UNIVERZITA KONŠTANTÍNA FILOZOFA

V NITRE
FILOZOFICKÁ FAKULTA

HENRY VIII IN THE CONTEXT OF ENGLISH

HISTORY

BAKALÁRSKA PRÁCA

2017 Jana Chrenková

 UNIVERZITA KONŠTANTÍNA FILOZOFA V NITRE
FILOZOFICKÁ FAKULTA

Henry VIII in the context of English history

BAKALÁRSKA PRÁCA

Štúdijný program: Učiteľstvo anglického jazyka a literatúry

a španielskeho jazyka a literatúry
(Učiteľské štúdium, bakalársky I. st., denná forma)
Študijný odbor: Učiteľstvo akademických predmetov
Školiace pracovisko: Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky
Školiteľ: doc. PhDr. Mária Hricková, PhD.
Oponent: doc. Mgr. Elena Ciprianová, PhD.

Nitra 2017
Čestné vyhlásenie

Čestne vyhlasujem, že bakalársku prácu som písala samostatne na základe

preštudovaného materiálu a použité zdroje som na príslušných miestach uviedla.

Declaration of Originality

I, the undersigned, solemnly declare that this bachelor work is the result of my own
independent research and was written solely by me using the literature and resources
listed in the Bibliography.

Nitra 2017 ________________________

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank to my supervisor, doc. PhDr. Mária Hricková, PhD., for her
support and mentorship throughout this project, and for allowing me to write about what
I like.
ABSTRAKT

CHRENKOVÁ, Jana: Henrich VIII v kontexte Anglickej histórie. [Bakalárska

práca]. Univerzita Konštantína Filozofa v Nitre. Filozofická fakulta. Školiteľ: doc.
PhDr. Mária Hricková, PhD. Stupeň odbornej kvalifikácie: Bakalár, Nitra: FF, 2017. 64
s

Cieľom tejto bakalárskej práce je predstaviť život a panovanie Henricha VIII., jedného
z najzaujímavejších panovníkov anglickej histórie. Práca je prezentovaná
v chronologickom formáte a prináša biografický portrét panovníka, pri ktorom je
kriticky využité širšie spektrum zdrojov. Prvá kapitola sa venuje Henrichovmu ranému
detstvu, mladosti, a jeho úspechom. Druhá kapitola podrobne opisuje Henrichove
manželstvá, nakoľko jeho manželky zohrávali dôležitú úlohu v jeho živote, a
v neposlednom rade sa zameria na odluku od rímsko-katolíckej cirkvi a jej následkov.
Záverečná kapitola pozostáva z analýzy Henrichovho zdravotného stavu nakoľko dejiny
a historici do značnej miery vykresľujú tohto panovníka ako tyrana, ktorý popravil dve
zo svojich šiestich manželiek a dohliadal na ničenie sakrálnych stavieb. Vedci
prichádzajú s nespočetným množstvom hypotéz a teórií, ktoré vysvetľujú Henrichove
problémy s počatím mužského potomka a prudkú zmenu správania. Práca kriticky
zhodnocuje vybrané publikácie, ktoré sa zameriavajú na danú osobnosť.

Kľučové slová: Henrich VIII., Anna Boleynová, Reformácia, Kellov antigén,

McLeodov syndróm
ABSTRACT

CHRENKOVÁ, Jana: Henry VIII in the concept of English history. [Bachelor

thesis]. Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. Faculty of Arts. Supervisor:
doc. PhDr. Mária Hricková, PhD. Degree of Qualification: Bachelor. Nitra: FA, 2017.
64 pp

The aim of this bachelor thesis is to present the life and reign of Henry VIII., one of the
most fascinating monarchs in English history. The work is presented in a largely
chronological format, and it presents a biographical portrait of the ruler using a wide
range of sources. In the first chapter, the work focuses on Henry’s early life and his
accomplishments observed by many of his contemporaries. The second chapter in detail
describes the King‘s marriages, since Henry’s wives naturally played a large part in his
life, and the separation from the Catholic Church and its consequences. The final
chapter analyses Henry’s health condition since he is often stereotypically portrayed as
a tyrant who executed two of his six wives and supervised the destruction of churches
and other religious institutions. Many scholars suggest various hypotheses and theories
concerning his mental decline and reproductive issues. The thesis also critically
evaluates selected biographical publications about the king.

Keywords: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Reformation, Kell antigen, McLeod syndrome
TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION............................................................................ 8
1 HENRY’S LIFE ....................................................................... 10
1.1 Early life ................................................................................................. 10
2 HENRY’S MARRIAGES ....................................................... 12
2.1 Katherine of Aragon ............................................................................... 13
2.2 Anne Boleyn........................................................................................... 17
2.2.1 The Great Matter ............................................................................. 20
2.2.2 Reformation ..................................................................................... 23
2.3 Jane Seymour ......................................................................................... 35
2.4 Anne of Cleves ....................................................................................... 37
2.5 Katherine Howard .................................................................................. 41
2.6 Katherine Parr ........................................................................................ 44
3 MEDICAL EXPLANATION ................................................. 46
3.1 Syphilis ................................................................................................... 46
3.2 Brain injury ............................................................................................ 47
3.3 The leg pain ............................................................................................ 49
3.4 Kell antigen and McLeod syndrome ...................................................... 50
CONCLUSION .............................................................................. 54
RESUMÉ......................................................................................... 56
BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................... 60
ABBREVIATIONS

BL British Library
CP, ed. Kaulek Correspondence politique, ed. Kaulek
CSP: Milanese Calendar of State Papers: Milanese
CSP: Spanish Calendar of State Papers: Spanish
CSP: Venetian Calendar of State Papers: Venetian
L&P Letters & Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII

