Curse of the Tudors. Henry VIII suffered from his blue blood
King Henry VIII Tudor ruled England in the 16th century. He became the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty. Known for his numerous marriages, because of one of them he rebelled against the Catholic Church, broke ties with the papacy and became the head of the Anglican Church.
The monarch suffered from mental disorders and by the end of his reign he could not distinguish between his real political opponents and his imaginary ones. After the English Reformation, he made England a Protestant country. His influence on the country is still felt today. The ruler’s life was described in a dozen novels, films and TV series.
Childhood and youth
Henry VIII was born on June 28, 1491 in Greenwich, England. He became the third child in the family of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York. The boy was raised by his grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. She instilled spiritual values in the young monarch, attending mass with him and studying the Bible.
At the age of fifteen, his older brother, Arthur, died. It was he who was supposed to ascend the throne, but after his death, Henry VIII became the first contender. He received the title Prince of Wales and began preparations for his coronation.
His father, King Henry VII, tried to expand the influence of England and strengthen alliances with neighboring countries, so he insisted that his son marry Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of the founders of the Spanish state and the widow of his brother. There is no documentary evidence, but there are rumors that the young man was categorically against this marriage.
Governing body
In 1509, after the death of his father, seventeen-year-old Henry VIII ascended the throne. For the first two years of his reign, all government affairs were handled by Richard Fox and William Wareham. After them, power passed to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who later became Lord Chancellor of England. Traditionally, a young king could not rule himself, so while he gained experience and matured, real power was in the hands of experienced assistants who dealt with important issues during the reign of the previous king.
In 1512, Henry VIII won the first victory in his biography. He led his fleet on the way to the shores of France. There the English army defeated the French and returned home victorious.
In general, the war with France continued until 1525 with varying success. The monarch managed to reach the capital of the enemy country, but soon the military treasury of England was empty, and he had no choice but to conclude a truce. It is worth noting that the king himself often appeared on the battlefield. He was an archer and obliged all his subjects to practice archery for an hour a week.
The country's domestic policy was far from ideal. Henry VIII, with his decrees, ruined small peasants, as a result of which tens of thousands of vagabonds appeared in England. To cope with this problem, the king issued a decree “On Vagrancy”. Because of him, thousands of former peasants were hanged.
Of course, the most significant contribution to the development of England is church reform. Due to the disagreement of the Catholic Church with the divorce of the monarch, he completely broke ties with the papacy. After this, he brought charges of treason against Pope Clement VII.
He also appointed Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury, who easily declared the marriage of Henry and Catherine invalid. Soon the king married. He went on to uproot the Roman Church in England. All temples, cathedrals and churches were closed. All property was confiscated in favor of the state, all priests and preachers were executed, and Bibles not in English were burned. By order of the king, the graves of saints were opened and plundered.
In 1540, Henry VIII executed Thomas Cromwell, who was the king's chief assistant in reform. After this, he returned to the Catholic faith and issued the “Six Articles Act,” which was supported by the English Parliament. According to the act, all residents of the kingdom were required to bring gifts during the mass, receive communion, and confess. He obliged the clergy to observe the vow of celibacy and other monastic vows. Anyone who disagreed with the act was executed for treason.
After the monarch executed his fifth Catholic wife, he again decided to change the church faith in England. He banned Catholic rituals and returned Protestant ones. Henry VIII's reforms were inconsistent and illogical, but they managed to create their own English Church, independent of Rome.
At the end of his reign, Henry VIII became even more ruthless. Historians say that he had a genetic disease that affected his psyche - made him suspicious, hot-tempered and cruel. He executed everyone who was displeasing to him.
Personal life
The English king was married six times. His father chose his first wife. He divorced Catherine of Aragon, leaving her the title of his brother's widow. The reason for the divorce was that all of Catherine’s children died during her pregnancy or immediately after. Only her daughter, Mary, managed to survive, but Henry VIII dreamed of an heir. In 1553, his daughter became the first Queen of England, known as Bloody Mary.
Anne Boleyn became the king's second wife. She refused to be his mistress, so the monarch decided to divorce Catherine. It was Anna who inspired Henry VIII that the king was responsible only to himself and the crown, and the opinion of the clergy in Rome should not worry him. After this, the king decided to reform.
In 1533, Anna became the legal wife of the head of state. That same year the girl was crowned. Exactly nine months after the wedding, Anna gave birth to the king's daughter. All subsequent pregnancies ended unsuccessfully, and the king was disappointed in his wife. He accused her of treason and executed her in the spring of 1536.
The next wife of Henry VIII was Anne's maid of honor -. The wedding took place a week after the execution of the king's second wife. It was Jane who managed to give birth to the monarch's long-awaited heir in 1537. The Queen died shortly after the birth of her son due to birth complications.
The next marriage became a political move. The English king married Anna of Cleves, daughter of Johann III of Cleves, who was a German duke. Heinrich decided that he wanted to see the girl first and only then make a decision, so he ordered her portrait.
The king liked Anna's appearance, and he decided to marry. When they met, the monarch did not like the bride at all, and he tried to get rid of his wife as soon as possible. In 1540, the marriage was annulled due to the girl's previous engagement. Because the marriage was unsuccessful, the one who organized it, Thomas Cromwell, was executed.
In the summer of 1540, Henry VIII married the sister of his second wife, Catherine Howard. The king fell in love with the girl, but did not know that she had a lover before the wedding. She cheated on the monarch with him even after the wedding. The girl was also noticed in connection with the page of the head of state. In 1542, Catherine and all those responsible were executed.
The sixth and last wife of the English king was Catherine Parr. The Englishwoman became a widow twice before her marriage to the monarch. She was a Protestant and her wife was persuaded to her faith. After the death of Henry VIII, she married twice more.
Death
The King of England suffered from a dozen diseases. Obesity became his main problem. He began to move less, his waist exceeded 1.5 meters. He moved only with the help of special devices.
During the hunt, Heinrich was injured, which later became fatal. The doctors treated her, but after a leg injury, the wound became infected and the wound began to grow.
The doctors shrugged their shoulders and said that the disease was fatal. The wound festered, the king’s mood deteriorated, and his despotic tendencies became more and more apparent.
