Henry VIII: The Life and Death of a Lady Killer

On June 28th, 1491, a boy was born in Greenwich Palace to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. (Scarisbrick 1968) They named their son Henry VIII, after Henry VII. Henry was the second of the four sons that Elizabeth and Henry would have but he was the only one to survive to adulthood. His older brother was Arthur, and his two sisters were Margaret and Mary, and they would be the only ones who survived infancy. However, every ruler has a weakness, and Henry’s was women. The impact of women on Henry would show, even in his reign as king.
Henry came to the throne at the age of 17. Henry was said to be the King to “clense every eye of tears and substitute praise for loan moaning”. (Starkey 1985) As his first act, Henry imprisoned the two most unpopular ministers and charged them with high treason, and had them executed. Such executions would be Henry’s main tactic for dealing with the ones who stood in his way.
After Arthur passed away, Henry married his widow, Katherine of Aragon. Henry declared his love for her and they were married only days later in a very private manor. (Weir 1991) Although the two were very happily married at first, tension developed over the time because the two tried but failed to produce an heir to the throne. Mary was the only child they had who that would make it past infancy, and she was later known as Mary I.
Henry reconnected with Louis XII of France but then signed a contradictory pact with Ferdinand against France. Henry sent troops into France, where his army defeated the French in the Battle of the Spurs. During this time, Henry received help from his Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey. (Starkey 1985) Both men shared a desire to make England a strong country. To do that, Henry pursued an active foreign policy. Thomas More then replaced Wolsey in 1529 because Wolsey had failed to convince the Pope to allow King Henry get a divorce.