Henry VIII Biography

Henry VIII ruled England from 1509-1547 and remains one of that country’s most famous and controversial kings. He was the second monarch of the House of Tudor.

Henry’s hearty appetites and fickle passions are legendary, and his demand for a male heir led him to marry six different women. (Two of those wives, Anne Boleyn and Katharine Howard, were executed on his order.) Henry’s divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, led the king to split with the Catholic Church; Henry founded his own church, the Church of England, which in turn set the stage for the English Reformation and for religious battles which lasted for centuries. It also led to his famous clash with Sir Thomas More, who was tried for treason and executed.

Henry VIII is also known for his great girth; he suffered from gout, and his obesity probably contributed to his death at age 56. He was succeeded by Edward VI, his short-lived son with Jane Seymour. Henry’s daughter with Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I, eventually took the throne and became one of England’s most powerful and longest-reigning monarchs.