He changed his diet - he almost completely removed vegetables and fruits, leaving only red meat. Doctors are confident that this was the cause of the king’s death on January 28, 1547.
Memory
- 1702 - statue in St. Bartholomew's Hospital;
- 1911 - film “Henry VIII”;
- 1993 - film “The Private Life of Henry VIII”;
- 2003 - TV series “Henry VIII”;
- 2006 - novel “The Boleyn Inheritance”;
- 2008 - film “The Other Boleyn Girl”;
- 2012 - book “Henry VIII and His Six Wives: The Autobiography of Henry VIII with Commentary by His Jester Will Somers.”
(English Henry VIII; June 28, 1491, Greenwich - January 28, 1547, London) - King of England from April 22, 1509, son and heir of King Henry VII, second English monarch from the Tudor dynasty. With the consent of the Roman Catholic Church, the English kings were also called “Lords of Ireland”, but in 1541, at the request of Henry VIII, who was excommunicated from the Catholic Church, the Irish parliament gave him the title “King of Ireland”.
Henry VIII (Henry VIII). Hans Holbein (Hans Holbein the Younger)
Henry VIII was married six times.
His wives, each of whom stood behind a certain political or religious group, sometimes forced him to make changes in their political or religious views.
Henry VIII. Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1536-37 
Catherine of Aragon (Spanish: Catalina de Aragón y Castilla; Catalina de Trastámara y Trastámara, English: Catherine of Aragon, also spelled Katherine or Katharine; December 16, 1485 - January 7, 1536) was the youngest daughter of the founders of the Spanish state, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. , first wife of King Henry VIII of England.
A portrait of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon - a sweet woman's face, quite strong-willed, parted hair hidden under a light brown cap; eyes downcast.
Brown dress, matching decoration - beads on the neck.
Catherine of Aragon, Dowager Princess of Wales. Portrait by Michel Sittow, 1503 
Catherine of Aragon arrived in England in 1501. She was 16 years old and was to become the wife of Crown Prince Arthur - the son of King Henry VII. Thus, the king wanted to protect himself from France and raise the authority of England among European states.
Arthur was only 14 years old at the time of his marriage. He was a sickly young man consumed by consumption. And a year after the wedding he died without leaving an heir.
Catherine remained in England as a young widow, and in fact as a hostage, because by that time her father had not yet managed to pay her dowry in full, and besides, it seemed that he had no intention of paying. She lived in such uncertainty for the next eight years.
She saw salvation in renunciation of worldly vanity and turning to God (she had nothing but the title of dowager princess, a small allowance and a retinue consisting exclusively of Spanish nobles who came with her. She was a burden both for the King of England Henry VII and for her father, King Ferdinand. Her mother, the brave Queen Isabella, died.
By the age of twenty, she indulged in severe asceticism - constant fasting and masses. One of the courtiers, fearing for her life, wrote to the Pope. And an order immediately came from him: stop self-torture, since it could be life-threatening.
In fact, the same state considerations as during the marriage of Catherine and Arthur contributed to the marriage of Henry, the youngest son of the King of England, and now the heir, to Catherine, who was six years older than the groom. Negotiations regarding their marriage began during the life of Henry VII and continued after his death. Catherine became Queen of England two months after Henry VIII's accession to the throne. However, before the wedding, Henry had to obtain permission from the Pope - Julius. Church law prohibited such marriages, but the Pope gave the English king special permission, largely because Catherine and Arthur never actually became husband and wife.
Official portrait of Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England. Unknown artist, ca. 1525 
Due to Catherine's lack of surviving sons, Henry insisted, after 24 years of marriage, on a divorce (or rather, annulment) in 1533. He never received the consent of either the Pope or Catherine. It was decided that from this moment on, the Pope's authority would not extend to England. Henry declared himself head of the Church (since 1534), and his marriage with Catherine was invalid.
This step became one of the reasons for Henry's conflict with the Pope, the break with the Roman Catholic Church and the reformation in England.
Mary I Tudor (1516-1558) - Queen of England from 1553, eldest daughter of Henry VIII from his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Also known as Bloody Mary (or Bloody Mary), Catholic Mary.
Anthonis Mor. Mary I of England 
Master John. Portrait of Mary I, 1544 
In May 1533, Henry married Anne Boleyn (also spelled Bullen; c. 1507 - May 19, 1536, London) - the second wife (from January 25, 1533 until execution) of King Henry VIII of England. Mother of Elizabeth I.
Portrait of Anne Boleyn. Author unknown, 1534 
Anne Boleyn was Henry's unapproachable lover for a long time, refusing to become his mistress. She was crowned on June 1, 1533, and in September of the same year gave birth to his daughter Elizabeth, instead of the son expected by the king.
Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603), Queen Bess - Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558, last of the Tudor dynasty. She inherited the throne after the death of her sister, Queen Mary I.
William Scrots. Elizabeth I as a Princess (Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn, future Queen Elizabeth I) 
The reign of Elizabeth is sometimes called the “golden age of England”, both in connection with the flourishing of culture (the so-called “Elizabethans”: Shakespeare, Marlowe, Bacon, etc.), and with the increased importance of England on the world stage (the defeat of the Invincible Armada, Drake, Raleigh, East India Company).
Portrait of Elizabeth I of England, c. 1575. Author unknown 
Anne Boleyn's subsequent pregnancies ended unsuccessfully. Soon Anna lost the love of her husband, was accused of adultery and beheaded in the Tower in May 1536.
Anne Boleyn. Portrait by an unknown artist, c. 1533-36 
Love letter from Henry VIII to his future second wife Anne Boleyn, in French, probably January 1528.
This letter was kept in the Vatican for five centuries; it was first exhibited in the British Library in London.
"From now on, my heart will belong only to you."
“The expression of your affection for me is so strong, and the beautiful words of your message are so heartfelt, that I am simply obliged to respect, love and serve you forever,” the king writes. “For my part, I am ready, if possible, to surpass you in loyalty and desire please you."
The letter ends with the signature: “G. loves A.B.” And
the initials of your beloved enclosed in a heart.
