Posts Tagged ‘tips on living in london’

Author:  Colleen

Hello, Weekend Warriors! Time for our third and last installment on Henry VIII. Now that we’ve gotten all those distracting wives out of the way, I want to give a brief nod to this king’s other pursuits.

To start, the younger Henry VIII is actually an attractive man with much charisma. He is highly intelligent and writes books and composes music; before he grows obese in his later years, he is also athletic and fond of hunting, jousting, and tennis. Politically, I’ve previously discussed how he leads a successful campaign against the Scots in 1513 and an unsuccessful one against the French that nonetheless results in peace with them in 1520. We’ve also seen how he creates the Church of England so that he can finally divorce his first wife who couldn’t provide him a male heir, though his religious ideals still remain essentially Catholic—modifications to worship are slight, as opposed to a total theological overhaul. Nonetheless, his action is pivotal to England becoming a Protestant nation. Around this same time in the 1530s, Henry VIII is also responsible for uniting Wales and England.

Henry is a fairly extravagant spender, his two+ week meeting with the King of France in 1520 at the “Field of Cloth of Gold” costing a pretty penny, for one (this is an extravagant occasion of feasts, entertainment, and gift-giving, with tents and costumes made from cloth of gold, which is woven with silk and gold thread). He expands the naval fleet from 5 to 53 ships during his reign. And much money from the dissolution of England’s monasteries goes toward wars and strengthening aristocracy, leaving apparently not enough left over for when he goes after France again in the 1540s and requires forced loans and depreciated currency to finance it, increasing the country’s inflation.

All in all, Henry VIII‘s reign increases government bureaucracy and secures more absolute power for the monarchy. It is also characterized by his preoccupation with succession; having a male successor has been so critical because the Tudor dynasty is still fairly new (Henry VIII is only the second monarch to reign under it), and it’s thought that a queen might not sustain her power, especially if married to a foreign power who could then dominate rule. For all his fuss over obtaining a male heir, however, when Henry dies in 1547, all he leaves behind is one sickly son, Edward, and two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth.

Last we saw, Catherine of Aragon has failed to give Henry VIII a male heir, so he seeks an annulment with her so he can marry the intriguing and hopefully fertile Anne Boleyn. The Pope’s refusal to grant this isn’t to deter Henry; he goes ahead and does what he wants in 1533 at the price of excommunication. At this point, let’s cue Mel Brooks: “It’s good to be the king.” Because when you’re king, you can change the law, and Henry VIII deems it high-time that he break with Rome, enstate himself as head of the Church of England, and dissolve England’s monasteries.

And is she worth it? Well…Anne gives Henry a daughter (Elizabeth I, the future Queen of England), but not the son he’d hoped for. And, Anne, quite frankly, he’s just not that into you anymore. So Henry decides to take the easy way out of marriage this time and simply have Anne convicted of adultery and treason, thereby sentenced to execution in 1536. Now that she’s out of the way, enter Jane Seymour, who does give Henry his desperately sought male heir (Edward VI) the following year. Jane, unforunately, doesn’t survive the birth, and so another of Henry VIII’s wives is laid to rest.

Next in line? Anne of Cleves in 1540, who he divorces within months. That same year, it’s Catherine Howard until 1542 when she, like Anne Boleyn, is executed for adultery and treason. The last one on the roster is Catherine Parr in 1543, who Henry sticks with until his death in 1547.

But Henry VIII’s reign is not all about the wives; he achieved much politically, so to not be remiss, I’ll continue with this king next week.

Related London sightseeing: Tower of London, where Anne Boleyn was executed, and Hampton Court Palace, where the Church of England was born in its Chapel Royal (beneath the altar of which are buried Jane Seymour’s organs, where it was believed the soul resides) and Catherine Howard’s ghost is rumored to haunt the hallway of her bedchamber.

Henry VIII and his father both outlive Henry’s older brother Arthur, which is why Henry VIII succeeds instead. And it’s not only the throne he inherits…he also gets Arthur’s widow, Catherine of Aragon. Throughout his first years as king, Henry VIII isn’t particularly hands-on when it comes to matters of state—he entrusts much of this to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey to allow the king himself more time for hunting and such. He does also enjoy engaging in war, though, so Wolsey is instrumental in arranging campaigns, such as against the Scottish in 1513 (victorious for England) and a costly battle against the French that proves unsuccessful.

Wolsey has served Henry VIII well to this point, until the king’s need for a male heir leads to a massive rift between the men. It is now 1533, and Catherine of Aragon, you see, has failed to produce Henry VIII a male heir. She’s given him one surviving daughter, however: Mary. Henry seeks Wolsey’s support in procuring a papal annulment so he can marry Anne Boleyn, but such is not to be. So, the king who in 1521 wrote a treatise denouncing Martin Luther’s views toward the Church—and was thereby awarded the title “Defender of the Faith” by the Pope—is now himself on the verge of a religious reformation of his own.

Join me next week as we see the birth of the Church of England and the death of some wives…