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King Henry VIII - 500th Anniversary 2009

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Desire and Duty....

Henry VIII dismissed Rome and established his own church. A simple statement of fact, which barely reflects the magnitude of the act. He was the king of England, but not supreme. At least, not as long as he answered to the Pope.

A case of loves desire, passionate excess, and an inability to father a son with his first wife led him into direct conflict with the pontiff.The issue reached its peak in 1534.

Pope Clement VII was absolute, he was the holy representative of God on Earth, and he certainly wasn't going to allow an upstart monarch of an insignificant land the right to dictate or question the established status quo.

Spain was the army of Constantine's legacy, the Conquistadors were the conquerors, the friars were the missionaries, and between them they would spread the Catholic gospel wherever they landed in the name of the Pope and their most eminent majesty Charles I (or Carlos V, depending on where you cut your cloth).

In so doing, homage and wealth would be paid to their masters. The glittering cathedrals of Rome and Barcelona would be inlaid with gold leaf.

Marital Blisters....

One can sympathise with Catherine of Aragon, a staunch Catholic, closely related to Spain, and Henry's first wife. She is regarded by all accounts as a most decent, caring and religious woman, severely hurt and rejected by a husband who branded their marriage of 24 years illegal.

But let us not dwell on her, nor even Anne Boleyn, the girl who captivated Henry, and the woman who was the catalyst for the momentous change which would influence the western world.

Historians and academics are at pains to labour the reasoning of this Tudor monarch, but the bottom line is that Henry needed a divorce, and that was forbidden under the Church of Rome.

So when you are in that position, what do you do? Nothing, unless you are a king!

More was not enough....

Therefore we can view kindly Sir Thomas More, who stood up and rejected his sovereign's wishes for his approval, and lost his head as a result.

Can we forgive Henry for sacking the monasteries of England, with all their historical documents and archives and treasures? Probably not! It was a gross act of theft and vandalism.

Some however would argue that perhaps it was a price worth paying for the end result.

What Henry did was remove Catholic influence in England. He didn't reject God or the faith - he merely reinvented it. He made himself supreme head of the Church of England and separated it from papal authority.

475 years ago the Pope decreed that England would burn in Hell or thereabouts. Henry was excommunicated. His subjects were disinherited. How then, did his nation cope?

Bloody Mary - With Extra Tabasco.....

When he died he left a sickly son, Edward VI, born to Jane Seymour, his third wife, and a vengeful daughter, Mary I, from his first.

Mary was imbued with hatred at her mothers treatment, as well has her own, and she was a Catholic through and through. Let's also not forget another daughter, Elizabeth, by Anne Boleyn, who with a cool head managed to keep it!

After the short reign of Edward upon the death of his father in January 1547, and a brief interlude of his successor, Lady Jane Grey, Mary was crowned Queen in July 1553, and immediately set about vigourously restoring Catholic faith to England.

Such was her infamy she was tagged as "Bloody Mary" having burnt hundreds of "heretics" at the stake. One of whom was even the Archbishop of Canterbury!

Sangria and Raspberries....

In July 1554, almost a year to the day of her crowning, she married Prince Philip, the son and heir of the aforementioned Charles. This was a highly unpopular move, as the English had always regarded Spain as an enemy.

After fourteen months Philip returned to Spain, and later succeeded his father.

Having gone to war with France, he returned to his wife in March 1557 seeking alliance, men and resources.

This was a grim time for the English. Ruled by an over zealous Catholic queen intent on restoring the nation to the Papal influence; who was wedded to a Spanish
king of an empire which they feared becoming a dominion of; and having to fight for him against the French, something in flagrent breach of the original marriage treaty, were all the last straws.

The disastrous war led to the loss of Calais, an English overseas possession for almost 500 years.

Bowled Over.....

Mary failed to provide an heir, and as a result of poor health died in November 1558. The marriage to Philip had lasted a mere four years, and their time spent together was even less.

Philip wasn't slow off the mark when he had his self interests at heart, and wasted little time wooing England's immediate successor, Mary's half sister Elizabeth.

Sadly for him, his advances were rejected.