Jane Seymour (c. 1508 - 1537). She was Anne Boleyn's maid of honor. Henry married her a week after the execution of his previous wife. She died a few days later from childbed fever. The mother of Henry's only surviving son, Edward VI (English: Edward VI, October 12, 1537 - July 6, 1553) - King of England and Ireland from January 28, 1547). In honor of the birth of the prince, an amnesty was declared for thieves and pickpockets, and the cannons in the Tower fired two thousand volleys.
Portrait of Jane Seymour by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1536-37 
Portrait of Edward VI. Works by Hans Eworth, 1546 
Anna of Cleves (1515-1557). Daughter of Johann III of Cleves, sister of the reigning Duke of Cleves. Marriage to her was one of the ways to cement the alliance of Henry, Francis I and the German Protestant princes. As a prerequisite for marriage, Henry wanted to see a portrait of the bride, for which Hans Holbein the Younger was sent to Kleve. Heinrich liked the portrait and the engagement took place in absentia. But Henry categorically did not like the bride who arrived in England (unlike her portrait). Although the marriage was concluded in January 1540, Henry immediately began to look for a way to get rid of his unloved wife. As a result, already in June 1540 the marriage was annulled; The reason was Anne's pre-existing engagement to the Duke of Lorraine. In addition, Henry stated that there was no actual marital relationship between him and Anna. Anne remained in England as the King's "sister" and outlived both Henry and all his other wives. This marriage was arranged by Thomas Cromwell, for which he lost his head.
Anna Klevskaya. Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1539 
Anna Klevskaya. Portrait by Bartholomeus Brain the Elder, early 1540s. 
Catherine Howard (more correctly Catherine Howard English. Catherine Howard, born 1520/1525 - died February 13, 1542). Niece of the powerful Duke of Norfolk, cousin of Anne Boleyn. Henry married her in July 1540 out of passionate love. It soon became clear that Catherine had a lover before marriage (Francis Durham) and cheated on Henry with Thomas Culpepper. The perpetrators were executed, after which the queen herself ascended the scaffold on February 13, 1542.
Portrait of Catherine Howard. Hans Holbein Junior 
Catherine Parr (born about 1512 - died September 5, 1548) was the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII of England. Of all the queens of England, she was in the largest number of marriages - besides Henry, she had three more husbands). By the time of her marriage to Henry (1543), she had already been widowed twice. She was a convinced Protestant and did a lot for Henry’s new turn to Protestantism. After Henry's death, she married Thomas Seymour, Jane Seymour's brother.
Portrait of Catherine Parr. Master John, ca. 1545. National Portrait Gallery in London 
Portrait of Catherine Parr. William Scrots, ca. 1545 
Wives of Henry VIII December 21st, 2016
Hello dears.
In the history of any country there is a ruler that literally everyone has heard of. At the same time, the vast majority of people, accustomed to thinking in blocks, know literally a little about such a historical figure, and God grant that it is true information, and not an element like “Marie Antoinette’s brioches.”
Now, if you ask people what they have heard about the English king Henry 8, many will remember that he is a polygamist, and someone will add that it was because of his wives that he took Foggy Albion from the hands of the Roman Curia to Protestantism. This is partly true (although not because of numerous marriages, of course. It’s getting deeper and more serious). It’s true that it’s hard to deny the female influence here :-)
But Henry VIII is a much more interesting figure (as are all the Tudors in general). And we can say that he was a bright and strong sovereign, until towards the end of his life “the cuckoo completely went away.” If you have time and desire, read about his life. Well, today we will focus on more prosaic things - let’s remember these same wives and what they were like :-)
One of the many films about him...
Henry went down in history as the husband of 6 different wives. And they were really very, very different. They say that English schoolchildren are still taught not to confuse these queens using the mnemonic phrase “divorced - executed - died, divorced - executed - survived.” Comfortable:-)))
So, he married for the first time having just taken the throne in 1509. Henry at that time was a noble and kind young man, and therefore committed an act that he might well not have done - he married the widow of his older brother, Catherine of Aragon.
"Catholic Kings"
It was like this... In general, Henry should not have taken the throne, because he had an older brother whose name was Arthur. Their father, the reigning King Henry VII, chose for Arthur what seemed to him a brilliant match - the youngest daughter of the unifiers of Spain, often also called the “Catholic kings” Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, Catherine. The marriage was overall strategic and beneficial for England. The girl was 16, the groom 15. They had time to have a wedding, but not their wedding night. Arthur suddenly died from some infectious disease. Catherine remained an innocent widow at the British court.
Despite the fact that she was 5 years older than him, Henry decided to get married. Either out of a sense of duty, or out of pity, or maybe love was involved there too. 
Arthur Tudor
However, it should be noted that the life of the spouses did not work out right away. They were too different. Cheerful and not shying away from wine and female society, Henry and devout Catholic Catherine. It seemed that she took the worst traits from her parents - her mother's religious fanaticism and her father's stinginess. There were especially problems with the earnestness of faith. In fasting and prayer, the young woman brought herself to the point of fainting from hunger, which had a very bad effect on her health. She gave birth to 8 children, only 1 boy, but of all of them only one child survived - Mary (the future Queen Mary the Bloody). Having suffered without an heir and having completely cooled off towards his wife, Henry tried to get rid of her - but that was not the case. Neither persuasion, nor attempts at bribery, nor threats worked. Then the king approached the matter legally. His jurists explained that marrying the widow of the marriage is incest, which means the marriage is void. This happened in 1529, after 20 years of marriage. 
Catherine of Aragon
This interpretation did not please Pope Clement VII, who did not give permission for the divorce, and in the end this became the starting point for the final ousting of Catholicism from England. 
Clement VII in the world of Giulio Medici
Henry VIII by that time enjoyed the company of 3 mistresses at once - the Boleyn sisters (Anna and Mary), as well as Elizabeth Blount. The latter even bore him a son in 1525, whom the king subsequently granted the title of Duke of Richmond and Somerset. But he was a bastard, and the king needed a legitimate heir. 
