King Henry VIII

King of Engnlad

KNG HENRY VIII

Born: June 28, 1491, to

King Henry VII and
Elizabeth of York.
Was the sixth child of King
Henry and Elizabeth.
Of the six children, only
his older brother Arthur,
and sisters Margaret and
Mary made it out of
infancy.

YOUNG
LFE
At

aged 15, his older brother Arthur

died.
This thrust all the duties and
responsibilities of becoming the new
heir onto Henry.
Henry was even arranged to marry
his brothers widow, Catherine of
Aragon.
This was done to keep the political
alliance between England and Spain.

YOUNG LFE

Henry

was raised to be a pious and

devouted Catholic.

Upon

his fathers death, he was

crowned King of England in 1509.
(17 years old).

YOUNG LFE
Henry

was considered a Renaissance

Man.
He was an accomplished musician, author,
and poet. He also excelled at sports,
especially jousting and hunting. He also
loved gambling, playing dice and cock
fighting as well as being a strong dedicated
Catholic.
Henry did not enjoy his fathers stoic and
unexciting ruling style, instead favoring
exciting court life.

The court life initiated

by his father evolved
into a cornerstone of
Tudor government in
the reign of Henry
VIII. Henry loved the
extravagance and
excitement of the court
drama.

He spent much of his

time being entertained
by the nobles and met
the last five of his wives
from his court.

COURT
LFE

HENRYS WVES

Catherine of Aragon
(1509-1533)

Anne of Cleves
(1540)

Anne Boleyn
(1533-1536)

Jane Seymour
(1536-1537)

Catherine Howard
(1540-1542)

Katherine Parr
(1543-1547)

CATHERNE OF ARAGON
(1509-1533)
Despite

being married for over

20 years, Henry became
impatient with what he
perceived as Catherine's
inability to produce a male heir.

All

of their children died in

infancy except his daughter,
Mary I.

Henry

wanted a male heir to

avoid rival claims to the crown.

THE ENGLSH REFORMATON

Henry wanted a divorce, but Pope Clement VII
wouldnt invalidate the marriage.
Henry tried to get Church to do what he wanted,
and appointed Sir Thomas More as English
Cardinal.

More also would not support the divorce.

Henry then took control of the English clergy and
had himself appointed the head of the new Church
of England.
He divorced Catherine and she was formally
stripped from her title of Queen and banished
from the court.

ANNE BOLEYN (1533-1536)

Henry

marries 26 year old

Anne Boleyn.
Soon after, a daughter is
born, Elizabeth I.
Henrys daughter Mary,
with Catherine, is declared
illegitimate.
After a few miscarriages,
(and possibly a false
pregnancy), Henry took her
failure to give him an heir
as an act of betrayal.

ANNE BOLEYN (1533-1536)

Henry

devises a way to separate from

Anne.
After miscarrying a 3rd child, (a male),
Henry claimed that the marriage was a
product of witchcraft.
Henry declares Anne a traitor and
accuses her of having an incestuous
relationship with her brother.
Anne is taken to the Tower of London
where she is tried and then executed by
beheading.

JANE SEYMOUR (1536-1537)

She

was also a Maid of

Honor under Anne Boleyn.
While Anne was being
accused of atrocities such as
being a traitor, King Henry
took started to take an
interest in Jane.
He married her just days
after Annes execution.

JANE SEYMOUR (1536-1537)

Jane,

unlike any of the other wives, gave

Henry the one thing he wanted most -- a
son, Prince Edward.
She died just days later.
Henry was grief stricken. She was the one
he considered his true wife.
In fact, Jane is the only wife buried with
Henry.

POLTCAL
ALLANCE
Henry

was single for 2 years until he decided

to remarry.
He still had one motivation sons.
In a day when infant mortality rate was so
high, he needed to ensure that their would
be an heir.
Henry was also wary of an invasion from the
Holy Roman Empire after Englands
separation from the Church.
Henry chose a new wife, Anne Cleves, a
German princess whos family controlled
land to the north of the Holy Roman Empire.

ANNE OF CLEVES (1540)

Despite

this political union,

Henry was not attracted to
Anne.
He even called her The
Flanders Mare.
The marriage was never
consummated and after just
six months, Henry had it
annulled.

CATHERNE HOWARD (15401542)

While

married to Anne
Cleves, one of her Maid of
Honors caught his eye,
Catherine Howard.
She was the cousin of Anne
Boleyn.
Just 16 days after his
divorce, he married
Catherine. He was 49, she
was only around 15-17.

CATHERNE HOWARD (15401542)

Catherine

was young and vivacious, a rose

without a thorn and Henry was becoming old,
gaining weight, and worn down from worries
that accompany a king.
Despite being loved dearly and showered with
expensive gifts, Catherine had an affair
behind Henrys back.
When Henry heard of this, he had an
investigation carried out which revealed many,
many indiscretions by Catherine.
When confronted, she admitted her guilt.
Henry had her executed by beheading. She
was not yet 18.

KATHERNE PARR (1543- 1547)

At

the advanced age of 52,

Henry was in need of an
affectionate companion.
She served as a good stepmother to Mary, Elizabeth and
Edward.
King Henry died in 1547 and
the Queen simply stepped out
of the limelight.

SUCCESSON
By law, Henrys only son Edward would take the
throne. At age 9, Edward was too young to
exercise this right. Executors were placed to
help him rule. However, at age 15, Edward died
of tuberculosis.
The crown then went to Mary, daughter of King
Henry and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
Mary would only rule for 5 years until her death
at age 42 (possibly due to a hormone disorder).
Having no heirs herself, the crown then went to
Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn.
Elizabeth would go on to become of the most
dynamic rulers in Englands long history.

INTERESTNG FACTS
Henry actually had another son out of wedlock
with Mary Boleyn, one of his mistresses and
Annes sister.
As many as 72,000 people were executed under
his reign.
He defeated and killed his brother-in-law, King
James IV of Scotland at the Battle of Flodden
Field in 1513.
Became so obese that his waist measured 54
inches!
Rumored to have died from syphilis.
His dying words were supposedly "Monks,
Monks, Monks!"

THE END