Disloyalty, King Henry VIII's Tragic Flaw
King Henry VIII stopped at nothing to get what he wanted. As a lover of sports, he treated most tasks like a game, such as war, the church, and his wives. He often changed the rules to fit his liking. In the end satisfying his own personal needs made impactful changes on his people
Life Before The Reformation
King Henry VIII's childhood ended too soon, from taking on the responsibility of ruling the country at the age of 17 to his strategic approach as a new king. Henry VIII was born in the palace of Placentia in Greenwich, England to King Henry VII of England and Queen Elizabeth of York. He had six siblings but only three survived their childhood, Margaret, Mary, and Arthur. He was an intelligent and competitive student. By the end of his schooling he had learned Latin, Italian, French, theology, mathematics, and musical instruments such as the organ, lute, and harpsichord. His older brother, Arthur the Prince of Wales, died on the 2nd of April, 1502, leaving Henry next in line to the throne. A few years later his father died on April 21, 1509, and the next day Henry became king. He married Arthur's widow, Catherine of Aragon, who had had seven years of widowing. Henry's first war was the Battle of the Spurs, in which England joined Spain in 1511 to fight France to earn their land. England won in August 1513, but Henry breaking the peace his father created in England. By the time Catherine turned forty, she had only had one child, Mary. Henry was infuriated with this because he did not have the male heir he desired. Though Henry loved Catherine deeply when they married, he was ready to forsake her because of her failure to produce a male heir. Like he did not appreciate the love he had with Catherine, he also did not appreciate the peace his father had maintained, despite his exceptional education.
The Reformation
Seeking an Heir
Henry did not originally set out to reform the Roman-Catholic church, but when he was not granted what he wanted, nothing could stand in his way. Henry wanted to divorce Catherine, so he asked the pope for a divorce. The pope disapproved the divorce because the Catholic church doesn’t support divorce. He tried a second time but with the same result. Henry ordered the Archbishop of Canterbury for the divorce; fortunately for Henry the Archbishop granted the divorce, which broke all ties with the Catholic church. Henry deemed himself the head of his new church, the Church of England. Many his people were happy with this change because the rules of the new church made it so that they no longer had to pay the church for weddings, baptisms, and funerals. Most wealthy Catholics were supporters of the pope and were a threat to Henry. Monks were not helping the people as they were meant to, because all they did was take money from Henry's people. Henry decided to shut down the monasteries, but he needed proof to do it. He sent out parts of the government to check on the monks and ask them questions to see what they were doing. This was called the 'Dissolution' because the were trying to dissolve the monasteries. Eventually they found out that each monk had eight to ten girlfriends. This was enough to shut down the monasteries for good. Henry took the monks' gold and silver and let the people take the bricks of the building. The bricks were not useful to Henry, but they were to his subjects. Soon the monasteries were reduced to rubble. The reformation of the Roman-Catholic Church had an impactful change on England in many different ways.
After the reformation of the church, and the divorce of Catherine, King Henry was ever more desperate for a male heir. Henry married Anne Boleyn as his second wife on January 25, 1533. Henry ordered the Archbishop to declare that the marriage between Catherine and Henry was invalid, making Mary an illegitimate child. When Anne became pregnant, names began to be chosen for a baby boy; Henry and Edward. On August 26, 1533 a baby girl was born, who later became Elizabeth I. Anne knew she had to produce a male heir to regain Henry's love for her, so she became pregnant again. In 1535 she had a baby boy, but unfortunately for her it was a miscarriage. This infuriated Henry more than ever and he started to lose interest in her and started to gain interest in Jane Seymour, Anne's lady-in-waiting. On May 2, 1536 Anne was arrested for adultery and treason and was executed 17 days later. Henry married his fourth wife, Jane Seymour on May 30th, that same year. She became pregnant in 1537, and on October 15th she had baby boy, Edward. Henry was delighted with Jane and told her she was his one true love. Sadly, she died a few days later from child birth. Henry was devastated and did not marry for two more years, but eventually he got candidates for the position of queen. In 1540 he married Anne of Cleves. Henry did not find Anne attractive, and she was not suited for the English Court. Once Kathryn Howard caught his eye, he booted out Anne. Anne moved into Anne Boleyn's former house in the country side, and she received the honorary title of the 'Kings Sister'. Jane's death was the beginning of Henry's end.
Later Years
In Henry's last ten years he started to lose his characteristic zest for life. Kathryn Howard was Anne Boleyn's first cousin and became the lady-in-waiting at age nineteen to Anne of Cleves. Kathryn and Henry got married on July 19, 1540. Henry was forty nine and was beginning to gain a lot of weight. Rumor began that Kathryn was not loyal to Henry and sought men her own age. In 1540 the archbishop informed Henry about the Queen's infidelity, and she was executed in the following year. Henry then married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr. Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward all liked Catherine as their step mother. Catherine outlived Henry, who died on January 28, 1547 at age fifty six. The decade after Henry's death was chaotic. Edward then became king and died six years later at age sixteen. Mary was the next to the throne. She locked Elizabeth in the tower of London, to prevent Elizabeth from taking over the throne. She tried to change the religion from the protestant Church of England back to Catholic, and killed those who opposed the change. That is how she got the name 'Bloody Mary'. Five years later Mary died and Elizabeth was let out of the tower of London. She became queen, fulfilling her father's wish for a strong heir, although it was not the male heir he sought. Despite his hectic life, Henry VIII was able to find peace and contentment with himself in his last few years.
The world would not be the same without King Henry VIII. He is most known for his many wives and the reformation of the English church. King Henry VIII was a very powerful man, who in the position of king set out to get what he wanted, and in the process unintentionally changed England.
The world would not be the same without King Henry VIII. He was most known for his many wives and the reformation of the English church. King Henry VIII was a very powerful man, who in the position of king set out to get what he wanted, and in the process unintentionally changed England.