Late coat of arms of the Boleyn family
The youngest of the Boleyn sisters, Anna, took advantage of the king's divorce and the whole situation best of all. At the time of her infatuation with the king, she was 32 years old. This lady did not have a very beautiful appearance, but she was quite popular. Everyone noted the sophistication of her attire, pleasant voice, ease of dance, fluent knowledge of French, good performance on the lute and other musical instruments, energy and cheerfulness. And most importantly, she was quite smart and cunning. Having played hard to get in front of the king and initially rejected all his advances, she completely turned his head. She became Henry's wife in January 1533, was crowned on June 1, 1533, and in September of the same year gave birth to his daughter Elizabeth (the future famous "Virgin Queen"), instead of the son expected by the king. Subsequent pregnancies ended unsuccessfully. And the marriage quickly fell apart. The King simply...executed his wife in May 1536, accusing her of two acts of treason and treason. This was absolutely groundless. But the king became interested in the new woman, and did not want a new divorce process. 
Ann Bolein
Just a week after the execution of his wife, Henry VIII. whose mental health has already begun to shake, marries the object of his passion - Anne Boleyn's former maid of honor named Jane Seymour. It was Jane, even though she had been queen for a little over a year, who was able to give birth to the king’s legal heir - the son of Edward, who, albeit for a short time, ruled under the name of Edward VI. Jane herself died 2 weeks after the birth of her son - from puerperal fever. 
Jane Seymour
The king should have stopped - but no, despite his advanced age for those years, he set out on a new search for his wife. And I found it. He decided to become related to the Duke of Cleves (northwestern Germany) Johann III the Peace-loving and betrothed his eldest daughter Anna. But everything turned out a little crooked. He had not seen Anna, so he ordered her portrait - they brought it to him and he fell in love with the portrait. When the girl was brought to London, the king was very disappointed. She didn't match the portrait. And it was very inconsistent. Therefore, after six months of marriage, the king offered her a divorce, paid her a generous allowance and the unofficial title of “the king’s favorite sister.” She remained to live in England. 
Anna Klevskaya
I don’t know why Henry wanted to marry again, but he made an extremely strange choice. A certain 20-year-old former maid of honor and cousin of Anne Boleyn named Catherine Howard was a cheerful and peculiar lady. Cuckolding her husband right and left, and having at least 2 official lovers, including the king’s personal page who cheated on Henry, she ended her life on the chopping block. The king tolerated her for 2 years, but on February 13, 1542, she ascended the scaffold. Because they don't joke with fire. 
Catherine Howard
We can say that the king was lucky only in his last marriage. Despite the 20-year age difference, his last wife, Catherine Parr, tried to create for him conditions for a normal family life. She loved his children and himself, tried to extinguish his attacks of rage and manifested mental illness. This was her 3rd marriage and she was a widow twice. Despite the fact that during the 4 years of marriage she was, as they say, on the verge of death several times, but she honestly pulled the marital burden. It was under her, an ardent Protestant, that England lost its chances of returning to the Catholic bed. And it was Catherine Parr who buried the king. Henry VIII. On January 28, 1547, at two o'clock in the morning, Henry VIII died at the age of 55 from gluttony. 
Catherine Parr
Interestingly, Parr married for the fourth time - to Thomas Seymour, Jane Seymour's brother. Thus, for those times, this woman is unique - after all, 4 marriages.
This is the story with the spouses of the loving King Henry VIII. I hope you found it interesting.
Have a nice time of day.
Tudor and his 6 wives have been of interest not only to historians, but also to people of art for almost 550 years. And this is not surprising, since even without any adjustments it is in no way inferior to the plots of the most popular soap operas.
Many books have been written and dozens of films have been made on the topic of the monarch’s numerous marriages. However, not all of them are true, so you will probably be interested in reading documented facts that shed light on the relationship between Henry VIII Tudor, his wives and heirs, and why the king could not find a woman who could force him to become an exemplary family man.
First marriage
Henry 8 ascended the English throne after the death of his father at the age of 17. He entered into his first marriage shortly before this. Moreover, this marriage was not only not for love, but even its expediency from the point of view of strengthening England’s position in Europe was doubted by both the father of the young king and his advisers.
The wife of the future king was Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish infanta who, moreover, was the widow of Henry’s older brother, Arthur. She was older than her husband and their marriage was opposed by the Catholic Church, which considered them close relatives. In order to obtain the pope's permission, Catherine even had to swear an oath that, despite the fact that she was married to the Prince of Wales, she remained a virgin. Based on these testimony, the first marital union of the Spanish Infanta was declared invalid.
Lack of an heir
Having become king, young Henry completely obeyed his wife in matters of foreign policy. At the same time, the queen was most concerned about the interests of her native Spain. At the same time, everyone expected Catherine to give birth to an heir, but she only gave birth to dead children or they died immediately after birth.
Finally, in 1516, 7 years after the wedding, the queen became the mother of a healthy girl, who was named Mary. According to the marriage contract of Catherine and Henry, in the absence of a couple of sons, the throne was supposed to pass to the daughter. However, the king feared even the thought of a woman on the throne of England. He continued to hope that Catherine would give him a son, but the queen’s next and final pregnancy ended with the birth of another dead boy, which made the threat of a dynastic crisis real.
Extramarital affairs
While the queen unsuccessfully tried to become the mother of the heir to the throne and was constantly pregnant or recovering from difficult childbirth, Henry sought consolation on the side. His most famous mistresses at that time were Bessie Blount, who gave birth to the king's son Fitzroy, and
It is interesting that in 1925, the first boy was given the title of Duke of Richmond and His Majesty did not even hide the fact that he was the father of this child, while he did not recognize the children from his second mistress, although everyone was sure that they were not born without his participation.
Ann Bolein
According to historians, all the wives of Henry 8 Tudor, to one degree or another, loved this extraordinary man. However, he did not idolize any of them, and subsequently hated him as much as Anne Boleyn.
The girl was the younger sister of his mistress Maria, but she was exceptionally ambitious. She received an excellent education in Brussels and Paris and shone at court. Noticing signs of attention from the king, she gladly met with him for intellectual conversations, but was in no hurry to accept his advances.
Perhaps the reason for her inaccessibility was the fate of her sister, who became Henry’s concubine, and then was rejected and forgotten by him. The refusal only fueled the king's love fervor. To gain her favor, he offered Anna the role of the wife of Henry 8 Tudor, although he already had a legal wife.
