British royalty, the first ruler from the House of Tudor, the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. After his brother Arthur died, it paved the way for him to become heir to the throne at age ten. He took the throne at age 18, 21 April 1509, and ruled for 38 turbulent years. Charismatic, handsome and generous, he left an infamous mark in history for his life of indulgence, his bad temper and his six wives. He was famous for his influence, as he was responsible for the break of the English Church from Rome and the establishment of the Church of England.
He also was known for his formidable appetites and many affairs. He had a bastard son with Bessie Fitzroy; Henry, the Duke of Richmond, who died at 17. His wife, Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his brother Arthur, had children who died, leaving Henry with no legitimate male heir. After 18 years he sought an annulment as he was in love with Anne Boleyn. Catherine refused to give up her title, and in punishment, Henry did not allow her to see their daughter Mary. By 1530 Anne was present in court, after an affair that had been going on for four years. When she got pregnant Henry declared himself head of the church to push through an annulment in order to marry in May 1533. In September 1533, Elizabeth was born.
Anne became pregnant but lost the baby, a boy, and she did not age well, becoming more of a shrew. Henry took a liking to Jane Seymour and found himself by late 1535 with a complaining wife and a complaining ex-wife. In January 1536 Catherine died. A few weeks later, Anne miscarried a male child, after which Henry refused to have marital relations with her. He accused her of adultery with five men and had her put in the tower and executed. She was beheaded with a sword. Ten days later, Henry married Jane Seymour, a virgin. He declared Elizabeth a bastard and banished her, as he already had done with Mary.
In October 1537,meek and gentle Jane gave birth to a son, Edward, and died four weeks later.
Henry was unmarried for the following two years, during when, for the first time, he gained weight, reaching a 54″ waist girth. His next marriage was a political move. Anne of Cleves was pockmarked and he found her so repulsive that he could not consummate their marriage bed during the length of their marriage, January to July.
His fifth wife was Catherine Howard in 1540, a high-spirited 19-year old. She was promiscuous and sought out younger men. Within eight months she cuckolded him. After 19 months, she met the axe. During this period the Disillusion of the Monasteries occurred, in which Henry plundered 300 monasteries for their money and land, killing the monks.
His sixth wife was a mismatch; Catherine Parr. Twice-married and scholarly, she brought an unprecedented harmony to court. He was extremely fat by now, with an ulcerated leg and she was probably as much nursemaid as wife.
Henry was physically revolting with the stench of pus, bad tempered and probably impotent. He died of hepatic dropsy on 1/28/1547 OS (2/07/1547 NS), Westminster, England and was succeeded by his ten-year-old son, Edward VI.
Henry’s wives (O.S.)
Catherine of Aragon: b.12/16/1485, Alcalade, Henares, Spain. m. 1509/ d. 11/07/1536.
Anne Boleyn: b.c.1507, London. m.1/25/1533. d. 5/19/1536.
Jane Seymour: b.c.1508, m. 1536, d. 24 Oct 1537.
Anne of Cleves, b. 22 Sept. 1515, m. 6 Jan. 1540. d. 16 July 1557.
Catherine Howard: b. c.1522. m. 7/28/1540. d. 2/13/1542.
Katharine Parr: b. 1512. m. 7/12/1543. d. 9/09/1548.
Link to Wikipedia biography