Painting of Henry VIII

Henry VIII

Henry VIII (1491–1547) was the second king in the Tudor dynasty who famously had six wives and established the Church of England. He was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York and became heir to the throne after the death of his brother Arthur in 1502. Henry ascended the throne in 1509 and reigned until his death in 1547. He played a significant role in the English Reformation, instigating the English church's break from Rome in the 1530s in order to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and marry his second wife, Anne Boleyn. The Tudor king had six wives in total. These were, successively, Catherine of Aragon; Anne Boleyn; Jane Seymour; Anne of Cleves; Catherine Howard and Katherine Parr. Henry died on 28 January 1547 and was succeeded by his only surviving legitimate son, Edward VI. Henry's two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, would also later rule England

Henry VIII

Tudor

Q&AWhat was the Sweating Sickness? And how did Henry VIII ‘self-isolate’?

Edward VI

Membership

To kidnap a king: the foiled plot to abduct Edward VI. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A depiction of the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (10 September 1547), the last formal battle between England and Scotland. (Photo by Print Collector/Getty Images)

Tudor

Q&AWhen was the last battle between England and Scotland?

Henry VIII's Mary Rose (© 19th era/Alamy)

Tudor

7 things you (probably) didn’t know about Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose

Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark. The BBC television drama is putting Cornwall’s coastline at risk of "over-tourism” as visitors flock to the area to visit the show's scenic filming locations, tourism chiefs have warned. (Photo by BBC/Mammoth Screen/Mike Hogan)

General Modern

Poldark, Peaky Blinders and 6 other historical TV shows that have tourists flocking to Britain

The ruins of Dunluce Castle, which sit on the coastal cliffs of North Antrim in Northern Ireland. They are thought to have been the inspiration for CS Lewis’s castle Cair Paravel in ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ (1950–56). (Photo by Andrea Ricordi/Contributor/Getty Images)

Membership

9 of Britain’s best castles. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A Tudor rose on a wooden ceiling beam.

Membership

Monarchy and faith in Tudor England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Henry, who would would later accede to the throne as Henry VIII, as a baby. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Tudor

Young Henry VIII: the boy who would be king

The pirate Blackbeard

Georgian

10 brilliant beards from history

A depiction of Henry VIII and his only recognised illegitimate child, Henry Fitzroy. (Illustration by Glen McBeth for BBC History Magazine)

Tudor

Q&ADid Henry VIII acknowledge any of his illegitimate children?

Seeking to remove opponents who questioned his right to be head of church and state, Henry VIII was ruthless in his pursuit of those he deemed traitors. (Image by Alamy)

Membership

Henry VIII's hitmen: the Tudor king's secret hunt for traitors. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

(Photo by Alamy)

Membership

Brexit lessons from history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

c60 AD, Queen Boudica of the Iceni holding a spear. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 

Membership

8 things you may not know about British history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Henry VIII with Prince Edward, his son by his third wife, Jane Seymour. If the future Henry IX had survived, there may have been no cause for Henry to annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn in 1533, says Amy Licence. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Membership

6 royal births that changed the world (or could have). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall. (BBC Pictures)

Membership

Does historical accuracy really matter in period dramas like Wolf Hall?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Henry VIII. Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1540. The painting has the inscription 'Anno Aetatis suae XLIX' (His year of age, 49)’. Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Italy. (Photo by PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)

Membership

Henry VIII: 5 places you (probably) didn’t know shaped his life. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Membership

Jane Seymour: Henry VIII’s favourite queen. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The future Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Buckingham Palace following their wedding, 20 November 1947. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Membership

Royal wedding traditions through history: etiquette, menus and the dress code. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Victorian

11 shocking moments in history

Hans Holbein the Younger’s portrait of Henry VIII, c1537. Henry’s clash with the church was, says George Bernard, the most significant episode of the Tudor era and transformed England’s relationship with continental Europe. (Photo by Print Collector/Getty Images)

Tudor

The LibraryHenry VIII and the scourge of papal power

A crowned Tudor rose. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Stringer via Getty Images)

Membership

Why the Tudors grab us. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Henry VIII “regarded his wars as the worthy successors of the great martial victories of England’s past”, says Steven Gunn. (Photo by PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)

Membership

The LibraryTotal war in Tudor England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The execution of Charles I. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Tudor

Murder, conspiracy and execution: six centuries of scandalous royal deaths

Membership

Elizabethan England’s relationship with the Islamic world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A 19th-century depiction of the first meeting of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Membership

History quiz: Christmas with Henry VIII and his wives. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Historian David Starkey.

Membership

Starkey on the Reformation. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tudor

What are Henry VIII powers?

Membership

David Starkey on the Reformation. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

King Arthur feasting at Camelot

Tudor

Q&AHow old is the ‘British Empire’?

Anne Boleyn in the Tower

Membership

Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I in their own words: 5 fascinating letters from Tudor monarchs. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

You're currently on page 3

Prev Page

Next Page