[168] The crown could also rely on the exclusive use of those functions that constituted the royal prerogative. All of the portraits that we see … The style "Henry the Eighth, by the Grace of God, King of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith and of the Church of England and also of Ireland in Earth Supreme Head" remained in use until the end of Henry's reign. Muriel St Clair Byrne, editor of the Lisle Letters, believes that this was a false pregnancy too. Knight was unsuccessful; the Pope could not be misled so easily. [223] These were known as Henry VIII's Device Forts. In 1542, England's remaining monasteries were all dissolved, and their property transferred to the Crown. Constantly changing alliances between nations dominated Europe in the 16th century. 1545, Aug.-Dec.- Vol. [72], Henry was married to Catherine for 24 years. In 1518 she fell pregnant again with another girl, who was also stillborn. 1. 2. [31] The most significant mistress for about three years, starting in 1516, was Elizabeth Blount. [62] Certainly, in 1527, Henry, until then an observant and well-informed Catholic, appealed to the Pope for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine. 1538, Jan.-July.- Vol. Henry spent much of his wealth on maintaining his court and household, including many of the building works he undertook on royal palaces. [204] The king had much support from the Church under Cranmer.[205]. Soon after his accession, Henry married Catherine of Aragon, Arthur’s widow, and the attendant lavish entertainments ate into the modest royal reserves. 9. 1, pt. The Ecclesiastical Appointments Act 1534 required the clergy to elect bishops nominated by the Sovereign. [138], Henry's break with Rome incurred the threat of a large-scale French or Spanish invasion. British Monarch. Since Edward was then only nine years old, he could not rule directly. [121] It was soon clear that Henry had fallen for the 17-year-old Catherine Howard, the Duke of Norfolk's niece, the politics of which worried Cromwell, for Norfolk was a political opponent. He frequently used charges of treason and heresy to quell dissent, and those accused were often executed without a formal trial by means of bills of attainder. For his part, Henry disliked Anne's constant irritability and violent temper. He wanted to remarry and produce a male heir. 1515–1516.- Vol. Biography. [66][68] After a short period in which Henry took government upon his own shoulders,[69] Sir Thomas More took on the role of Lord Chancellor and chief minister. Born on 28 June 1491 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, Kent, Henry Tudor was the third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. However, in practice, Cromwell’s policies enlarged Henry’s power but also bound him tighter to Parliament. [139] Henry was left alone against France, unable to make peace. [188], Henry inherited a vast fortune and a prosperous economy from his father, who had been frugal. He was also known for his strong defence of conventional Christian piety. [42] Remarkably, Henry had also secured the promised title of "Most Christian King of France" from Julius and possibly coronation by the Pope himself in Paris, if only Louis could be defeated. Politically motivated executions would remain one of Henry's primary tactics for dealing with those who stood in his way. [163], Henry was a large, well-built athlete, over 6 feet [1.8 m] tall, strong, and broad in proportion. Jun 1520 The Field of the Cloth of Gold pageant is held just outside Calais for Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France. 2. 1536, July–Dec.- Vol. He founded the Tudor dynasty by winning the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. [139], Late in life, Henry became obese, with a waist measurement of 54 inches (140 cm), and had to be moved about with the help of mechanical devices. Henry VIII was survived by three children, each of whom sat on the throne of England: Edward VI (ruled 1547–53), Mary I (ruled 1553–58), and Elizabeth I (ruled 1558–1603). 1531–1532.- Vol. Moreover, in Thomas Wolsey, who organized his first campaign in France, Henry discovered his first outstanding minister. The city was then to be returned to France for 2 million crowns (£750,000). In part, it helped to bring about a period of very high inflation from 1544 onwards. [90] Neither Henry nor Cromwell sought at that stage to have the men executed; rather, they hoped that the two might change their minds and save themselves. [240] Until the break with Rome, it was widely believed that Ireland was a Papal possession granted as a mere fiefdom to the English king, so in 1541 Henry asserted England's claim to the Kingdom of Ireland free from the Papal overlordship. [115] Hans Holbein the Younger was dispatched to Cleves to paint a portrait of Anne for the king. 1 1543, Jan.