Prince Henry VIII

Prince Henry

Henry Tudor was the son of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.
Since he was the second son, and not expected to become king, we know little of his childhood until the death of his older brother, Arthur Prince of Wales.
Henry was created Prince of Wales after the death of Arthur.

A dispensation from Pope Julius II was necessary in order to allow him to marry his brother's widow Catherine of Aragon, and this was obtained on the basis of non-consummation.
They contracted a marriage on June 11, 1509.
Henry was just shy of 18 years old when he became king, and when he was young, 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.
Henry's marital career is probably the thing that he is most known for.

He reigned as King of England from April 22 (crowned on June 24) 1509 until his death on January 28, 1547.
He was accorded the title King of Ireland by the Irish Parliament in 1541, having previously been styled Lord of Ireland.

The Young King

Shortly after becoming king, he inherited £1.5 million pounds from his father and succeeded in the first peaceful transition of power after the Wars of the Roses.
Henry brought a youth and vigor to the Court that had long been lacking and Henry dreamed of glory beyond the hunt and joust.

Following difficulties with Rome over his divorce from Catherine , Henry split from the Roman Catholic Church, seized many of the Church's assets, and formed the Church of England.
The other major achievement of Henry's reign was the Act of Union of 1536, which effectively brought Wales under English government, with the result that the first Welsh members of parliament were elected in 1542.
Henry was proud of his own Welsh blood.

In 1533 Henry introduced the first legislation against homosexuals with the Buggery Act, making “buggery” punishable by hanging, a penalty not finally lifted until 1861.

It is well known that, in later life, King Henry VIII was grossly overweight, and possibly suffered from both gout and syphilis.

Henry died in 1547 at Whitehall in London and was buried at Windsor.

At his death King Henry VIII left three children, each of whom had a turn on the English throne: Edward VI, Mary I (“Bloody” Mary), and Elizabeth I.