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Henry VIII (1491 - 1547)

Henry the eighth is mainly known for his scandalous marriages, divorces and killing of his wives, and for forming the Church of England. He may not have been the best king of all time, but he sure was an interesting man.

Henry, a member of the Tudor family was born on 28 June 1491 in Greenwich.

Henry's brother Arthur died in 1502, which meant that Henry was the next rightful heir to the English throne (he was around 11 years old at the time).

Seven years after Henry VIII's father Henry VII died, Henry VIII was crowned king. He was not even 18 years old.

Soon Henry married Catherine of Aragon, who was his brother Arthur's widow.

Henry made a man called Thomas Wolsey lord chancellor in 1515 because Henry was becoming more and more dependent on this man to run the country. He was by far, the main assistant to Henry.

Henry had many hobbies, like dancing and hunting, but his biggest hobby by far was war. Because of his unhappy marriage he used this occupation as comfort and distraction. His wars with France and Scotland were not very successful.

Wolsey brilliantly organised the first campaign against the French, but the war was very expensive plus Henry decided that he needed an heir (for which re needed Wolsey's help). He really wanted to replace his wife Catherine for someone else, because she only produced one daughter, and he needed a son. Catherine did give birth to a boy called Henry in 1511, but the baby died just two months later (there were also other unlucky births, including miscarriages and stillborn babies), and Catherine was getting too old to bear children, at the age of 42. Henry fell in love with Anne Boleyn, the sister of his mistress, Mary Boleyn. Anne soon became pregnant so something had to be done about the situation quickly! In those days, it was impossible for him to have a divorce - the Pope would not allow it.

In 1532, Henry secretly married his second wife, Anne Boleyn anyway, without formal permission of the Pope - he asked the Archbishop of Canterbury (main English religious figure) to annul his marriage to Catherine. The Pope really did not like this decision, and broke ties with Henry.

With the help of his new main assistant Thomas Cromwell, Henry made himself the head of Church of England and dissolved monasteries.

Other dramatic and important reforms took place around that time - England and Wales were united, and the Council of the North and the Household and Exchequer were also created.

Henry became tired of Anny Boleyn and she was executed as a traitor in 1536. This is the most famous and written about wife of Henry. She was the strongest and most active queen, who showed real interest in religious reform and helped her husband with ideas.

Soon after, he married Jane Seymour. She did give him a son, Edward, but died two weeks later.

He married his next wife, Anne of Cleves for religious reasons - Cromwell organised the marriage to try and make Protestant links with German princes. Henry divorced Anne of Cleves only a few months later and had Cromwell executed.

In the last years of Henry's life his physical health was getting very bad and it was difficult to keep his powerful public image.

In 1540 he married Kathryn Howard but she was executed for treason (just like Anne Boleyn) in under two years. She was 19 and he was 49 when they married.

A final marriage to a woman named Catherine Parr was much better. She gave birth to a daughter called Mary, but soon died, at the age of 37.

Henry died on 28 January 1547 and was succeeded by his son, Edward VI.

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