7
INTRODUCTION

Henry VIII, who ruled England for 36 years, is perhaps best known for having
six wives, his break with the Church of Rome and establishing the Church of
England. He is also remembered by a history as a tyrannical monster, mostly because
of his personality decline after he turned forty.
The picture, which emerges – placing Henry’s life in the context of social and
religious values – changes our perception of him within the court. Henry’s life
became a matter of public interest and his reign has been depicted in film, plays,
literature, or television. My interest in Henry VIII’s life began a few years ago when
I first watched The Tudors series, thus I am very glad I got the opportunity to write
the work about him, as I found his life very fascinating, and I also learned a lot of
interesting information that I did not know about him so far.
Henry VIII is viewed as one of the most controversial rulers in English history.
His desire to have his name carried on with a male heir, and his need to have the
ultimate power led him to do what none other before him had dared attempt. To fully
understand the reasons behind his actions, one needs to consider his personal
characteristics, the women in his life, as well as the changes he created in the nation,
and thus Europe as a whole, because the Reformation itself changed the history of
England forever.
The bachelor thesis is divided into 3 chapters. The first chapter presents Henry’s
early life and his accomplishments because at the beginning of his reign he was
praised and admired by many of his contemporaries who thought him „the greatest
man in the world”. Henry was a man of incredible physique beauty, a man of many
talents and a true Catholic for he defended the Pope’s authority so vigorously that he
was honoured by the title Defender of the Faith. Since my thesis is presented in a
chronological format, the second chapter covers Henry’s six wives as well as his
political history, including Henrician Reformation.
In my bachelor thesis I concentrated not only on the presentation of Henry’s life
and reign, but also on medical explanation of Henry’s health condition, which will be
analysed in the final chapter. When Henry first ascended the throne, he was praised
as „lover of justice and goodness”, and at the end of his reign he was called as
„English Nero”. Thus, many scholars and historians are trying to find out what could

8
cause these incredible paradoxes, and they come up with the variety of hypotheses in
order to explain his personality change and his reproductive problems, which are
connected to his difficulty in obtaining a male heir. The aim of my thesis will be
found out whether there could be a simple medical explanation for Henry’s descent
into tyranny.

9
 1 HENRY’S LIFE

Henry VIII, unlike the other Kings of England such as an extremely

important Edward III, is still remembered and studied by most historians and
scholars more than 500 years after he ascended the throne. He is engraved on
people’s mind mostly for his infamous and monstrous reputation as an obese, cruel
and desirous wife-killer who broke up with the Catholic Church, which resulted in
the foundation of the Church of England. However, his younger self is quite
different from how the people regard him now. (Kramer, 2012, p. 14-17)

1.1 Early life

Henry, as the third child of the Tudor monarch Henry VII and Elizabeth of
York, was born on June 28, 1491 at Greenwich Palace in London. His mother,
Elizabeth had born to her husband seven children, but three of them did not survive
infancy. Henry’s eldest brother Arthur was an heir to the throne, whilst the young
Prince, for whom was given a title Duke of York at the age of three, was preparing
for the life at church and were about to become the highest churchman in England.
(Weir, 1991, p. 32, 43) Hence, he studied theology and philosophy, the knowledge
of which was later manifested in many theological debates and discussions which
he really enjoyed. (Weir, 2008, p. 134) He was „the most learned of kings, not only
in theology, but also in philosophy“. 1 (L&P, William Thomas; cited from: Weir,
2008, p. 134)

Henry was a personality of many talents. Erasmus was to call him „a

universal genius. He has never neglected his studies“. (CSP: Milanese; cited from:
Weir, 2008, p. 5) Henry was well educated and very intelligent, and according to
poet laureate John Skelton, who was Henry‘s former tutor, “a brilliant pupil“, as
well. (Weir, 2008, p. 5) He was creative and inventive, and also designed weapons
and fortifications. He also exceled in mathematics or astronomy; he was interested
in geography and maps.

1 William Thomas echoes this, calling Henry „a perfect theologian, a good philosopher“.

10
 In addition, he showed an aptitude for languages at an early age. (Weir,
2008, p. 5-6) „By the time he became King he was fluent in French, English and
Latin, and understands Italian well“. (CSP: Venetian; cited from Weir, 2008, p. 5)
He was also conversant with Spanish and Greek. (ibid, p. 5) Thomas More claimed
with some truth that „the King’s Majesty has more learning than any English
monarch possessed before him“. (Erickson: Great Harry; cited from Weir, 2008, p.
6)

Moreover, Henry displayed a great ability for music for which he was gifted
and passionate about; besides, he could play on a variety of instruments, sing and
compose. Music was a centre of Henry’s life and many foreigners were ecstatic of
what they heard at the English court. (Weir, 2008, p. 128-132) He employed only
the best singers in England for his own entertainment and his Chapel Royal where
the music, according to those who visited his court, was „more divine than human“.
(Roden et al., 2009, p. 278)
As he was growing, he found an interest in sport in which he excelled
among the others nobles at court. (Weir, 2008, p. 106) A Venetian reported: „When
he moves, the ground shakes under him“. (CSP: Venetian; cited from: Weir, 2008,
p. 106) It was given him a coaching in jousting, archery, wrestling, or royal (real)
tennis. Henry was an energetic man with great physical condition. (ibid, p. 106)
„He is in every respect a most accomplished prince“. (CSP: Venetian; Weir, 2008,
p. 6)

To his appearance, all were agreed that he was really handsome, above the
usual height, well over six feet, and was certainly of strong and muscular build,
proved by the discovery of Henry’s skeleton in 1813. (Weir, 2008, p. 2) In 1519 the
Venetian Sebastian Guistinian wrote about him: „Nature could not have done more
for him. He is very fair, his whole frame admirably proportioned“. (Weir, 1991, p.
72) Furthermore, he thought about Henry such as “the best dressed sovereign in the
world; his robes are the richest and most superb that can be imagined, and he puts
on new clothes every holy day“. (Weir, 1991, p. 73) Another Venetian envoy
described him as „the handsomest prince ever seen“. (CSP: Venetian; cited from:
Weir, 2008, p. 2)