-July.- Vol. [237] Ireland began to receive the attention of Cromwell, who had supporters of Ormond and Desmond promoted. Henry remained committed to an idiosyncratic mixture of Catholicism and Protestantism; the reactionary mood that had gained ground after Cromwell's fall had neither eliminated his Protestant streak nor been overcome by it. Discover England's Tudor Women. [172] The prominence and influence of faction in Henry's court is similarly discussed in the context of at least five episodes of Henry's reign, including the downfall of Anne Boleyn. The reason for giving such appointments to a small child was to enable his father to retain personal control of lucrative positions and not share them with established families. [57] Anne, however, resisted his attempts to seduce her, and refused to become his mistress as her sister had. On 23 May 1533, Cranmer, sitting in judgment at a special court convened at Dunstable Priory to rule on the validity of the king's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, declared the marriage of Henry and Catherine null and void. After a false pregnancy or miscarriage in 1534, he saw her failure to give him a son as a betrayal. He was charged with praemunire in October 1529,[67] and his fall from grace was "sudden and total". [108] The birth was difficult, and the queen died on 24 October 1537 from an infection and was buried in Windsor. [80] With the Act of Succession 1533, Catherine's daughter, Mary, was declared illegitimate; Henry's marriage to Anne was declared legitimate; and Anne's issue declared to be next in the line of succession. 1526–1528.- Vol. By 1515 Wolsey was archbishop of York, lord chancellor of England, and a cardinal of the church; more important, he was the king’s good friend, to whom was gladly left the active conduct of affairs. [23] As Catherine wrote to her father, "our time is spent in continuous festival". 1. Dewhurst writes of how the pregnancy could have resulted in a miscarriage or stillbirth, but there is no evidence to support this, he therefore wonders if it was a case of pseudocyesis, a false pregnancy, caused by the stress that Anne was under – the pressure to provide a son. Henry VIII (r.1509-1547) Book of condolence. 7. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was the King of England from 1509 until his death in 1547. 1. [235][236] For a time it looked as if peace might be restored with the return of Kildare to Ireland to manage the tribes, but the effect was limited and the Irish parliament soon rendered ineffective. Those around him were not disappointed, as the king kept a festive court , frequently held hunts and jousts, and patronized musicians. Indeed, Henry needed a son to secure the Tudor Dynasty and avert the risk of civil war over disputed succession. [107] On 12 October 1537, Jane gave birth to a son, Prince Edward, the future Edward VI. Nevertheless, the years from 1515 to 1527 were marked by Wolsey’s ascendancy, and his initiatives set the scene. The jousting accident is also believed to have caused Henry's mood swings, which may have had a dramatic effect on his personality and temperament. [191] Henry took pride in showing off his collection of weapons, which included exotic archery equipment, 2,250 pieces of land ordnance and 6,500 handguns. 2. To Cromwell's annoyance, Henry insisted on parliamentary time to discuss questions of faith, which he achieved through the Duke of Norfolk. [17] Cohabitation was not possible because Henry was too young. Their divorce has been described as a "deeply wounding and isolating" experience for Henry. He became Wolsey's "man of all work". 1533.- Vol. 1544, Aug.-Dec.- Vol. He abandoned them. [181] By that point, Cromwell's power as an efficient administrator, in a Council full of politicians, exceeded what Wolsey had achieved. 1519–1523.- Vol. Cromwell debased the currency more significantly, starting in Ireland in 1540. If Mary's issue failed, the crown was to go to Elizabeth, Henry's daughter by Anne Boleyn, and her heirs. Henry VIII might be recorded in history as “Great’, however, if anyone considers the others he shared his life with and/at the same time in England, the conclusion could only be that he was a psychopathic murderer with a huge dollop of narcissim thrown in for good measure. 