Divorce
Anna Klevskaya
Although England already had an heir to the throne, after the death of Joan Seymour, ambassadors were sent to many European capitals. They were ordered to find candidates for the role of the wife of Henry 8 Tudor. Portraits of girls from royal families had to be brought to London so that the king could choose a bride for himself. As it turned out, no one was eager to give their daughter as a wife to a man who had two annulled marriages behind him and who executed the mother of his child.
With great difficulty, the ambassadors managed to persuade Duke William of Cleves to marry his sister Anna to Henry. At the end of 1539, the princess arrived in Calais, where she met her groom. The king was disappointed, since the bride did not look at all like the girl from the portrait that was sent to him. He returned to London in a rage and unleashed his wrath on the courtiers who had betrothed him to a “Flemish mare.”
However, he had to get married, but he publicly stated that he did not touch his wife. Despite this, Anna of Cleves gained universal love at court and became a good stepmother to the king's three children. Soon Henry decided to cancel the barque. The Queen did not resist, especially since her husband invited her to live in the palace as his “beloved sister.”
Catherine Howard
By 1540, King Henry VIII Tudor of England and his wives were everywhere in Europe. He could no longer hope to find a wife among the girls from august families, so he turned his attention to the ladies-in-waiting of his fourth wife. Among them, he especially liked the one he married.
At first the marriage seemed happy, and Henry seemed to look 20 years younger. But the young wife was a flighty person, and soon young people with whom she had been friends before she became queen appeared in her retinue. Having learned about his wife’s infidelity, Henry ordered her execution in front of the crowd.
Catherine Parr
This woman happened to write the last chapter of the novel “Henry VIII and His Six Wives.” At the time the king proposed to her, she had already become a widow twice, and she was 31 years old. The king was over 50, and he told Lady Catherine that he hoped that she would be his consolation in his old age. Henry's new wife became friends with her husband's daughter Elizabeth and took up the education of his son Edward. The marriage lasted 4 years and ended with the death of the monarch.
Now you know some interesting facts about the events in which the main characters were the English king Henry VIII and his six wives. Fortunately, today everyone is free to marry as many times as they wish, and this does not require cutting off heads or plunging an entire country into the abyss of religious and civil wars.
Henry VIII Tudor
English king Henry VIII Tudor.
Fragment of a portrait of Hans Holben the Younger.
Thyssen-Bournemouth Collection.
Henry VIII (Henry VIII Tudor) (28 June 1491, Greenwich - 28 January 1547, London), English king since 1509, from the Tudor dynasty, one of the most prominent representatives of English absolutism.
Henry VIII (1451-1547). King of England from 1509 to 1547, son Henry VII, father Elizabeth.
Despite the fact that he himself did not belong to the clergy, Henry became the initiator of the church schism of 1534. The king sought to create a distinct English form of Catholicism, in which he himself would serve as Pope, and the dogmas and rituals of the Roman Church - including worship in Latin, the seven sacraments and celibacy of priests - would be preserved. However, the process Henry initiated led to results somewhat different from his original plans.
Suami A. Elizabethan England / Henri Suami. – M.: Veche, 2016, p. 337. In governing the state, Henry VIII relied on his favorites: Thomas Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Cranmer. During his reign, the Reformation was carried out in England, which the king considered as a means of strengthening his autocracy and replenishing the treasury. The immediate reason for the reform of the English Church was the refusal of the Pope
Henry VIII in 1536 and 1539 carried out the secularization of the monastic lands, a significant part of which passed into the hands of the new nobility. Resistance, especially strong in the north of England (the "Pilgrimage of Grace"), was brutally suppressed by royal troops. In connection with secularization, the process of expropriation of peasant plots and the ruin of peasants intensified. To combat vagabonds and beggars, Henry VIII issued the “Bloody Legislation against the Expropriated.” However, in the context of the beginning of the agrarian revolution, the king tried to preserve the old feudal structure of land ownership, in particular, he took measures against enclosures. During the reign of Henry VIII, England waged devastating wars with France and Scotland, which, coupled with the enormous expenses of the royal court, led to a complete breakdown of public finances.
Copyright (c) "Cyril and Methodius"
Henry VIII (28.VI.1491 - 28.I.1547) - English king from 1509, 2nd of the Tudor dynasty; one of the brightest representatives of English absolutism. In his youth he patronized humanists (T. More and his friends). In 1515-1529, public administration was concentrated in the hands of Chancellor-Cardinal T. Wolsey. From the end of the 20s, the period of the reign of Henry VIII began, associated with the Reformation, which he considered as an important means of strengthening absolutism and the royal treasury; Henry VIII's right hand was his closest favorite, "First Minister" T. Cromwell. The aggravation of relations with the pope was facilitated by the divorce proceedings of Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon, in which the pope took an uncompromising position, and his marriage to his favorite Anne Boleyn. In 1534, Henry VIII broke with the pope and was proclaimed head of the English (Anglican) Church by Parliament ("Act of Supremacy", 1534); T. More(Lord Chancellor from 1529), who resisted this policy, was executed (1535). In 1536 and 1539, acts followed to close the monasteries and secularize their lands. Resistance to this policy, especially in the North, was brutally suppressed (see "The Pilgrimage of Grace"). In matters of reformation, Henry VIII, however, was not consistent; in 1539, under pain of death, he demanded that his subjects observe the old Catholic rites. In 1540, Cromwell was arrested and then executed. The enormous expenses of the court, the wars with France and Scotland led at the end of the reign of Henry VIII to a complete breakdown of finances, despite the enormous funds received by the king from secularization and the sale of monastic lands. In connection with the increased expropriation of the peasantry as a result of secularization, he issued statutes against vagrants and beggars (1530, 1536).
Although the policies of Henry VIII met to a certain extent the interests of the new nobility and the growing bourgeoisie, his class support was the feudal nobility (Henry VIII's attempts to preserve the old feudal structure of land ownership in the era of the beginning of the agrarian revolution were reflected, in particular, in his measures to limit enclosures).