11
 Additionally, Henry was a man of a strong personality, intelligent,
charismatic and a man of justice and goodness. (Weir, 1991, p. 73-74) His
contemporaries thought of him as „the most gentle and affable prince in the world“.
(Weir, 1991, p. 73) Henry had gained a reputation for cruelty by the end of his life;
however, as a young man, he was very cheerful, liberal, driven by the energy and
enjoyed good health. There are many examples of his kindness to others. (Weir,
2008, p. 2-3, 22) Yet, he was not a saint, and vanity or self-indulgence appeared to
have been his worst sins, along with his unpredictable temper for being very jealous
of his honour, even though, it was expected for the King to be proud, courageous
and self-confident man with a massive ego. (Weir, 2008, p. 2-3)

As a child, he was raised in the faith in God and Henry himself was
considered as a true son of the Church of Rome. He was a religious man, and as a
proof of his true loyalty to the Pope and the Church of Rome, in 1521 he wrote a
Latin treatise entitled A Defence of the Seven Sacraments against Martin Luther in
which he defended Christianity and strongly criticized teachings of „this weed, this
dilapidated, sick and evil-minded sheep“. The Pope after receiving this treatise
rewarded Henry with the title Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith), and yet a few
years later, Henry broke up with the Catholic Church. (Weir, 1991, p. 75-77)

2 HENRY’S MARRIAGES

Henry VIII is perhaps England‘s most famous and fascinating king because
of his many wives. He was famously married six times. It is - and it was then -
remarkable fact which made him especially fascinating and his marital affairs
brought the royal marriage into public interest for the first time in English history.
Thanks to Henry and a written material that has survived, we know a great deal
about the lives of these six women. (Weir, 1991, p. 1-2) The fate of his wives is
commonly remembered by the following rhyme: „Divorced, Beheaded, Died,
Divorced, Beheaded, Survived“. (Johnson)
In the Middle Ages, women – single or married – were not equal to men,
possessed very few legal rights and they lived according to prescribed rules and
conventions. Even a queen was subordinate to her husband’s will and the law

12
 allowed him to do exactly what he wants. What was required from a queen was to
produce male heirs for the succession, being virtuous and obedient wife, and set
high moral standards for court and kingdom. Adultery was not tolerated among the
wives, and for queens of Henry VIII it was punished by death, since it threatened
the succession. Two of his wives died on the scaffold after being found guilty of
adultery. (Weir, 1991, p. 3-9)

2.1 Katherine of Aragon

Katherine of Aragon, the princess of Spain, was born in December 1485 to

King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile, whose marriage had
united Spain. Katherine was the first wife of Henry VIII; however, before she was
married to Henry, she was betrothed and married to his eldest brother Arthur. 2
After thirteen years long negotiations, Katherine finally arrived in England
in 1501, at the age of 16, and on 14 November she was married to Prince Arthur in
St Paul’s Cathedral. Unfortunately, in late March a virus broke out in England, and
Arthur succumbed to “sweating sickness“, leaving his bride a widow after a few
months of marriage. 3

Shortly afterwards, Katherine was betrothed to the new heir to the English
throne, Arthur’s younger brother Henry, even though many people declared that it
is not lawful if a man shall take his brother’s wife. However, the Pope granted a
dispensation, since the princess was still a virgin for it has shown that her marriage
to Arthur had not been consummated; therefore, it was annulled. (Weir, 1991, p.
39-40)

„However, they weren’t married straight away due to wrangling between

King Ferdinand and King Henry VII over Catherine’s dowry“. 4 After all in April
1509, the final instalment of dowry was ready to be delivered; nevertheless, Henry
VII was dying and Prince Henry became the King of England after the death of his
father. (Weir, 1991, p. 51) A Venetian wrote of him: „for the future, the whole

2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/catherine_of_aragon/
3
ibid
4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/catherine_of_aragon/ (cited on: 24.3 2017, 14:42, CEST)

13
 world will talk of him“. (CSP: Venetian; cited from: Weir, 2008, p. 19) Katherine
and Henry were married in June 1509, and weeks after their wedding, Katherine
was crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey. 5
Katherine was an extremely popular Queen; she had all personal qualities
needed for a Queen of England, as well as her kindness, dignity and graciousness.
(Weir, 1991, p. 83-86) According to Fray Diego, she was „the most beautiful
creature in the world“. (Weir, 1991, p. 81) Yet, within six years, she aged visibly
and lost her figure - probably as a result of her multiple pregnancies, and in 1515
the Venetian ambassador described her as „rather ugly than otherwise“. (Weir,
1991, p. 81)
Moreover, as Weir (1991) claims, she was well read and received a good
education. Erasmus called her „a miracle of learning“. (p. 84) From her youth, she
spent a considerable part of each day at her devotions, more she was thoroughly
conversant with the Scriptures. (ibid, p. 84-85) According to Erasmus, Katherine
was „more pious than learned“, and „as religious and virtuous as words can
express“. (Weir, 1991, p. 84)

During the first few years of their marriage, they lived happily together. 6
„Henry VIII spoke openly of the joy and felicity he had found with Katherine“.
(Weir, 1991, p. 105) Throughout their marriage, he treat Katherine with the respect,
yet his love for her was no grand passion since he regarded Katherine almost as a
mother figure, considering the fact that she was older and more mature than him,
and was always ready with some advice even if he did not need it. (ibid) „The loss
of his own mother when he was eleven had affected him deeply, and Katherine, to a
degree, was a substitute“. (ibid)

In August 1509, Katherine informed the King with delight that she is
expecting a child. Nonetheless, Weir (1991) noted she went into labour prematurely
and her infant, a daughter, was stillborn. Despite of this, Henry got Katherine
pregnant again on May 1510 and on New Year’s Eve she delivered a Prince.
Unfortunately, the little prince had died on 22 February at Richmond. Katherine
had been pregnant for the third time in 1513, but this was not to be a happy

5
ibid
6 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/catherine_of_aragon/