1. The child was christened Elizabeth, in honour of Henry's mother, Elizabeth of York. Henry VIII’s Wives: What Happened To The King's Six Spouses? [245] The effect of endowing Henry with this ability, however, was largely negative in Scarisbrick's eyes: to Scarisbrick, the Henrician period was one of upheaval and destruction and those in charge worthy of blame more than praise. Apart from permanent garrisons at Berwick, Calais, and Carlisle, England's standing army numbered only a few hundred men. 1545, Jan.-July.- Vol. [178], Thomas Cromwell (c. 1485–1540) also came to define Henry's government. [91] Some 20,000 to 40,000 rebels were led by Robert Aske, together with parts of the northern nobility. [63] The work represented a staunch defence of papal supremacy, albeit one couched in somewhat contingent terms. [77], Following the marriage, there was a period of consolidation, taking the form of a series of statutes of the Reformation Parliament aimed at finding solutions to any remaining issues, whilst protecting the new reforms from challenge, convincing the public of their legitimacy, and exposing and dealing with opponents. 1524–1526.- Vol. Response to the reforms was mixed. 1544 Italian, Milan or Brescia. [234], The Desmond situation was resolved on his death in 1529, which was followed by a period of uncertainty. [17][20] The new king maintained that it had been his father's dying wish that he marry Catherine. This was followed by the Second Succession Act (the Act of Succession 1536), which declared Henry's children by Jane to be next in the line of succession and declared both Mary and Elizabeth illegitimate, thus excluding them from the throne. The royal couple enjoyed periods of calm and affection, but Anne refused to play the submissive role expected of her. [63] It is not clear exactly when Henry changed his mind on the issue as he grew more intent on a second marriage. 12, pt. She also employed Francis Dereham, who had previously been informally engaged to her and had an affair with her prior to her marriage, as her secretary. [95], On 8 January 1536, news reached the king and the queen that Catherine of Aragon had died. One force under Norfolk ineffectively besieged Montreuil. 18, pt. A letter from George Taylor to Lady Lisle dated the 27 April 1534 says that "The Queen hath a goodly belly, praying our Lord to send us a prince". [208] Protestant Reformers still faced persecution, particularly over objections to Henry's annulment. He annotated many books and published one of his own, and he had numerous pamphlets and lectures prepared to support the reformation of the church. Despite several peace treaties, unrest continued in Scotland until Henry's death. [165][166][167], The power of Tudor monarchs, including Henry, was 'whole' and 'entire', ruling, as they claimed, by the grace of God alone. They were charged with high treason and were executed in 1510. Henry was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV. The reason the Irish regarded the Pope as their overlord was that Ireland had originally been given to King Henry II of England by Pope Adrian IV in the 12th century as a feudal territory under papal overlordship. Scarisbrick largely kept Elton's regard for Cromwell's abilities but returned agency to Henry, who Scarisbrick considered to have ultimately directed and shaped policy. He became fluent in Latin and French and learned at least some Italian. [228] The Tudor navy was enlarged up to 50 ships (the Mary Rose among them), and Henry was responsible for the establishment of the "council for marine causes" to oversee the maintenance and operation of the Navy, becoming the basis for the later Admiralty. [4] He was succeeded by his son Edward VI. [16] Isabella's death in 1504, and the ensuing problems of succession in Castile, complicated matters. [71], A year later, Catherine was banished from court, and her rooms were given to Anne. 1536, Jan.-July.- Vol. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Both hoped for friendly relations in place of the wars of the previous decade. [159] He could also sightread music and sing well. King Henry VIII leaves for his fourth wedding. Financially exhausted, France and England signed the Treaty of Camp on 7 June 1546. Henry was the second son of Henry VII, first of the Tudor line, and Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, first king of the short-lived line of York. [27] On 1 January 1511, New Year's Day, the child – Henry – was born. Despite the money from these sources, he was continually on the verge of financial ruin due to his personal extravagance, as well as his numerous costly and largely unsuccessful wars, particularly with King Francis I of France, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, King James V of Scotland and the Scottish regency under the Earl of Arran and Mary of Guise. He was skilled on the lute and played the organ, and was a talented player of the virginals. [133] Parr helped reconcile Henry with his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. [64] Indeed, in marrying Catherine, his brother's wife, he had acted contrary to Leviticus 20:21. 