In modern English bourgeois literature, the activities and personality of Henry VIII are assessed differently. Thus, J. Macnee emphasizes the completeness of power, power and energy of Henry VIII, who allegedly enjoyed great love of the entire people. On the contrary, Elton develops the idea that Henry VIII was not a particularly active ruler at all, that even the reformation - the most important work of Henry VIII - was essentially the work of T. Cromwell. When assessing the absolutism of Henry VIII, English bourgeois historians, recognizing the presence of the “strong power” of Henry VIII and the obedience of the parliaments that met under him, are overwhelmingly inclined to regard Henry VIII as a “constitutional king” (this concept is shared by the Labor member Elton). This, however, contradicts the actual state of affairs, since Parliament under Henry VIII played a clearly subordinate, rather than leading role (in 1539 he even passed a statute equating royal ordinances in their meaning to acts of parliament).
V. F. Semenov. Moscow.
Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 4. THE HAGUE - DVIN. 1963.
Reformed the church
Henry VIII (1491-1547) - English king since 1509, during whose reign the Church of England was born and Anglicanism began to take shape as a specific variety of Christianity. The removal of the Catholic Church of England from the control of the popes, carried out by him through a series of state laws, was caused primarily by political reasons related to the need to strengthen the power of England against the threat of such Catholic countries as France and Spain. The ban on paying church taxes to popes, the confiscation of monastic property and other measures significantly replenished the state treasury, which made it possible to strengthen the navy and create new dioceses. For this reason, Henry VIII's reforms were generally unopposed by the local clergy. The immediate reason for the break with Rome was the divorce of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon and his marriage to Anne Boleyn. Pope Clement VII excommunicated Henry VIII from the Catholic Church in 1533. In 1534, Henry VIII was proclaimed head of the Church of England.
The remarkable thing about Henry VIII’s “palace reformation” is that, with the exception of the change in the supreme power over the church in England, the Catholic character of the church structure, dogma and rituals did not undergo any significant changes. Some Protestant innovations were very minor.
Protestantism. [Atheist's Dictionary]. Under general ed. L.N. Mitrokhina. M., 1990, p. 79.
Hans Holben Jr. Henry VIII. Palazzo. Berberini. Rome
Henry VIII, King of England from the Tudor family, who reigned from 1509-1547. Son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.
1) c1509 Catherine, daughter of Ferdinand V, King of Spain (b. 1485 + 1536);
2) from 1533 Anne Boleyn (born 1501 + 1536);
3) from 1536 Jane Seymour (b. 1500 + 1537);
4) from 1539 Anna Klevekal (+ 1539);
5) from 1540 Catherine Howard (+ 1542);
Henry was the youngest son of Henry VII, the first Tudor king. His elder brother, Prince Arthur, was a frail and sickly man. In November 1501, he married the Aragonese princess Catherine, but could not perform marital duties. Bedridden, he coughed, suffered from a fever, and finally died in April 1502. His young widow remained in London. In 1505, an agreement was reached between the English and Spanish courts that Catherine would marry her younger brother when he turned 15 years old. Pope Julius II issued a dispensation - a special permission for Catherine's second marriage, despite the commandment of the Bible: “If anyone takes his brother’s wife, it is abominable; He has revealed his brother's nakedness; they will be childless..."
In April 1509, Henry UN died, and in June, shortly before his coronation, Henry UN! Married Ekaterina. Not a single king before him inspired more joyful hopes upon his accession to the throne: Henry had flourishing health, was perfectly built, was considered an excellent horseman and a first-class archer. Moreover, unlike his melancholy and sickly father, he was cheerful and active. From the first days of his reign, balls, masquerades and tournaments were constantly held at court. The king's counts complained about the enormous costs of buying velvet, precious stones, horses and theatrical machines. Scientists and reformers loved Henry because he apparently had a free and enlightened mind; he spoke Latin, French, Spanish and Italian, and played the lute well. However, like many other sovereigns of the Renaissance, the king combined education and love of the arts with vices and despotism. Henry had a very high opinion of his talents and abilities. He imagined that he knew everything, from theology to military sciences. But, despite this, he did not like to do business, constantly entrusting them to his favorites. His first favorite was Thomas Wolsey, who became a cardinal and chancellor from the royal chaplains.
In 1513, Henry was drawn into the war with France by the intrigues of Emperor Maximilian and his daughter Margaret. In the summer the king landed at Calais and besieged Terouanni. Maximilian, uniting with him, inflicted defeat on the French at Gingata. Henry himself captured the city of Tournai. However, in 1514, the allies, Maximilian and Ferdinand of Spain, abandoned Henry, making peace with France. Henry came into a terrible anger and for a long time could not forgive them for this treachery. He immediately began negotiations with
In the theological debates of the time, Henry behaved in the same way. In 1522, he sent the pope his pamphlet directed against the reformers. For this work, he received the title “Defender of the Faith” from Rome, and was showered with insults by Luther. But then, under the influence of circumstances, the king changed his views to the opposite. This was due to his family affairs. Queen Catherine was pregnant several times over the years of her marriage, but managed to give birth to only one healthy girl, named Mary, in 1516. After twenty years of marriage, the king still did not have an heir to the throne. This couldn't go on any longer. Gradually, a cooling arose between the spouses. Since 1525, Henry stopped sharing a bed with his wife. Catherine began to become more and more interested in matters of piety. She wore a Franciscan hair shirt under her royal gowns, and contemporary chronicles were filled with references to her pilgrimages, almsgiving, and constant prayer. Meanwhile, the king was still full of strength, health, and by this time had several illegitimate children. From 1527 he was greatly infatuated with the queen's lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn. At the same time, he gave Cardinal Wolsey a responsible assignment - having gathered the bishops and lawyers of the kingdom, to pass a judgment on the legal inconsistency of the edict of Pope Julius II, according to which he was allowed to marry Catherine. However, this matter turned out to be extremely difficult.
Thomas Cromwell, who took Wolsey's place, suggested that Henry divorce Catherine without papal permission. Why, he said, does the king not want to follow the example of the German princes and, with the assistance of parliament, declare himself the head of the national church? This thought seemed extremely tempting to the despotic king, and he very soon allowed himself to be persuaded. The reason for the attack on the church was the oath to the pope, which had been given by English prelates since ancient times. Meanwhile, according to English laws, they had no right to swear allegiance to anyone other than their sovereign. In February 1531, at the behest of Henry, a charge of violating the laws against the entire English clergy was brought to the highest criminal court in England. The prelates who had gathered for the convoy offered the king a large sum of money to stop the process.
