INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT HENRY VIII

Henry VIII ruled Great Britain for 36 years (1491-1547).  He is most famous for his six wives, but there are a lot more facts that make him one of the most interesting monarchs in history.  Here are some of those facts:

1. His older brother Arthur was supposed to be King when Henry VII died. Not only did Henry get the heir apparent title from his brother, he got his wife.  Arthur had been wedded to Catherine of Aragon for 4 months when he died.  It was a political marriage and Henry VII wanted the dowry to stay in the family, so Henry married Catherine in 1509 when he was 17.  Catherine was 23.  The Catholic Church allowed this marriage to a sister-in-law because to everyone’s surprise, Arthur had not consummated his marriage.  At least that’s what the Church agreed on.  The couple were married for almost 24 years.
2. England had never had a female monarch and Henry was determined to not have that “honor” go to a daughter of his. He was obsessed with leaving the throne to a son.  When Catherine had a girl, after six failed pregnancies, Henry looked for a mate who could give him a son.  He had someone in mind.  She was the sister of one of his mistresses and he became infatuated with her, but she played hard to get.  Before she would hop into bed with him, she wanted a ring.  That meant Catherine had to annulled.
3. The marriage to Anne was not a success, as far as Henry was concerned. She gave him another daughter, Elizabeth, but she had several miscarriages.  Henry had enough and his eye fell upon a lady-in-waiting named Jane Seymour.  Anne was accused of having affairs, including with her brother.  The trumped-up charges resulted in her beheading.  Jane gave him his son, Edward.  However, Jane died soon after from complications.  It was a good news, bad news situation.  Jane was his favorite wife and he was buried next to her.
4. Catherine Howard was another lady of the court who had caught Henry’s attention. He was 49 and she was 17.  The marriage was a disaster and Henry soon was looking for a way out.  This time the charges of infidelity may have been true because Catherine was the type of young woman who took chances when she should have known the Anne Boleyn story.  She also stupidly lied about having sex before they were married.
5. The marriage to Anne of Cleves was a political marriage arranged by one of his advisers. He was shown a picture of her and agreed that if she looked that good, he was all-in.  When she arrived, Henry called foul, as he found her ugly in person.  After six months, he was able to annul that marriage.
6. Catherine Parr was his last wife. She nursed him through his disgusting last years.  
7. Here is a little poem used to help students in England remember the six wives.

Boleyn and Howard lost their heads,
Anne of Cleves he would not bed,
Jane Seymour gave him a son — but died before the week was done,
Aragon he did Divorce,
Which just left Catherine Parr, of course!

8. Henry was very concerned about diseases. In particular, he was determined to avoid the sweating sickness and the plague.  He would spend long periods isolated from people, even his wife Anne Boleyn.
9. Henry was a talented musician. He could play the keyboards and several string and wind instruments.  He composed music as well.
10. He was nicknamed “Old Coppernose”. Since the government needed money, it began to save silver by making coins out of copper with a thin layer of silver on top.  Over time, the silver would wear off giving Henry’s visage a copper nose.
11. He was a spendthrift. He ended up deeply in debt.  He had 50 royal palaces.  He bought a lot of musical instruments and tapestries.  He lost at gambling.  He greatly expanded the Royal Navy and got the title “Father of Royal Navy”.  And then there were the wars.
12. Henry was not morbidly obese until the late years of his life. He was 6’4’’ and athletic most of his life.  He went from a 34-36” waist to 58-60” and 400 pounds.
13. Before he broke from the Church in order to marry Anne, he was a devout Catholic. After Martin Luther released his 95 Theses, Henry countered it with a 30,000 word manifesto entitled “Defense of the Seven Sacraments”.  The Church rewarded him with the title “Defender of the Faith”.

https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-henry-viii/?fbclid=IwAR10nM7Ml1-VkTW26lp5uqHv0rUkcSMnnUMsWzeNxzJJToo43Ti0EM4nKTk

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/facts-about-henry-viii

https://www.biography.com/news/henry-viii-biography-facts

https://historyofyesterday.com/13-fun-to-read-and-surprising-facts-about-henry-viii-d0ff45e83a60