14
pregnancy, as well as her fourth. (p. 106 - 119) Weir (2008) reported that on 18
February, the Queen bore a healthy child, but it was a girl, not the hoped-for son.
However, the King was delighted with his daughter and he named her Mary. She
was his “pearl of the world“ as he often called her. (Weir, 2008, p. 201-202) Her
sixth and last child was conceived in February 1518, when she was thirty-two,
knowing that this may be the last chance for her to present Henry with an heir.
Tragically, Katherine bore a daughter, but she had died before she could be
christened. (Weir, 1991, p. 119-120) „The Queen had conceived six, possibly eight,
times, yet all she had to show for it was one daughter“. (Weir, 1991, p. 120)

In Tudor England, blame for miscarriages and stillbirths was always

apportioned to the woman, and Henry, who at twenty-seven was approaching his
physical peak, was of the opinion that he made a mistake in marrying his brother’s
wife, and by 1519, with no heir on the way, the succession had become the King’s
most critical problem. It was at that time when he was enjoying a flirtation with
Elizabeth Blount who gave a birth to the King’s bastard son. Henry was delighted
with such great news since it was a proof for him that he himself was no
responsible for the lack of a male heir. He named the child Henry with the surname
FitzRoy, which means „son of the king“. (Weir, 1991, p. 120-123)

As Weir (1991) reported, by 1525, it was known that the Queen was no
longer incapable of having any more children, therefore the King declared the boy
legitimate by Act of Parliament and made him his heir when he was six years old,
and it was given him a royal title dukedoms of Richmond and Somerset. (p. 134)

Weir (2008): In March 1524, Henry arranged a jousting tournament in

which he got injured as he forgot to lower his visor and Suffolk’s lance crushed into
Henry’s exposed face. The King within an inch almost lost his life, yet fortunately
by a miracle survived; hence from that moment, Henry and his advisers were
fearfully aware of the fact that with no son to succeed him, England had come
perilously near to civil war. (p. 246) Froude (1891) also mentioned that the King
and his ministers even considered the possibility of „marrying the Princess Mary to

15
the King’s natural son [the Duke of Richmond] if it could be done by dispensation
from His Holiness“. (p. 79)
In addition, Weir (2008) stated that since the Queen was now going through
the menopause, Henry started to question the validity of their marriage. (p. 246-
247) „The biblical book of Leviticus warned that a man who incestuously married
his brother’s wife would be punished with childlessness, and although Pope Julius
II had granted a dispensation for his marriage to Katherine, the King had begun to
see his lack of sons as a judgement on him for offending God“. (Weir, 2008, p.
247)
Nonetheless, Henry still had a deep affection to his virtuous wife, and above
all, he did not want to lose the imperial alliance with the Emperor by putting
Katherine away. On the contrary, the age gap between them seemed wider than
ever, in private were drifting apart and Henry had stopped sexual relations with
Katherine, supposedly because of her gynaecological condition which repelled him.
(ibid, p. 247)

As Weir (1991) noted, Henry however, was still „troubled in his

conscience“ about The Leviticus and was more and more convinced that he had
broken a divine law, and something must be done to rectify this situation. Just for
how long he was dealing with his conscience we do not know, but in 1527 he
declared that he had had doubts about his marriage „for some years past“. (p. 137)
„The other factor spurring the King into action in the spring of 1527 was
that he was, by a fortuitious coincidence, passionately in love for the first time in
his life, and wished to remarry“. (Weir, 1991, p. 139) To the King‘s defence, Henry
desperately needed a male heir and he had been questioning the validity of his
marriage for several years, long before he had fallen in love with his mistress. (ibid)
Anyhow, according to Kramer (2012), Katherine continued to love him;
thus, she was absolutely crushed finding out that the King started to try annulling
their marriage. She knew he wanted to get rid of her and quickly figured out he
wanted to replace her with younger woman, particularly the lovely and dynamic
Anne Boleyn (p. 72), the younger sister of Henry’s former mistress Mary. (Weir,
2008, p. 262)

16
2.2 Anne Boleyn

„The romance between Henry and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, has
reached legendary status“, (Kramer, 2012, p. 73) mostly because of the contrast
between the beginning of their love affair and the end. (ibid)
Anne’s portrayal, reputation and life history are nebulous as well as her date
of birth is not certain. (Mantel, 2012) On the one hand, we have Anne portrayed as
Jezebel, „Concubine“ or a home-wrecker who seduced the King in order to get rid
of Katherine and her child, further the worst enemy of Catholics, since she was
openly supported the church reform, for she was reputed to be a Lutheran. On the
other hand, she is considered to be the queen of the Protestant who preached true
religion in England and gave birth to the great Elizabeth I. She was obviously no
saint nor was adulteress, withal she was ruthless, vindictive, indiscreet and
ambitious for she knew exactly what she wanted and made sure she achieved her
goal. (Weir, 1991, p. 143-144)

As far as looks went, „Anne Boleyn was the “It“ girl of the Tudor court.
What she lacked in idealized beauty she more than made up for with sex appeal“
(Kramer, 2012, p. 74), which made men find her irresistibly attractive, even though
many people claimed they do not understand what the King saw in her for she was
not pretty because of her middling stature, long neck and swarthy complexion
(Weir, 2008, p. 263). Moreover according to George Wyatt, she had the second nail
for she was conscious about since it was usually been hidden in her long hanging
oversleeves. (Weir, 1991, p. 152) On the contrary, what was attractive about Anne
was her dark brown hair of great length and her black beautiful eyes that „invited to
conversation“ and which she was „well knew how to use“ them to effect and appeal
to men’s attention. (Weir, 2008, p. 263)
Weir (2008): Despite her lack of beauty, she was undoubtedly charismatic,
well educated, elegant and self-tempered (p. 265). Additionally, Anne is often
being described as flirtatious, which probably had learned during her time in
France, for she knew that unmarried woman at court needed to be attractive and
witty, likewise to maintain a reputation and remain chaste in order to attract
powerful men and make an advantageous marriage. (Rickman, 2008, p. 203)

