April 21 – Henry VIII Becomes King

nPostednon April 21, 2014

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Thisnguy was a big, blustering man who led a really big life!

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nHenrynVIII was about 6-foot-two (1.88 m)…at a time when that was VERYntall.

nAndnnot only was Henry VIII the King of England, starting when hisnfather (Henry VII) died on this date in 1509, but he oversaw the legal joining of Walesnand England, so he became the king of Wales, too. Oh, and he became kingnof Ireland as well! And when Henry VIII separated his nation fromnthe Roman Catholic Church, thereby starting the state religion knownnas “the Church of England” or the “Anglican Church,” he became the Supreme Head of the new church! He even continued then“nominal” claim to be King of France. (That means that he rulednFrance in name only – he didn’t reallynhave any power in France.)

nPartnof Henry VIII living a big life was that, in his prime, he wasnconsidered an attractive, educated, and charismatic ruler. He wieldedna lot of power as king, but he also thought of himself as an author and as anmusical composer.

nThenbiggest thing of the big guy – the thing that most of us mostnremember about him – was that Henry VIII was married six times. Henwas desperate to have sons, because he thought that only male heirsnto the throne could maintain the Tudor dynasty and keep the peacenafter the bloody “Wars of the Roses,” when several nobles foughtnfor the right to rule England. And when his first wife did not givenhim a son, Henry had his marriage ended.

nAndnhe had to fight with the Pope, break away from Roman Catholicism, andnstart the Church of England in order to get that divorce!

Henry’snsecond wife had miscarriages and was executed on charges ofnwitchcraft and incest (she was almost surely innocent); his thirdnwife birthed a son but then soon died from complications from thatnbirth; Henry divorced his fourth wife and executed his fifth wife,nthis time for so-called “treason”; and his sixth and last wifenoutlived the king.

nYounmay wonder why Henry still tried to have sons after having one withnhis third wife. At the time, a lot of children died before becomingnadults, and people in general died younger. Henry VIII probablynthought he should have multiple sons in case his first died toonearly.

Anfew years before Henry died, an act by Parliament put his daughtersnby various wives – Mary and Elizabeth – back in succession afternhis only son, Edward. It was quite lucky for England that thatnhappened, since Elizabeth I eventually did rule (after her brothernEdward, who became king at age 9, died at age 15, and after hernsister ruled and died as well). Elizabeth I ruled was long andnsuccessful, a “golden age” when England defeated its long-timenenemy, Spain, when music and theatre and literature flourished, whennworld exploration and trade occurred, when national pride rose. nElizabeth I ruled for about 45 years, almost a decade longer than hernfather.

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