Henry VIII, Part One

Henry VIII in his later years

Henry VIII stands monolithic in English history, towering high above his father in historical memory. The distance of history tends to skew our understanding of the past, and though Henry seems to loom larger-than-life, far beyond his father’s shadow, in truth Henry reached such heights only by standing on his father’s shoulders. Henry VIII was seventeen years old when he took the reins from his late father, and he sat on a throne that was his because of his father’s brilliance and labor. The new king inherited an England tailored toward his indulgences, whereas his father seized the throne in a country eager to swallow him whole. Henry’s father had secured England and enabled her to prosper after the disastrous Wars of the Roses, and it’s doubtful that the new king could’ve survived the climate in which his father thrived. Simply put, Henry’s father was made of sterner stuff: he had reunified and rebuilt England in the wake of civil war and, simultaneously, resurrected her prominence in western European affairs. Gone were the days when cutthroats and rebels lurked behind every hedge; thanks to Henry VII, these were the days of banquets, jousting, and the luxury of fine tastes. This was the perfect atmosphere for Henry VIII, and it was this atmosphere that enabled the egotistical yet conscience-stricken churchman-turned-king to lead a reunified England into a very different sort of revolt.

Henry VIII reigned from 1509 to 1547, and his death led to the succession of his only son Edward (crowned Edward VI). Henry’s reign saw the beginning of the English Renaissance and the beginning of the English Reformation (which, in true irony, found its genesis with Henry’s attempts to escape his marital bond to Catherine of Aragon). While Henry is remembered for spearheading the English Reformation and the establishment of the English Church, most remember him for his litany of wives. His many marriages weren’t due to royal lust; as king he could have (and was even expected to have!) mistresses. Fulfilling lust, despite his religious upbringings and heavy-handed conscience, was never an issue. The issue was this: a monarch’s legitimacy was reinforced by having male heirs who could take the throne when he passed; when a king didn’t have a male heir to take the reins when the time came, the result could be political mutiny and civil unrest – and people didn’t like this. The vast majority of the English populace wanted to ‘live and let live,’ and it was easiest to do this when a clear royal succession was in place. While some of Henry’s marriages have been presented as pursuits towards political alliances or ‘true love,’ the foundational undercurrent was Henry’s search for a healthy male heir who could help legitimize his reign and pave the way for the future of the Tudor dynasty. In the constant ‘shifting of fortunes’ faced by Henry’s wives, two marriages ended in annulment, two ended in natural deaths, and two were beheaded under charges of adultery and treason. The ultimate goal – a male heir – was realized, but it was short-lived. Each of Henry’s three surviving children – Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth – would have a turn as England’s monarch, and they (along with their father and grandfather) would encapsulate the Tudor dynasty. 

Henry’s marital escapades have become synonymous with his name, evidenced by a mnemonic device to remember his wives’ names (‘Arrogant Boys Seem Clever, Howard Particularly’), a mnemonic for their fates (‘Divorced, Beheaded, Died; Divorced, Beheaded, Survived’), and two popular elementary rhymes:

King Henry VIII,

to six wives he was wedded.

One died, one survived,

two divorced, two beheaded.

and…

Boleyn and Howard lost their heads,

Anne of Cleves he would not bed,

Jane Seymour gave him a son – but died before the week was done,

Aragon he did divorce,

which just left Catherine Parr, of course!

a young Catherine of Aragon

Henry’s older brother Arthur had been groomed for the throne, so (per custom at the time) Henry was groomed towards a career in the church with the promise that he’d be given large estates and titles whereas Arthur would ascend the throne. Henry received the finest education from the finest private tutors in theology, music, sports, arts, and languages. He was adept at music, and he wrote a song called ‘Pastime with Good Company’ that would be popular throughout Renaissance Europe. Henry was witty, charismatic, and athletic; he loved gambling and jousting, hunting and dancing, and he would become known for throwing extravagant tournaments and banquets. At his prime he towered over his contemporaries, standing six feet tall. When his older brother died of the so-called ‘sweating sickness’ in 1502, Henry became heir apparent. The newfound promise of the crown ballooned his already-enlarged ego; he became convinced of his innate majesty and coupled it with a joyous yet stubborn character. 