17
 „She was also an accomplished dancer“. (Lancelot de Carles, Nicholas
Sander, B.L. Sloane MSS; cited from Weir, 2008, p. 265) „Moreover, she invented
many new figures and steps which are yet known by her name or those of the
gallant partners with whom she danced them“. (Brantôme; cited from Weir, 2008,
p. 265)

Anne spent her formative years at court of Margaret of Austria, then in the
household of Mary Tudor during her reign as Queen of France. (Weir, 2008, p.
240) When her husband Louis XII. died, she remained in the service of young
widow until she got married to Suffolk and returned to England. Later on she was
invited to serve Queen Claude, the wife of the King Francis I. (Weir, 1991, p. 150)

On her return to home, her father Sir Thomas Boleyn was able to secure her
position as maid of honour to Queen Katherine. At English court she stood out
among the ladies because everything about her was very French; her manners,
behaviour and her mode of dress. (Weir, 1991, p. 155) Anne became so graceful in
manners that no one would have taken her for an English woman, „but a
Frenchwoman born“. (Lancelot de Carles; cited from: Weir, 2008, p. 267)

Starkey (2003): Her sex appeal and courtly manners actually have paid off,
providing her with a marriage to the Earl of Northumberland’s eldest son Henry
Percy; however, it was ruined by Henry. Thus, under his father’s pressure, Percy
obeyed his commands and married the woman chosen for him by his family since
disobedience to one’s parents or social superiors was something inconceivable. (p.
275-277) Ives (2004) stated that Anne obviously did not know the true author who
was behind this whole annulment and instead she blamed Wolsey, Henry’s Lord
Chancellor, for whom she formed a deep hatred. (p. 64)

Perhaps, „it was more than just sex appeal and wit that attracted Henry to
Anne“. (B.L. Sloane MSS; cited from: Weir, 2008, p. 265) Like Henry, she was
passionate about music, architecture and decorative arts, as well as they both shared
the love of fashion and expensive tastes. (ibid, p. 265) Henry was so desperate to
have Anne, hence he did everything including destroying her marriage prospects in
order to try winning her favours for himself. (Kramer, 2012, p. 77) Ives (2004)

18
claims that Anne on the other hand, was trying every method in order to show the
King that she was uninterested with him, and she even went so far that she left the
court for over a year. (p. 80)

As Weir (2008) stated, Henry began sending her a love letters, seventeen of
his letters to her survived; however, Anne’s replies are unfortunately lost. (p. 276)
Furthermore, Mantel (2012) reported that „he drew a heart and wrote his initials
and hers, carving them into the paper like a moody adolescent“. According to
Zupanec (2015), he even offered her a title of Maîtresse-en-titre, which was a
French title used for acknowledged mistress in the courtly sense with her own
privileges, but to the King‘s astonishment, she refused. Kramer (2012) argues that
although her response is uncertain, she must have written to him that she was the
King’s loyal servant only for he responded to her rather plaintively; more, she has
never replied to one of his earlier letters. (p. 79)

Weir (2008) claimed that Anne was perhaps driven by ambitions rather than
her vaunted moral principles since there is an evidence of her possible sexual
adventures in France. (p. 267) For instance, King Francis confided to the Duke of
Norfolk „how little virtuously Anne had always lived“. (L&P; cited from: Weir,
2008, p. 267)
To the contrary, Weir (1991) stated she refused for she had seen what had
happened to her sister, who had been cast off, and made him very clear that she
would only surrender her virginity after marriage. (p. 160-161) Additionally, Wyatt
claimed that „the King told Wolsey he had spoken with a young lady with the soul
of an angel and a spirit worthy of a crown who would not sleep with him“. (Weir,
1991, p. 161)

A historian George Wyatt asserted that Anne was not in love with him for
she hoped for more agreeable future husband and her feelings were less intense
than his; thus, it is obvious that the crown meant more to her than the man by
whom she would gain it. (Weir, 1991, p. 173) On the other hand, some historians
argue that she did love the King, pointing out the fact that she kept his letters. (Ives,
2004, p. 86) According to Kramer (2012), Anne is perhaps portrayed as a predatory
harlot because she did not use her sexuality in order to please a powerful man but,

19
 instead, she used it for her own purposes. (p. 80) Weir (1991) claimed that „if she
became the King’s mistress now, she might never become Queen of England“. (p.
166)

Henry made up his mind to „win her by treaty of marriage“, since according
to himself, he was a free man. His proposal was made in the latter early in 1527. He
was ready to do whatever she asked and made no secret of his love for her
anymore. (Weir, 1991, p. 162-167) „Henry showered Anne and her family with
titles and gifts. Anne’s ambitious father was created Earl of Wiltshire and her
brother, Lord George Rochford, was appointed to the Royal Privy Chamber“. 7
Anne’s uncle Thomas Howard, the third Duke of Norfolk, hated Wolsey,
likewise the most of the nobility. Therefore, he and several lords meant to use Anne
as a winning tool in order to overthrow Wolsey’s power in the court; thus, Anne
began her long campaign of discrediting Wolsey in the King’s eyes. (Weir, 1991, p.
167-168) „ [...] in the late spring of 1527, Anne finally accepted the King’s
proposal of marriage and agreed to become his wife as soon as he was free“. (Weir,
1991, p. 169)

2.2.1 The Great matter

On 22 June 1527, Henry came to Katherine’s chamber informing her they

must separate, and that he had sent to Rome in order to ask for the Pope’s
annulment. (Weir, 2008, p. 274) Thus began „the King’s Great Matter“, which
according to Kramer (2012) many people remembered as a manifestation of his
desire for Anne Boleyn. (p. 88)
Throughout the course of the „Great Matter“, Katherine ignored Henry’s
suggestion for retiring from the court, neither she did not want to accept the fact
that their marriage was over since she was hoping that he would return to her in
some time; therefore, she continued with her daily routine. Hence, Henry and
Katherine appeared together in public, welcoming the French ambassadors to court,
and the queen was smiling and cheerful because Henry wanted to be presented and
judged in a favourable light by the Pope when the time came. (Weir, 1991, p. 177)

