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When people think of Henry VIII, they think of a cruel tyrant who savagely executed those whom he opposed for treason, particularly his wives. It would behoove us all to remember that Henry was, above anything else, a human being.

To really understand his actions, one must look at the beginning of his life. Henry VIII was born in the aftermath of a civil war in which Yorkist and Lancastrian factions battled for control of the crown. In the end, Henry's father, Henry VII, a Lancastrian, became King of England. At the time of Henry's birth, there were a large number of people (mainly Yorkists) who didn't recognize his father as the true king, but rather saw him a usurper.

Furthermore, Henry was the second child when he was born. His brother Arthur was the one who was destined to be king; it was Arthur who was first married to Catherine of Aragon. However, fate had a different mind for Henry when Arthur was struck down by the sweating sickness. Henry, now heir to the throne, was promptly married to his widowed sister-in-law.

Since he was never meant to be king, it could be assumed that, naturally, he was already in a defensive position when he came to the crown. It's not difficult to imagine that he was probably very determined that his subjects recognize him as their true king, as opposed to a usurper, like his father.

Examples of Henry's cruelty are present very early in his reign, however. Almost immediately after his coronation, he had Sir Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley arrested. While the pair were unpopular, the charges of treason lain against them were baseless. They were executed and stood as an example for what would happen to those who dared to oppose the king.

It seems, however, that there was a point in time when Henry's anger became less political and more personal. Henry was initially on very friendly terms with Sir Thomas More to the point that it might be said that he and More were actually friends. However, coldness grew between them as Henry became more radical in his distaste for papal authority in regards to his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Later, after More refused to take an oath regarding Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn, Henry had him executed on grounds of high treason, killing a man who was, at one point, one of his greatest supporters. More than that, Sir Thomas More had been his friend.

One of the quickest ways to the axe was to threaten Henry's position as king. When his younger sister, Mary, ran off and married Charles

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