Henry VII had been wrangling with Spain over what to do with Catherine following Arthur’s premature death, but soon after the late king was put to rest, the seventeen-year-old Henry declared he would marry Catherine. The wrangling thus came to naught, and the Spaniards were forced to make do with whatever came down the pipeline. Henry and the twenty-three-year-old Catherine were married in early June 1509 in a low-key ceremony (strange, given Henry’s burgeoning penchant for the grandiose); on the 23rd of that same month, Henry led his new wife from the Tower of London to Westminster Abbey, and they were crowned King and Queen. Unlike the quaint wedding, the coronation after-party was a balls-to-the-wall banquet in Westminster Hall, and Catherine wrote to her father that she and Henry were spending their time ‘in continuous festival.’ 

But the festivities wouldn’t last. Henry moved fast, arresting two of his late father’s most unpopular ministers, charging them with treason, and executing them in 1510. To garner goodwill from the public, he took some of the money they’d acquired and distributed it to the populace. The initial reaction was joy: Henry VII had fallen ‘low in the polls’ because of his financial measures, such as heavy-handed fines and fees, but these measures had helped England rise from the ashes of the Wars of the Roses to find solid footing once again. The initial happiness at Henry’s maneuverings faded as people realized that the government needed the money to keep things running smoothly, and such smooth operations were in their favor. In addition to (temporarily) overturning some of his father’s financial measures, Henry VIII took a more lenient line with the House of York. Henry VII had imprisoned a number of Yorkists, viewing them as rivals and potential upstarts in the wake of the civil wars, but the new king pardoned and released many of them. Other Yorkists, however, whom Henry’s councilors didn’t trust, remained imprisoned, and Edmund de la Pole would be beheaded in 1513. 

Now that Henry was king, he aimed to tower over his father. While Henry VII had stabilized England, Henry VIII would conquer France! He dreamed of making Henry V look like an amateur by conquering the whole of France and spreading English rule deep into the European continent. Henry’s swollen ego and sense of inbred superiority made the success of such an adventure a sure thing, and time was of the essence: France, allied with the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy in the League of Cambrai, was embroiled in fighting on the Italian peninsula in an attempt to sack Venice. Henry’s father had made peace with France, choosing economic virility against military glory, and Henry’s first act was to lull the French king, Louis XII, into a false sense of security. 

Against the advice of many of his councilors, Henry renewed his father’s peace with King Louis XII of France. Henry wagered that so long as France and the Holy Roman Empire were allied, war against England’s long-time rival was a foolish move. It wasn’t long, however, before Henry switched sides: when the League of Cambrai fell apart in 1510, the major players were no longer allied. Pope Julius II turned against his former ally by creating an anti-French Holy League in the autumn of 1511, and Henry joined hands with King Ferdinand of Spain and allied with the papacy. The gears of war were grinding yet again, and Henry and Ferdinand planned a joint attack to recover French Aquitaine for England. Because France’s efforts were focused east in Italy, the monarchs hoped that they could take advantage of France’s weakened western sectors and begin chewing away at the French fabric. War was officially declared in April 1512, but the Anglo-Spanish attack failed, straining the alliance. The Holy League fared better in the east, where they managed to push the French out of Italy. Henry, having failed to gain victory by the sword, turned to diplomacy, and he made two smashing successes: he convinced the Holy Roman Empire, formerly allied with France but now no longer entwined by the laws of the ill-fated League of Cambrai, to join the anti-French Holy League; he also secured the promised title of ‘Most Christian King of France’ from Pope Julius II. It’s reasonable that the Pope promised to crown Henry with this title in Paris if Louis XII could be ousted.

the English cavalry charge at the Battle of the Spurs 1513

Henry had laid the necessary groundwork, and now was the time to go in for the kill. On 30 June 1513 he invaded France and defeated the French at the Battle of the Spurs, in which it’s estimated three thousand French soldiers were slain with little casualties among the English cavalry. Though the battle was minor – more of a skirmish, really – the English crown seized upon it and wove it into a tapestry of brilliant propaganda. The English took French-held Therouanne shortly afterwards and handed it over to Emperor Maximilian of the Holy Roman Empire, and then they seized the larger French city of Tournai. Things were going well for Henry in France, but his absence in England was noticed by his brother-in-law and long-time-enemy James IV of Scotland...