7
available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/anne_boleyn/ (cited on: 25.3 2017, 18.3, 12:20,
CEST)

20
Scarisbrick (1968) claims that Henry expected that public sympathy would be on
his side because he was trying to do the right thing since he was troubled in his
conscience about the validity of his marriage. (p. 217) However, the people of
London was unimpressed by his pleadings since they only saw a man who wanted
to get rid of his old wife in order to replace her with younger mistress. (Ives, 2004,
p. 98)

According to Weir (2008), Anne was still playing hard to get since the
imperial ambassador reported that there is no positive proof of adultery before
1530; however, some letters proving the opposite. On the contrary, in 1531 Henry
swore to Katherine that his affair with Anne was not consummated. There are also
rumours claiming that Anne had miscarried a child, but they were without
foundation. (p. 275-276) „It is impossible to fully explain the mystery of attraction
between two people. How Anne was able to capture and maintain the king’s
attention for such a long while, despite great obstacles and the constant presence of
malicious gossip, cannot be explained“. (Hanson, 2015)
Soon afterwards, the Great Matter was quickly becoming a matter of
international intrigue, and Anne was reaping a share of the blame. (Kramer, 2012,
p. 93) As Weir (2008) noted, the Queen on the contrary enjoyed support of several
churchmen, including John Fisher, Richard Foxe or her Chaplain Thomas Abell. (p.
289-290) „Even the King’s sister Mary supported the Queen, of whom she was
very fond, and she hated Anne Boleyn so much that she refused to come to court
while she was there“. (Weir, 1991, p. 181)

As Weir (1991) reported, Wolsey was sent to France in July 1527 in order
to elicit King Francis’s support and discuss the possibility of French marriage for
Henry, still being unaware of the fact that Henry had already intended to put
Katherine away and marry Anne Boleyn as soon as he obtained the annulment. (p.
181) Meanwhile, „Anne and her supporters took advantage of Wolsey’s absence by
doing their best to poison the King’s mind against him“. (Weir, 1991, p. 182)
Wolsey’s mission in France was a failure and thanks to the influence of Anne, his
power was declining. (ibid) In November 1528, Mendoza reported that Wolsey was
„no longer received at court as graciously as before“. (CSP: Spanish, cited from:
Weir, 2008, p. 290)

21
 Anyhow, Kramer (2012) mentioned that it did not matter who supported
Henry’s decision because the only thing he needed was the cooperation of the Pope
who could grant him the annulment. Nevertheless, the Emperor’s army sacked the
Rome and the Pope was held the Emperor’s prisoner for six months, but after some
time, he escaped to Orvieto. (p. 95) After returning to Rome, he was in the position
to resolve the issue of Henry’s marriage. Wolsey tried to warn him that if he did not
grant the annulment, the King would reject Rome’s authority but Clement ignored
his threats because he thought he was only alarmed for himself; which however,
was right. (Froude, 1891, p. 80)

After all, Clement decided to send Cardinal Campeggio to England in order

to see what could be done about the King’s Great Matter. Campeggio tried to argue
with the King but he failed; thus, he was hoping that he would achieve a resolution
with the Queen to whom he persuaded to enter a nunnery. (Starkey, 2003, p. 222-
223) However, she refused for being a deeply devoted to Catholicism and a
marriage was something sacrament to her, and to allow Henry to break their union
without a cause would have been sacrilegious. Moreover, nuns are considered
Brides of Christ and she was still considering herself a true wife of a living man.
(Lindsey, 1995, p. 74)

Henry, tiring of waiting for the Pope’s decision, was trying to resolve the
issue by holding a trial in England, which after all, began in June 1529. During a
trial, Katherine asked Henry why it took him so long to develop scruples about their
marriage. He defended himself by saying that he waited so many years because of
the great love he had had for her and desired that their marriage should be declared
valid above everything else. (Starkey, 2003, p. 241)
When the King finished his speaking, Katherine walked over to Henry and
felt on her knees before him, and made a dramatic plea. She swore that when she
was married him she had been “a true maid, without the touch of man“, and
„whether it be true or no, I put it to your conscience“. (Lindsey, 1995, p. 79)
Throughout Katherine’s speech, Henry said nothing, and after a few moments, she
walked out of the court ignoring calls for her return commenting: „It is no
indifferent court to me, therefore I will not tarry“. (Weir, 1991, p. 201-202)

22
 Then followed days of declaration and discussions focusing on whether
Katherine’s marriage with Prince Arthur was consummated or not. (Weir, 2008, p.
294) „ [...] the King and Queen’s marriage could only we lawful if Katherine had
been virgo intacta by Prince Arthur“. (Weir, 1991, p. 203) The hearings continued
until 23 July, when finally came decision by Campeggio, who unexpectedly,
adjourned the case to Rome. (Weir, 2008, p. 294) „The Pope forbade Henry to
proceed to a new marriage before a decision was given in Rome, not in England“,
and, „Wolsey bore the blame“. (Lynn Oliver) By October 1529, he was dismissed
from his office as Lord Chancellor and surrendered to King York Place as well as
his other properties. It was then renamed to Whitehall and renovated as a palace for
Anne Boleyn, who with her own court now, was already a queen in all but name.
(Weir, 1991, p. 205-208)

2.2.2 Reformation

It seemed that the nullity suit would drag for months or even years but in
August 1529 appeared a solution to the King’s marital problems. Stephen Gardiner
and Edward Foxe introduced him a cleric man called Thomas Cranmer who
declared that the King’s Great Matter is a theological issue and the King’s case
should be judged by the divine law, not the canon law, and suggested asking about
an opinion of experts on theology in the universities of Europe. Henry was
impressed, declaring „That man hath the sow by the right ear“! and appointed him
as his chaplain. (Weir, 2008, p. 299-300)

