Issue 08: Of Tudors & the Thames
It's King Henry VIII's death-day. Ergo, it's the perfect time to dredge up some factoids from his past and educate the living!
Happy New Year, and welcome to the second edition of Musings for 2023! I apologize for the lapse in posting. This month has been hectic between travel and the beginning of the semester at my university. Oof da, indeed! But onto the fun stuff!
Today is the 476th anniversary of the English King Henry VIII’s death-day (and also the 566th birthday of his father Henry VII). Old King Hal, that rascally-but-lovable obese ginger-haired tyrant, kicked the bucket on January 28, 1547, leaving behind a messy legacy and a young son barely old enough to tie his own shoes much less rule an entire kingdom. And thusly, what better way to celebrate his demise than by dredging up his past?
Henry VIII is one of those historical figures who continuously inspires us today. From the new Netflix show about his scandalous past to serving as a byline for an ehh biography about Marie de Guise, Henry Tudor the Younger (I’m trademarking this name) refuses to lie quietly in his grave in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor. Oh no, his larger-than-life person and persona quite gaily tromp through our imaginations.
In this week’s letter, I will share a little more about Henry VIII as well as some of my favorite books and resources about this ‘merrie monarch’ (admittedly that title actually goes to Charles II, but I feel it could also apply to KH8).
Ye Olde History
A Short Biography about King Henry VIII of England
Henry Tudor was born on June 28, 1491 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, England. The marriage of Henry VIII's parents, Henry Tudor (the founder of the dynasty) and Elizabeth of York (daughter of the deposed King Edward IV), effectively ended the long-running War of the Roses. This conflict pitted two branches of the royal Plantagenet family against each other - the white rose, representing the Yorks, and the red, representing the Lancastrians. Henry and Elizabeth had four surviving children: Arthur, Margaret, Henry, and Mary.
Henry, a handsome and accomplished prince, inherited the title of Prince of Wales after Arthur's death in 1502. He also effectively inherited his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon. The pair wed soon after Henry ascended the throne in 1509. Catherine bore no surviving sons, much to Henry's chagrin. The Tudor dynasty needed sons to remain stable, and this desire drove Henry's marital and other actions throughout his life.
In 1532, he separated from the Catholic Church in an effort to annul his marriage to Catherine. Eventually, he married Anne Boleyn, who bore a daughter Elizabeth, before beheading her in 1536. His third wife, Jane Seymour, gave him his heir, but she died of puerperal fever less than two weeks later. Henry's last three wives did not have children, and it was just as well - in his middle years, he grew obese and sickly, plagued by an old jousting injury on his leg. He died in 1547 and was succeeded by his son Edward.
There's more to his story, of course. But Henry's marital history and socioreligious upheaval particularly continue to fascinate people to this day.
Basic Biographical Details of Henry VIII
Full Name: Henry Tudor
Also Known As: King Henry VIII, Defender of the Faith, Supreme Head of the Church of England
Born: June 28, 1491, Palace of Placentia, Greenwich, England
Died: January 28, 1541, Palace of Whitehall, Westminster, England
Reigned: April 22, 1509 to January 28, 1547
Spouse(s): Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, Katherine Parr
Children: Mary I; Elizabeth I; Edward VI; and at least one illegitimate child, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset.1
Known For: Investing in the English navy; maintaining a "brenemy" relationship with the French king Francis I (i.e. brothers-but-also-enemies); the English Reformation; presiding over the dissolution of hundreds of monasteries and other religious houses; beheading his best buddies like Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell; and having a propensity for marriage ceremonies. Also maintains a killer Twitter account.
Bookish
Below are a few suggestions to read for more information on this most illustrious king.
Books
Borman, Tracy. Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2019.
Fletcher, Catherine. The Divorce of Henry VIII. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2012.
Hart, Kelly. The Mistresses of Henry VIII. Cheltenham, UK: The History Press, 2011.
Resources
Thank you, as always, for reading! Have a great week!
Cheers,
-Amy
It's thought he had several more children with various mistresses. Read Philippa Jones's The Other Tudors for a more detailed look at this particular topic.