Henry VIII - Once King of England!
Henry the Eighth was once King of England, from 21 April 1509, to his death, on the 28 January 1547. He was our king for almost thirty-eight years, inspiring many people and changing England, for the better, or for the worse...
On the 28 June 1491, Henry VIII was born, his mother being Elizabeth of York, and his father King Henry VII. At this time, Henry was not expected to be King, but his brother Arthur was. At ten years of age, Henry became Prince of England, but was held back from the public, receiving no experience or guidance on what he would have to do as King.
Henry VII decided to try to renew the bonds between England and Spain, offering his second son (Henry VIII) to Arthur's widow, Catherine of Aragon, in marriage.
Eventually, after their marriage having been long postponed, they married on the 25 June 1509, with many people wondering about the legality of their marriage, as she was Arthur's widow.
Henry VIII - Obituary Part I
Henry and Catherine then had three children, two of which were stillborn, and one of which died seven weeks after birth!
Eventually, Catherine gave birth to a child, Mary, in Febuary 1516. Henry was not satisfied however, and began an affair with Elizabeth Blount, who gave birth to Henry FitzRoy, in 1519.
Henry wished to legalize FitzRoy, as he had so far been unsuccessful in securing a male heir with Catherine, but was persuaded otherwise by his advisor and friend, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
Meanwhile, England was participating in a war between England, France, and Rome. In 1510, Henry secured an alliance with France and Rome, following in the footsteps of his father, if only temporarily.
However, in 1511, Rome finally attacked France, with Henry backing them. Unfortunately, when Henry invaded France in 1513, his brother in law, the King of Scotland attacked England, but lost, with their King dying.
But soon after, in 1514, Henry discovered he was losing money in alliance with Rome, and allied with France, for an exceedingly long time, eight years, before a new Emperor of Rome (and Spain) was decided, and Henry allied with him against France, ending with him drawing out of the war in 1525.
Soon after this, Henry was becoming increasingly unhappy with Catherine, who was still not succeeding to secure him a male heir. Henry fell for Anne Boleyn, the sister of one of his many mistresses, but she refused to become such a mistress.
So, the King thought, and began wanting to end his marriage to Catherine. He appealed to the Pope and said that he was anxious that his marriage was against God's laws, but the Pope refused, and Henry was upset.
He began the creation of the new Protestant Church, to remove the prohibitions on divorce the Catholics had in place. Soon after, he had married Anne Boleyn...
See next month's major issue for more on the obituary of Henry VIII, and his reign.
By Arthur Berkerly