As the second son born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, Henry VIII was not born to become king, however, he is best remembered as one of the most complex monarchs in British history. Although he was reared for a career in the church, fate would change the course of young Henry's life when, at the age of ten, he found himself being groomed to become his father's successor.
Born June 28th, 1491, at Greenwich Palace, Henry was but one of six children born to King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York to survive infancy. The others were Mary, Margaret, and Arthur who was next in line for the throne. As expected of the royal and nobility class of the era, young Henry received a high rate education from the best tutors available. From this education, Henry became fluent in Spanish, French and Latin. He also developed an interest in theology.
Attempting to align Spain with England, King Henry VII betrothed his oldest son Arthur to Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. When Arthur suddenly died of sweating sickness on April 12, 1502, this left Henry next in line for the throne. With his older brother dead, young Henry made clear his intentions of marrying his brother's widow. However, the marriage of Henry and Catherine posed a problem since any sexual relationship between them meant they would share an affinity. After Catherine swore that her marriage had never been consummated, her parents deemed it wise to push for a papal dispensation from Rome to validate the betrothal. Just one year after Arthur's death, the dispensation was granted by Pope Julius II. Due to Henry's young age, the two were betrothed but not married.
By the time young Henry reached the age that would allow him to marry, King Henry had lost any interest in an alliance with Spain and tried to undo the betrothal but after the death of the King, Henry and Catherine were married on June 11, 1509. Two weeks later, on June 24, 1509, they crowned in a joint ceremony at West Minister Abbey. This was just four days before Henry's 18th birthday.
King Henry VIII was an accomplished poet and an avid sportsman who excelled in hunting and jousting. His faith in Catholic Doctrine remained strong in spite of his romantic lifestyle. He demonstrated his cruelty in his early years when he had his father's advisors Edmund Dudley and Sir Richard Empson arrested on charges of treason. The two were later beheaded.
After the death of Henry and Catherine's only son Prince Henry, their only surviving child, Mary was born on February 18, 1516. Being a girl, Mary was seen as a disappointment in an era when male heirs were favored. Catherine's subsequent stillbirths and miscarriages caused Henry great frustration and led him to take two mistresses: Mary Boleyn and Elizabeth Blount. Elizabeth was the only known mistress to present Henry with a male heir; Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond. The birth of his son, led Henry to believe that the problem of producing a male child was not with him but with his wife.
In his desperation for a son, Henry's attention soon turned to Mary's sister Anne Boleyn, however, Anne refused his advances until he agreed to marry her. In return for marrying her, Anne vowed to give Henry a son. Having read in Leviticus that marrying your brother's wife would lead to a childless marriage, Henry came to believe that Catherine had lied about her first marriage not being consummated. Thus, in marrying her, he had committed a sin against God. Soon afterwards, Henry declared his intention to annul his marriage to Catherine and marry Anne. The marriage of Henry and Anne made his daughter Mary illegitimate and separated England from the Roman Catholic Church.
Henry needed an annulment from the pope but because the Pope was imprisoned by the Hapsburgs, an official annulment could not be readily given or denied. When the couple could stand no more, they traveled to Calais to seek approval of their marriage from the French King. During this trip, Anne became pregnant. Henry married Anne in 1533 after he left the Church of Rome and appointed himself as head of the Church of England and granted himself the long sought after annulment.
Henry was outraged when Anne presented him with a daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth I, since he had worked so hard for the right to marry her. A few months later, she was pregnant for the second time. When she miscarried, Henry began looking for a way out of the marriage. It was at this time that Jane Seymour, Anne's lady in waiting, caught his eye. When Anne lost a baby that was believed to be a boy, she soon found herself facing the trumped up charges of incest with her brother and witchcraft of which the penalty was death. On May 19, 1536, Anne was beheaded by an expert swordsman from France at the Tower Green. Ten days after Anne's death, Henry and Jane were married and a law was passed stating that only Henry's children from this marriage were legitimate. Jane finally gave Henry what he had always wanted- a son. Two weeks after giving birth to Edward, Jane died of infection.
Edward was later betrothed to the infant Mary I of Scotland when his father signed the Treaty of Greenwich on July 1, 1543. Henry requested that Scotland send Mary to England to be raised as a Protestant English Queen but his request was refused by the Catholic Scots. By December, Mary was sent to the French court and betrothed to the Dauphin of France. In his anger, Henry sent Edward's uncle to Scotland to destroy or take everything he came across.
After the death of Jane, Henry married Anne of Cleaves but quickly divorced her because of her homely appearance. Next, he married Catherine Howard, the lady in waiting and cousin of his former wife Anne. Soon after their marriage, Catherine began an affair with Thomas Culpepper leading to her execution on February 13, 1542.
Henry's final marriage was to Catherine Parr. Even though they disagreed on religion, she was devoted to him and his family, something that gained his affection. It was Catherine who reunited Henry with his daughters Elizabeth and Mary. After they were reunited, both girls were put back into the line of succession after their brother Edward.
An ulcerated leg and an inability to participate in the sports that he so loved put a lot of weight on Henry's body. In his last years, he led a sedentary life. He died of untreated diabetes on January 28, 1547 leaving his nine year old son on the throne of England. Even today, Henry VIII is remembered as the most notorious king in the history of England.