This new queen was not a Catholic, was intent on restoring her father's decrees, and nor was she prepared to share her throne with Spain or anyone else for that matter.

Philip, aggrieved, festered his loss for thirty years, when finally, with Papal approval and in a bid to restore England to the Catholic faith, launched his invasion fleet in 1588.

He lost, she won, and a new power was born!

Certainly no Shrinking Violet....

"I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman" she most famously shouted to her army gathered at Tilbury, as the enemy was descending down upon her, "but I
have the heart and stomach of a king! And a King of England too!"

She knew how to rally her subjects, for sure!

From that day in August 1588, Spain was no longer the big kid on the block. The English had arrived, and the world was about to change.

Shades of Glory.....

So what then was the wrath of God? How did this small island, named by the Romans in earlier times as Britannia, eventually become the greatest industrial and military power for the next 350 years?

Elizabeth spawned a golden age. She began, in earnest, colonisation through maritime superiority which planted the seeds that grew into the British Empire.

This is hardly the retribution and punishment that the Pope envisaged.

The Anglican Church flourished and has influenced the most powerful and richest nations on Earth. The USA, Canada, Australia and South Africa to name a few.

Each one has had to deal with their own internal issues, but today they uphold certain values which stand out as beacons of democracy, freedom, equality and religious tolerance.



None of this would have happened without Henry VIII.

This was a king with "attitude"!

Parodied by Hollywood and chiefly remembered only for his colourful eccentricities and six wives, divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived is the well known ditty to account for their final fate.

Not the best epitaph to someone who changed the world, don't you agree?

Learn more about Henry....

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All comments welcome

Good or Bad....

  • Margaret_Schaut Mar 31, 2012 @ 7:20 pm | delete
    I have a set of Christmas ornaments of Henry and his wives. Riveting and telling version of the story!
  • WordCustard Apr 21, 2011 @ 1:11 pm | delete
    Hello! I thought you'd like to know that your King Henry VIII lens has been featured on my lens the Top 10 British History Articles (url: top-10-british-history-articles).
  • WordCustard Mar 7, 2011 @ 11:46 am | delete
    Tudor and Elizabethan history in a nutshell... very entertaining! I've always been fascinated by this era but it is good to hear about more than just the scandals of Henry and his wives.

    (I'm having trouble posting, either this won't show up or you'll get duplicate comments... Ah well, trying again.)
  • jgelien Nov 15, 2009 @ 7:10 pm | delete
    I have always had a fascination for Henry Vlll and his his unfortunate wives. Great lens. 5*****
  • Spook Sep 15, 2009 @ 11:57 am | delete
    There is a part of every foreign field, that will be, forever English. With a touch of Tabasco of course. You have done it again Bard. Superb headings, superb History, and the best of the lot, superb humour. Only wish there were more of you around.
  • TudorHistoryisamazing Apr 28, 2009 @ 3:47 pm | delete
    Great! I just loved this article. For the past six months I have been researching the history of the Tudors and I am now doing a speech on the wives of King Henry VIII.
  • Nochipra Apr 21, 2009 @ 12:58 am | delete
    I loved reading this. It was very interesting and fun. Thanks
  • adventuresinautism Apr 19, 2009 @ 7:59 pm | delete
    Great Lens on Henry the VIII and the history of his children. I've just recently been learning about this period of time in England. I've also been hooked on watching Showtime's Series the Tudors, and it seems to be following along fairly accurately. It's interesting that most people think of Henry as the big fat old king eating a huge turkey leg, when in reality he was a very smart, handsome, athletic young man, who was also very competitive, loved all kinds of sport, OH actually I must go and watch the next installment of the Tudors now! LOL
  • adventuresinautism Apr 19, 2009 @ 7:46 pm | delete
    That is a very interesting question. Henry certainly had his share of mistresses.[in reply to susannaduffy]
  • Kylyssa Mar 19, 2009 @ 2:35 pm | delete
    This is a great whirlwind historical summary. I like it, it's punchy and kind of fun. 5 stars!
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The_Bard

Welcome to my compact and slightly irreverent look at Henry VIII's position with the Pope. April 2009 marks the 500th anniversary of his accession to... more »

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