Guest Author - Nicola Jane Soen

One of the most Iconic figures in English history; indeed even the time period is Iconic, is Henry Tudor, or Henry VIII as he is mostly remembered.
The main reason people all over the world remember Henry, is not because of his wisdom. It is not because of his great statesmanship or his power and prowess. Henry VIII is remembered for having eight wives, most of whom, people think, had their heads chopped off.

Henry was born in 1491. He had an older brother Arthur who should have been king. However Arthur died shortly after marrying his bride, Catherine of Aragon, so Henry became Heir Apparent. His elder sister Margret married James IV of Scotland, and his younger and most favourite sister Mary was married to King Louis XII of France.

To understand why Henry was the man he was, one needs to understand his history. Born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, Henry VIII was a only second generation King. His father had wrestled the crown from Richard III, and to make peace with the feuding house of York and unite it with the house of Tudor, married Elizabeth, Richards’s niece. Henry VII was a very ambitious man. Although some historians would have him as mean, his charitable donations were very generous. However for himself, he was first and foremost a statesman. He ruled by peace instead of violence. His enemies were not beheaded but fined and imprisoned. This made Henry an exceedingly wealthy man.

At the death of Arthur, who had been groomed for kingship; Henry was taken away from the career of the church he had been destined for. Instead he began to learn state craft. This did not suit him. Henry loved sports and it is said that he was not only the most handsome of princes but the most accomplished in both sports and learning. He also was jealous of his brother’s wife. Having once been betrothed to Catherine on the death of Arthur, he was angry when his father made him break off the marriage.

Henry VII died in 1509, leaving his son, then 17, not only a king, but an extremely wealthy one. The first thing Henry did was to marry Catherine. Just over five years his senior Catherine loved Henry deeply. They had a son in the first years of the marriage, but he died in infancy. Although they had more children they all died, but one; Mary Tudor, born 1516. Partly what happened next was because Henry was desperate to secure the throne with a male heir.

Henry had a few light o’ loves, but loved and honoured Catherine; until one of his mistresses bore him a son. This convinced him that the fault lay with something or some one other that himself. Around this time period views on religion were changing and some were actually challenging the Catholic Church. One of those new thinkers was Anne Boleyn. Henry wanted her but she had refused to become Henrys mistress. She declared the famous words ‘Your wife I cannot be, and your Mistress I will not be.’ The road ahead for Catherine, England, and indeed Anne herself, was growing very dark and increasingly dangerous. Pain and despair lay just around the corner.

To be continued..