2. We do not know what happened with this pregnancy as there is no evidence of the outcome. [171] The traditional interpretation of those events was provided by historian A.F. [187] He was executed on 28 July 1540. This impressive armor was made for Henry VIII (reigned 1509–47) toward the end of his life, when he was overweight and crippled with gout. [113] Enriched by the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry used some of his financial reserves to build a series of coastal defences and set some aside for use in the event of a Franco-German invasion. Offaly led a mixture of Pale gentry and Irish tribes, although he failed to secure the support of Lord Darcy, a sympathiser, or Charles V. What was effectively a civil war was ended with the intervention of 2,000 English troops – a large army by Irish standards – and the execution of Offaly (his father was already dead) and his uncles. [45] His absence from the country, however, had prompted his brother-in-law, James IV of Scotland, to invade England at the behest of Louis. It took another meeting of the council, however, before Henry believed the accusations against Dereham and went into a rage, blaming the council before consoling himself in hunting. 1. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The cardinal had some occasional ambition for the papal tiara, and this Henry supported; Wolsey at Rome would have been a powerful card in English hands. [169] Nevertheless, as evident during Henry's break with Rome, the monarch stayed within established limits, whether legal or financial, that forced him to work closely with both the nobility and parliament (representing the gentry). Relations between Henry and Catherine had been strained, but they eased slightly after Mary's birth. 13, pt. [141][138] However, Henry had refused Charles' request to march against Paris. [7] In 1493, at the age of two, Henry was appointed Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. Anne and her… 21, pt. [17] A papal dispensation was only needed for the "impediment of public honesty" if the marriage had not been consummated as Catherine and her duenna claimed, but Henry VII and the Spanish ambassador set out instead to obtain a dispensation for "affinity", which took account of the possibility of consummation. [132] A reformer at heart, she argued with Henry over religion. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 371. Although the evidence against them was unconvincing, the accused were found guilty and condemned to death. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. His high courage – highest when things went ill – his commanding intellect, his appreciation of fact, and his instinct for rule carried his country through a perilous time of change, and his very arrogance saved his people from the wars which afflicted other lands. [19], Henry VII died on 21 April 1509, and the 17-year-old Henry succeeded him as king. Henry is also known as "the father of the Royal Navy," as he invested heavily in the navy, increasing its size from a few to more than 50 ships, and established the Navy Board.[1]. At this point of his life, Henry was a dashing young man. [224] In 1538–39, Cromwell overhauled the shire musters, but his work mainly served to demonstrate how inadequate they were in organisation. [93] Henry saw the rebels as traitors and did not feel obliged to keep his promises to them, so when further violence occurred after Henry's offer of a pardon he was quick to break his promise of clemency. [182], Cromwell did much work through his many offices to remove the tasks of government from the Royal Household (and ideologically from the personal body of the King) and into a public state. Offaly had the Archbishop of Dublin murdered and besieged Dublin. Omissions? He turned to law, also picking up a good knowledge of the Bible, and was admitted to Gray's Inn in 1524. King Henry VIII died on January 28, 1547. Anne was also arrested, accused of treasonous adultery and incest. [159] He was an accomplished musician, author, and poet; his best-known piece of music is "Pastime with Good Company" ("The Kynges Ballade"), and he is reputed to have written "Greensleeves" but probably did not.[160]. This analysis identifies growth hormone deficiency (GHD) as the reason for his increased adiposity but also significant behavioural changes noted in his later years, including his multiple marriages. 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