Henry VIII - one of the most famous and tyrannical kings in English history, who became the second monarch in the Tudor dynasty. The king is known for his six marriages, for the sake of one of which he began a high-profile divorce proceedings: he went against the Pope and carried out the Reformation in the religion of the country, and all for the sake of one woman - Anna Boleyn.
Personality of King Henry VIII
Henry VIII was born on June 28, 1491 in the Royal Palace of Greenwich, England. The father of the future king was Henry VII, and his mother - Elizabeth of York. After the death of his older brother, Prince Arthur in 1502, Henry became the heir to the throne and ascended the throne in 1509.
The young king was well built and well educated. He was fluent in French, Latin and Spanish. Henry VIII was also entertained through hunting and knightly tournaments. The king was a creative person, was engaged in writing books and music, he loved art and playing many musical instruments.
Henry VIII was a very pious man. Thanks to condemning the religious reformer Martin Luther and supporting the Roman Catholic Church, he received the nickname "Defender of the Faith."
Henry is the second king of the new (at that time) Tudor dynasty. The Tudors' rights to govern the country were highly dubious, as a result of which the young king developed a mania of persecution and conspiracy. Along with his benefactors, the king was a very cruel man and subject to any influence and rumors. At the slightest suspicion that someone was trying to poison him or kill him, the king quickly cracked down on the conspirators through execution.
In 1536, the king received a lifelong leg injury, which is why the character of Henry VIII changed: the monarch had frequent nervous breakdowns, autocratic and unbalanced behavior.
King Henry VIII Politics
Upon accession to the throne, the king inherited a country with a stable economy and a full treasury. Surrounded by aristocrats, as was customary for centuries at the royal court, the king made a splash, taking on the position of chancellor and cardinal of the Kingdom of England, Thomas Wolsey, in 1515 - a man of low descent, the son of a butcher. He became one of the most powerful and influential ministers in British history.
Subsequently, Thomas Wolsey will take on the service of Thomas Cromwell - the grandson of the blacksmith and son of the innkeeper, who received the position of secretary, lawyer and manager of the Cardinal estates. Henry liked to surround himself with people "from the bottom, " because only in them he did not see danger to himself.
For the first 15 years, the king preferred the idle life of the Renaissance, entrusting the actual governance of the country to Thomas Walsy. But under the influence of rumors about his abuse of power and the lack of results in negotiations with the Pope during the dissolution of marriage with Catherine of Aragon, he sent Walsy to prison, which died before the sentencing in 1530. Thomas Wolsey was replaced by Thomas Cromwell.
The foreign policy of England at that time was focused on Western Europe, with constantly changing alliances with the kings of Spain, France and the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Henry VIII subjugated the independent northern counties and Wales, and also invested in increasing the navy from 5 to 53 ships.
Under the king palaces were built, art and literature developed.
In the second half of Henry's reign, two questions dominated, very important for the later history of England and the monarchy: continuity and the Reformation, which in the future will lead to the formation of a new religion - Anglicanism. In 1534, the king will adopt the “Act of Suprematism, ” a parliamentary act proclaiming Henry VIII the sole supreme head of the Church of England.
The personal life of Henry VIII
The first marriage of the king was with the widow of his sibling in 1509 - Catherine of Aragon. She was able to give him only one daughter in 1516 - Maria. However, in order to consolidate his dynasty on the throne, the king needed a male heir, and Catherine was already over forty.
At that time, Anna Boleyn appeared in the life of Henry VIII - a woman who played a large role in the history of England. The king fell in love with Anna and wanted to marry her, but breaking the marriage with Catherine of Aragon was not so simple. At that time, divorces in royal families did occur, but very rarely, and a very significant reason was needed for termination. A difficult divorce proceedings began, which was successful only after Henry VIII broke up with the Roman Catholic Church and founded a new religion in the country - Anglicanism, placing himself at the head of a new church in England. The king was greatly assisted by Thomas Cromwell. However, the whole difficult journey turned out to be futile - Anna Boleyn was able to give birth to the king only the girl Elizabeth. Subsequently, the king cooled to Anna, and executed her in 1536, the reason for this was the imaginary "adultery."
A week after the execution of Anna, Boleyn Henry VIII marries one of her maids of honor - Jane Seymour. She manages to give the king what he so desired - a son. But 12 days after the birth of the boy, Jane herself dies of maternity fever.
Thomas Cromwell recommended that Henry VIII marry Anna Klevskaya, providing the king with a portrait of a chosen one and promising a profitable alliance. Henry was fascinated by the beauty of the girl and gave an absentee consent to marriage. But in fact, the new wife was not at all attractive and caused the king only disgust. Thomas Cromwell fell out of favor for his mistake and was executed in 1540, and the marriage with Anna Klevskaya was declared invalid.
The fifth wife of Henry VIII was Catherine Howard, the daughter of the duke of Norfolk close to the king, who came from an ancient and respected aristocratic family. The girl was pretty, but did not understand her important position, betraying the king, for which she was cut off her head in 1542.
Finally, being already at a young age, Henry VIII decided to marry for the sixth time. The widow Catherine Parr became the chosen one of the king twice; Henry saw in her a close friend than a wife. Catherine only slightly survived Henry VIII after his death in 1547.
As a result of six marriages, Henry had only one son - a sickly boy who became King Edward VI, who died at the age of 15. After that, the struggle for the throne began between the two daughters of Henry - Mary, a zealous Catholic, known in history under the name "Bloody Mary", and Elizabeth - who became the great queen, whose reign in history is called the "Golden Age of England".