By November 1529, Anne was constantly at Henry’s side, who was

showering her with gifts and jewels, and she was already being treated as the
queen. At the same time, he also made court appearances with Katherine who was
doing her best in order to convince everyone that she and the King are still on good
terms. (Weir, 2008, p. 300) In private however, she accused him of being neglected
and treated badly, and she went on that „for each doctor or lawyer who might
decide in your favour and against me, I shall find a thousand to declare that the
marriage is good and indissoluble“. (Starkey, 2003, p. 393) Nevertheless, Henry

23
was threatening to her by saying that if their marriage would be declared as valid,
he would „denounce the Pope as a heretic and marry whom he pleased“. (Starkey,
2003, p. 393)
On the other hand, Anne was being aware of the fact that her position at
court was insecure and became increasingly difficult to deal with. She felt that time
was passing by her and accused Henry of being still waiting, and declaring that she
was wasting her youth for no purpose, while in the meantime, she could have
contracted some advantageous marriage and had several children by now. She often
made threats by leaving him which always ended up that Henry was begging her to
come back and placating her with more gifts. (Weir, 2008, p. 211)

As soon as Anne realized her influence over the King, she was trying to
encourage him to read forbidden Protestant works that she favoured. (Kramer,
2012, p. 103) Many people were concerned about her religious sympathies since
she as well as her family was known to be in a favour of the reformation of the
Church and evangelical literature which was close to Luther’s teachings. (Weir,
2008, p. 302) After 1528, Anne had given Henry a copy of William Tyndale’s
evangelical work The Obedience of a Christian Man which questioned the authority
of the Pope claiming that it was the king, not the pope, who was ordained by God to
have no superior on earth. Henry, after reading it, said it was „the book for me and
all kings to read“. (Lipscomb, 2009, p. 39) Another book that Anne showed to him
was The Supplication of Beggars by Simon Fish where stated that the Scriptures
should be translated into English so that everyone could read them. (Weir, 1991, p.
196) It was also attack on the clerics, who were disloyal to their sovereign,
claiming that they took taxes from the populace and giving nothing back to crown.
(Kramer, 2012, p. 106)

As a result of Anne’s influence, Henry was becoming more sympathetic to

criticism of the Church and interested in the reformation. (Weir, 1991, p. 196) By
1530, Henry was losing all respect for Holy Rome and considering the reform of
the Church of England, pointing out that a break from Rome was inevitable since
the Pope still avoided giving him a definite sentence on his annulment. (Weir,
1991, p. 216)

24
 On February 1530, Henry formally pardoned Wolsey; however, motivated
by his hatred to Anne Boleyn, Cardinal began to secretly support the Queen since
he was hoping for returning to power once the case would be settled in the Queen’s
favour. When Henry was informed about Wolsey’s activities, he had him arrested
on 1 November, but due to his illness which plagued him in recent months, died on
the way to London. (ibid, p. 217-218) With Wolsey gone, Henry turned to Thomas
More and appointed him as his new Chancellor; even though he believed the King’s
marriage was valid. Yet, More promised him he would „never with that matter
molest his conscience after“. (Bernard, 2007, p. 131)

By 1531, Anne was becoming more arrogant and using harsh words even
towards the King. (Weir, 1991, p. 219) „It was said that she was the only woman
who ever dared to argue and answer back to Henry“. (Bevan, 2012) Because of her
behaviour, she even made enemies among her own supporters. (Weir, 1991, p. 231)
On top of that, her attitude towards the Queen has deteriorated to such an extent
that Anne once said to one of the Queen’s Ladies-in-Waiting that she wished „all
Spaniards were at the bottom of the sea“, and declared that she would rather see
Katherine „hanged than have to confess that she was her Queen and mistress“.
(Ives, 2004, p. 138)

Around 1530, Thomas Cromwell, who heavily influenced the royal police
and who is considered as “the man behind“ the break with Rome, had entered to the
King’s office. (Everett, 2015, p. 7)

On 7 February 1531, the King stood in Parliament and demanded that the
Church of England recognise and acknowledge him from now on to be its „sole
protector and supreme head“. (Weir, 1991, p. 221) Clergy recognized him with new
title as Supreme Head of the Church of England “as far as the law of Christ
allows“. (ibid) The King set up himself as the head of the English Church and the
Pope’s authority was unchallenged, thus Henry was the King and the Pope in his
own country. (ibid, p. 221-222)
Yet, not everyone agreed and one of them was John Fisher, Bishop of
Rochester whom Anne and her supporters were trying to remove. On 20 February,

25
Bishop’s cook, Richard Rouse, put a poison into the soup causing the death of
several men; however, Fisher himself survived. Rouse was arrested but many
people believed that he was acting on the instructions of Anne and her supporters,
but Henry refused to accept such rumours. Another who stood in Henry’s way was
Archbishop Warham who did not want to acknowledge the King’s supremacy, and
without him there could be no annulment. (Weir, 1991, p. 222-225)

As regards to Katherine, she also denied his supremacy and declared she
would obey him in everything except that she has to obey two higher powers - God
and her conscience. (Weir, 1991, p. 227) „This incident provoked Henry’s decision
to separate from Katherine for good“. (ibid) On 14 July Henry left the court, which
was move to Woodstock, without even saying goodbye to her, and Katherine was
then informed to vacate the castle within a month and was sent to live at More,
Wolsey’s former estate. (Weir, 1991, p. 227-229) To make things worse, her
daughter princess Mary was sent to Richmond and she would never see her again.
(Tremlett, 2010, p. 353) That Christmas Henry did not invite Katherine to court and
instead, Anne, who was even more unpopular than ever and openly called as whore
and heretic, usurped her place which provoked many people. (Weir, 1991, p. 230)
In addition, Edward Hall, Katherine’s chronicler reported: „All men said there was
no mirth in that Christmas because the queen and the ladies were absent“.
(Tremlett, 2010, p. 355)
During Easter 1532 friar William Peto preached before the King and
compared him to Ahab who did not listen to God. He then told him not to divorce
and „he warned him that if followed Ahab he would incur the same unhappy fate:
dogs would lick his blood“. (Bernard, 2007, p. 152)
„Meanwhile, in Rome, the King’s case still dragged on“. (Weir, 1991, p.
232) The pope ordered Henry to return to Katherine and dismiss Anne under the
threat of excommunication, but Henry ignored it. (Weir, 1991, p. 232-233) As
regards to the pronouncements made by the universities, sixteen of them supported
Henry and only four were in a favour to Katherine. The majority pronounced their
marriage as null and void, and against the law of God, thus the Pope have no right
to interfere. (Weir, 1991, p. 224)
In June 1532, Henry signed a treaty of alliance with Francis I. and they both
agreed to meet in Calais where Henry hoped to persuade Francis to support