Based on his new rights, Henry appointed Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury at the beginning of 1533. In May, Cranmer declared the king's marriage to Catherine of Aragon invalid, and a few days later Anne Boleyn was proclaimed the king's legal wife and crowned. Pope Clement demanded that Henry confess to Rome. The king responded to this with arrogant silence. In March 1534, the pope excommunicated Henry from the church, declared his marriage to Anna illegal, and his daughter Elizabeth, born by that time, illegitimate. As if mocking the high priest, Henry, by his decree, declared his first marriage invalid, and the daughter Mary born from her, deprived of all rights to succession to the throne. The unfortunate queen was imprisoned in the monastery of Emfitelle. It was a complete break. However, not everyone in England approved of the church schism. It took brutal repression to force the English clergy to new orders. Monasteries became one of the first victims of religious persecution. In 1534, Cromwell demanded that the English monks take a special oath - that they considered the king the supreme head of the English church and refused to obey the Roman bishop, who “illegally appropriated the title of pope in his bulls.” As one might expect, this demand met with strong resistance among the monastic orders. Cromwell ordered the leaders of the monastic opposition to be hanged. In 1536, a statute was adopted on the secularization of the property of 376 small monasteries.
Meanwhile, the main culprit of the English Reformation did not retain her high position for long. Anne Boleyn's behavior was far from impeccable. After the coronation, fans much younger than her husband began to hover around her. The suspicious king noticed this, and his affection for his wife melted every day. By that time, Henry was already infatuated with the new beauty - Jane Seymour. The reason for the final break was an incident that occurred at a tournament in early May 1536. The Queen, sitting in her box, dropped a handkerchief to the handsome courtier Norris, who was passing by, and he was so unreasonable that he picked it up in front of Henry. The next day, Anna, her brother Lord Rochester, as well as several gentlemen, whom rumor dubbed the queen’s lovers, were arrested. The indictment stated that Anna and her accomplices were plotting against the life of the king-husband, that her behavior was always more than reprehensible, and that there were persons among her accomplices; with whom she is in a criminal relationship, torture and interrogation began. The musician Smithton, who amused Anna with playing the lute, confessed that he enjoyed the unlimited favor of his mistress and visited her on a secret date three times. On May 17, an investigative commission of twenty peers recognized the former queen. guilty and decided to put her to death. On May 20, she was beheaded. The day after the execution, Henry married Jane Seymour. She was a quiet, meek, submissive girl, who least of all coveted the crown. In October 1537 she died, giving birth to the king's son Edward. Her marriage to Henry lasted 15 months.
Meanwhile, church reform continued. At first, Henry did not want to change anything in the teachings and dogmas of the church. But the dogma of papal power was so closely interwoven by scholastic theology with the entire system of Catholicism that in its abolition it was necessary to abolish certain other dogmas and institutions. In 1536, the king approved ten articles drawn up by the convoy; this act decreed that the sources of doctrine should only be the Holy Scripture and the three ancient creeds (thereby rejecting the authority of church tradition and the pope). Only three sacraments were recognized: baptism, communion and repentance. The dogma of purgatory, prayer for the dead, and prayers to saints were rejected, and the number of rituals was reduced. This act was a signal for the destruction of icons, relics, statues and other sacred relics. In 1538-1539
After the death of Jane Seymour, the king began to think about a fourth marriage. After going through many parties, he finally chose the daughter of the Duke of Cleves, Anna, who was familiar to him only from a portrait by Holbein.
In September 1539, a marriage treaty was signed, after which Anna arrived in England. Seeing her directly with his own eyes, the king was annoyed and disappointed. “This is a real Flemish mare!” he said. Reluctantly, on January 6, 1540, he married his bride, but now began to think about divorce. He did not have any difficulties with the divorce. In the summer of the same year, the king ordered an investigation to be conducted and it was announced whether his wife was a virgin or not. “On the very first night,” he said, “I felt her breasts and stomach and realized that she was not a virgin, and therefore I did not become intimate with her.” As one might expect, it turns out that the queen is not a virgin. Based on this, on July 9, the Council of the Higher Clergy declared the marriage with Anna invalid. The divorced queen was given a decent allowance and an estate, where she retired with the same imperturbable phlegmatism with which she walked down the aisle.
By this time, the king already had a new favorite - Catherine Gotward, who was 30 years younger than him. He married her three weeks after divorcing his fourth wife, which greatly surprised his subjects: Gotward’s reputation was well known to everyone.
A year and a half later, in June 1543, Henry married for the sixth time to the 30-year-old widow Catherine Parr. Obviously, this time he was no longer chasing a beautiful face, but was looking for a quiet haven for his old age. The new queen was a woman with strong independent views on life. She took care of her husband’s health and successfully fulfilled the role of mistress of the courtyard. Unfortunately, she was too preoccupied with religious disputes, and she did not hesitate to express her views to the king. This liberty almost cost her her head. At the beginning of 1546, having argued with his wife over some religious issue, Henry considered her a “heretic” and filed an indictment against her. Fortunately, the draft charges were shown to the queen. She fainted when she saw her husband’s signature on her own sentence, but then she gathered her strength, rushed to Henry and, thanks to her eloquence, managed to beg for forgiveness. They write that at that moment the guards had already come to arrest the queen, but Henry showed them the door.
The formidable king died a year after this event. His illness was the result of monstrous obesity. Five years before his death, he was so fat that he was unable to move: he was carried in chairs on wheels.
All the monarchs of the world. Western Europe. Konstantin Ryzhov. Moscow, 1999
Henry VIII.
Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger
Reproduction from the site http://monarchy.nm.ru/
Henry VIII
Henry VIII Tudor
Henry VIII Tudor
Years of life: June 28, 1491 - January 28, 1547
Reign: April 21, 1509 - January 28, 1547
Father: Henry VII
Mother: Elizabeth of York
Wives: 1) Catherine of Aragon (marriage annulled)
2) Anne Boleyn (marriage annulled)
3) Jane Seymour
4) Anna of Klevskaya (marriage annulled)
5) Catherine Howard (marriage annulled)
6) Catherine Parr
Sons: Edward
Daughters: Maria, Elizabeth
The serial number of the spouse from whom the child was born is indicated in brackets.
