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King Henry VIII
The life of King Henry VIII is described in this book, which is part of the British History Makers series on famous figures who shaped historical events. Through the use of artwork, documentary evidence, and fact-filled information panels, a rounded picture is given of the turbulent time in which he lived.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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May 19, 2022
Leon Ashworth's excellent and well illustrated assessment of Henry VIII looks at aspects of his life in between analysing the effect his policies had on Great Britain and the world around him under a variety of appropriate headings.
His first chapter gives Henry the benefit of any doubt that exists about his reign as it is entitled 'Henry VIII - A Magnificent Monarch' and he states, 'Despite all his faults, he played the part of a real king - a magnificent monarch who inspired in his people awe, fear, loyalty and confidence.' It is just as well that he put 'fear' in there because those who lost their heads, including two of his wives and Thomas More, to name but a few, would definitely have felt that emotion.
His dealings with the church was, to say the least, brash as he made sure that Catholicism was not the overriding religion of the country and his abolition of the monasteries bought Protestantism to the fore. Many did welcome the Reformation, as it was called, because people, including the German priest Martin Luther, did not like the way the church was run as it seemed 'too worldly and corrupt'.
Born in the old palace at Greenwich, Henry built many new ones around London, where he spent most of his time but it was at Greenwich that he married three of his wives, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Anne of Cleves, and it was also there where his daughters Mary and Elizabeth were born. And he even owned Hampton Court, thanks to its creator Thomas Wolsey giving it to him in 1526, in an effort to save himself. It eventually did Wolsey no good for Henry stripped him of his powers in 1529 and a year later had him arrested for treason. Wolsey did manage to avoid losing
his head but only because he died before any trial could take place. One could say that he was more fortunate than Henry's one-time chief adviser Thomas Cromwell because after he had convinced Henry that he should marry Anne of Cleves, it was to prove his downfall as the marriage failed. Cromwell was blamed, arrested and beheaded without a trial!
Henry was also often at war on land and at sea and he was looking on in 1545 when the Mary Rose was involved with the French fleet off the Isle of Wight and unfortunately, moving to assist the flagship the Henry Grace à Dieu he saw it 'lurch over on to its side' and water rushed into the open gunports that were ready for action and it sank with the loss of 800 men.
He did ensure that an English Bible was in all churches and he left behind him great houses and palaces, schools and colleges, Parliament, after some early squabbles, eventually grew in importance and there was a strong navy that he built up. And Leon Ashworth ends with 'Under its larger than life and sometimes terrifying king, Tudor England enjoyed new vigour at home and importance abroad.' That sentence seems a fair assessment of an interesting reign!
His first chapter gives Henry the benefit of any doubt that exists about his reign as it is entitled 'Henry VIII - A Magnificent Monarch' and he states, 'Despite all his faults, he played the part of a real king - a magnificent monarch who inspired in his people awe, fear, loyalty and confidence.' It is just as well that he put 'fear' in there because those who lost their heads, including two of his wives and Thomas More, to name but a few, would definitely have felt that emotion.
His dealings with the church was, to say the least, brash as he made sure that Catholicism was not the overriding religion of the country and his abolition of the monasteries bought Protestantism to the fore. Many did welcome the Reformation, as it was called, because people, including the German priest Martin Luther, did not like the way the church was run as it seemed 'too worldly and corrupt'.
Born in the old palace at Greenwich, Henry built many new ones around London, where he spent most of his time but it was at Greenwich that he married three of his wives, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Anne of Cleves, and it was also there where his daughters Mary and Elizabeth were born. And he even owned Hampton Court, thanks to its creator Thomas Wolsey giving it to him in 1526, in an effort to save himself. It eventually did Wolsey no good for Henry stripped him of his powers in 1529 and a year later had him arrested for treason. Wolsey did manage to avoid losing
his head but only because he died before any trial could take place. One could say that he was more fortunate than Henry's one-time chief adviser Thomas Cromwell because after he had convinced Henry that he should marry Anne of Cleves, it was to prove his downfall as the marriage failed. Cromwell was blamed, arrested and beheaded without a trial!
Henry was also often at war on land and at sea and he was looking on in 1545 when the Mary Rose was involved with the French fleet off the Isle of Wight and unfortunately, moving to assist the flagship the Henry Grace à Dieu he saw it 'lurch over on to its side' and water rushed into the open gunports that were ready for action and it sank with the loss of 800 men.
He did ensure that an English Bible was in all churches and he left behind him great houses and palaces, schools and colleges, Parliament, after some early squabbles, eventually grew in importance and there was a strong navy that he built up. And Leon Ashworth ends with 'Under its larger than life and sometimes terrifying king, Tudor England enjoyed new vigour at home and importance abroad.' That sentence seems a fair assessment of an interesting reign!
Displaying 1 of 1 review