII (as he was in his earthly life) taking pride in Elizabeth's reign at all.  Doing so would require him to admit he was mistaken in his beliefs that a Queen could not successfully hold and rule the nation.

I do believe in life after death and I'd like to believe that Henry knew his least loved, least valued child trumped pretty much any British monarch .  I'd like to believe he learned from his mistake.  

Elizabeth did alot of proud worthy things but I agree that he most likely had mixed feelings towards her. Mainly because she was Anne’s daughter, he wanted to erase everything that reminded him of Anne but he couldn’t with Elizabeth. I think he cared for her but still wanted to hate her and even though he tried I don’t think he could. If Henry had seen how his children ended up then I think he would of been proud of Elizabeth the most out of all of them, Edward wasn’t even King long enough to do anything to be proud of, and Mary…oh good Lord Mary, she had issues from the day Henry did a 360 on Katherine. She had so much hatred and anger in her that I think she took it out on others when she was Queen and she wanted someone to love her so much but it didn’t happen, her husband was a jerk. But then again Maybe Henry would never want to say he was proud of Elizabeth because she was a better ruler than he was and she did twice as much good then he did and she didn’t kill any spouses on the way!