Another 7 children died in infancy.
Illegitimate children: Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset
Catherine Carey
Henry Carey, Baron Hunsdon
Thomas Stukeley, sir
John Perrott, sir
Etheldreda Malt
Henry's older brother, Arthur, was a frail and sickly man.
Having married Catherine of Aragon in the fall of 1501, he could not perform marital duties. Bedridden, he suffered from fever and died six months later. An agreement was reached between the Spanish and English courts that Catherine would marry Henry as soon as he turned 15 years old. In this regard, special permission was received from Pope Julius II, despite the prohibition reflected in the Bible on marrying his brother's widow. Henry married Catherine shortly after his father's death, shortly before his coronation.
Unlike his father and older brother, Henry was strong in body, cheerful, and loved balls, masquerades and knightly tournaments. In addition, the new king was well educated, knew several languages, loved art, and knew how to play the lute and compose songs and poems. However, at the same time he was extremely self-confident, despotic and did not like to deal with state affairs, entrusting them to his favorites. Henry came into a terrible anger and for a long time could not forgive them for this treachery. His first favorite was Thomas Wolsey, who became a cardinal and chancellor from the royal chaplains.
In 1513, Henry became involved in a war with France, but was soon abandoned by his allies. Henry had to make peace with and give him his younger sister Maria as his wife. This incident taught Henry a lot, and in the future he began to act just as treacherously. did not want to give a divorce, and Wolsey was not eager to see Anne Boleyn as queen and was delaying the matter in every possible way. An angry Henry dismissed Wolsey, appointing Thomas Cromwell instead, who suggested that Henry, following the example of the German princes, declare himself the head of the church in England and obtain a divorce without the consent of the pope. Heinrich liked the idea. By his order, the court accused all the priests of England of traditionally swearing allegiance to the pope, while they were not supposed to swear allegiance to anyone other than the king. At a special congress in February 1531, the bishops were forced to yield to the willful monarch and recognize him as the head of the English church. Parliament passed resolutions to sever relations between England and Rome. The taxes previously paid to the pope began to flow into the income of the kingdom.
Taking advantage of his new rights, Henry appointed Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury, who a few days later declared the marriage of Henry and Catherine invalid and married the king to Anne Boleyn. The angry pope excommunicated Henry from the church and declared his marriage to Anne illegal. Henry responded by depriving his daughter from his first marriage of all rights to the throne, and exiled his ex-wife to a monastery, where she died a few years later.
For some time, Henry had to fight opposition among the clergy. The monks were forced to renounce obedience to the papal bishop and swear an oath of allegiance to Henry. Some opposition leaders had to be hanged, and in 1536 376 small monasteries were closed.
Meanwhile, Anne Boleyn behaved in a far from royal manner. Henry found out about her numerous love affairs. When his patience ran out, Anna and several of her suitors were arrested on suspicion of organizing a conspiracy against the king. The investigative commission found Anna guilty, and on May 19, 1536 she was beheaded.
It should be noted that shortly before the verdict was pronounced, the marriage of Henry and Anna was annulled, and therefore it was absurd to accuse Anna of cheating on her husband, since it seemed like she never had a husband.
Almost immediately, Henry married his new passion. Jane Seymour was a quiet and meek girl without great ambitions. She gave birth to Henry's heir, Edward, and died two weeks later. Their marriage lasted 15 months.
Meanwhile, Henry continued to carry out church reform. Many provisions of the Catholic Church were closely related to the dogma of papal power, and therefore Henry was forced to revise them. In 1536, he issued a decree according to which the sources of religious doctrine were to be only the Holy Scripture and the three ancient creeds (thus rejecting the authority of church tradition and the pope). Only three sacraments were recognized: baptism, communion and repentance. The dogma of purgatory, prayer for the dead, and prayers to saints were rejected, and the number of rituals was reduced. This was followed by the mass destruction of icons, relics and other relics. Abbots and priors were stripped of their seats in the House of Lords. The remaining monasteries were abolished. Their property went to the state. Likewise, church tithes began to flow directly into the treasury. This allowed Henry to significantly strengthen his army and navy and build new fortresses and harbors. Of course, not everyone was happy with the reforms being carried out. However, Henry dealt with dissenters cruelly and mercilessly. In the last 17 years of his reign, more than 70 thousand people were killed at the stake and in prisons.
After the death of Jane Seymour, Henry decided to marry for the fourth time. He chose Anna of Cleves, whom he saw only in a portrait by Holbein. Seeing her live, Heinrich was very disappointed and called her a “Flanders mare” behind her back. Although the marriage contract was signed and the wedding took place, Henry immediately decided to divorce his wife.
Under the pretext that the queen was not a virgin, the divorce was easily finalized, and Anna, having received decent compensation, phlegmatically withdrew from the court.
A year and a half later, Henry married 30-year-old widow Catherine Parr.
A strong and strong-willed woman, Catherine could well have become a reliable support for Henry in his old age. However, her religious beliefs did not coincide with the views of Henry, and she was not afraid to argue with him on theological topics. After one of these disputes, Henry signed her sentence in anger, but at the last moment Catherine managed to beg the king’s forgiveness.
Catherine managed to reconcile Henry with his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, and parliament, by a special act, established them as heirs after their son Edward.
In the last years of his life, Henry became incredibly fat. He became so fat that he could not move independently and was carried in a wheelchair. In addition, he suffered from gout. Perhaps his death in 1547 was a consequence of such obesity. Henry's heir was Edward, the son from his marriage to Jane Seymour.
Read further: British historical figures
(biographical reference book). England in the 16th century
(chronological table). Literature on British history
(lists). British History Course Syllabus
(methodology).
Elizabeth I Tudor
(Elizabeth I) (1533-1603), daughter of Henry, Queen of England from 1558.
Literature:
Semenov V.F., Problems of politics. history of England in the 16th century. in modern lighting English bourgeois historians, "VI", 1959, No. 4;
Mackie J. D., The earlier Tudors, 1485-1558, Oxf., 1952;