26
 marrying Anne Boleyn. On that summer, Archbishop Warham died and Thomas
Cranmer was appointed to the vacant See of Canterbury. Thus, Anne became the
King’s mistress in the fullest sense for it was certain that it would be only a matter
of time before Henry would be free to marry her. (Weir, 1991, p. 234-237) „The
King also began to push harder for national and international recognition of Anne
as his future Queen“. (Kramer, 2012, p.118)

For the coming French visit, Henry increased her status, and on 1 September
1532 he invested Anne with the title of Marquess of Pembroke, in her own right,
which had never been granted to a woman in England before. (Weir, 1991, p. 236)
„Henry was determined that she should be at his side throughout the visit to France,
a queen in all but name“. (Weir, 2008, p. 327) Therefore, he demanded from
Katherine the jewels of the Queens of England, which were still in her possession;
however, she refused declaring that she would not give up what was rightfully hers
to adorn a person who is a scandal of Christendom. Nevertheless, with the King’s
commands, she had no choice but to do so. (ibid) Yet, she may have been pleased
by the fact that all the French women refused to formally received Anne. (Lindsey,
1995, p. 89) Thus, during the visit she was kept out of sight for two days, but on the
Sunday evening, she made her entrance, accompanied by ladies in gowns and
masks. She then came to King Francis and led him out to dance and after the
dancing they spent some time in conversation.
Henry and Anne left France on 11 November, and soon afterwards they
returned to London, Anne realised she was pregnant. Henry made up his mind and
decided to marry her since his marriage with Katherine was invalid, and therefore
he considered himself a free man; besides, even majority of universities in Europe
had said so. (Weir, 1991, p. 240-241) „Edward Hall gives date as 14 November
1532, 8 but Cranmer, in a letter, refers to the ceremony having been performed on or
about the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, 25 January 1533“. 9 (Weir, 2008, p.
332) Anyhow, Anne Boleyn became Henry’s second wife.

8 Ives speculates that 14 November 1532 may be the date on which Henry Anne began sleeping together
after contracting themselves to each other before witnesses, a procedure which was as binding as a
canonical marriage in the early 16th century; however, the evidence strongly suggests that they were
already having sexual relations before that date. (Ives, Eric: The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn, 2004)
9 Thomas Cranmer: Miscellaneous Writings and Letters of Thomas Cranmer (1846)

27
 On 13 March, Henry sent Rochford to France with a secret message for
Francis I. and after his return on 7 April, Henry informed the Council that he and
Anne Boleyn had married two months ago, and she is carrying the heir of the
England. (Weir, 1991, p. 243) Katherine had to relinquish the title of Queen and
from now on be referred to as the Princess Dowager of Wales; yet, she refused
declaring she would call herself the Queen of England as long as she lived. „Only
God could take away her title and He, obviously, was on her side“. (Tremlett, 2010,
p. 355) She was so determined to have her marriage be recognized as lawful even if
she was putting herself and her daughter in a danger. Apparently, her priority was
to establish that her marriage was valid and reported: „Not for a thousand deaths
will I consent to damn my soul or that of my husband the King“. Neither the
Princess Marry wanted to accept Anne as her Queen and as a result of her
disobedience, Henry forbade her to communicate with Katherine in any way.
(Weir, 1991, p. 253-254)

On 30 March 1533, Henry appointed Thomas Cranmer as the Archbishop of

Canterbury (Weir, 2008, p. 333), and on 23 May he pronounced the King‘s union
with Katherine as “null and absolutely void“, and “contrary to divine law“; thus,
Henry’s marriage to Anne was declared to be valid and lawful, and their child
would be indisputably legitimate. Couple of days after Cranmer’s pronouncement,
Anne was escorted to the Tower of London where she would spend the night before
her coronation. On 31 May she made a ceremonial entry into London but the
reception was cold. (Weir, 1991, p. 248-250) Indeed, Chapuys claimed it was more
appropriate to „a funeral rather than a pageant“. (CSP: Spanish; cited from: Weir,
2008, p.340) Likewise the coronation itself, which held on 1 June 1533, was
according to him a „cold, meagre, and uncomfortable thing“. (Weir, 1991, p. 250-
251)

Meanwhile in April, the Parliament passed the Act of Restraint in Appeals

abolishing the right of appeals to Rome and proclaimed that “this realm of England
is an empire, and so hath been accepted in the world, governed by one supreme
head and king“. (Lipscomb, 2009, p. 40) It meant that in the future all the appeals
of the spiritual matter would be hear in England, not in Rome. (Weir, 2008, p. 333)

28
„No English sovereign had ever before been granted such power, not would again“.
(Weir, 2008, p. 334)

So far, Anne’s pregnancy progressed well but already in August, the first
cracks in their relationship began to appear. During the preparations for their
coming child, and perhaps due to the fact she was not willing to lie with him
because of her condition, Henry was being unfaithful to her, which soon after she
found out and created a scene. Henry was irritated since he expected that now, as
his wife, would be docile and play a submissive role. (Weir, 1991, p. 256-257) He
then told her to “shut her eyes and endure as more worthy persons had done“ and
“she ought to know that he could at any time lower her as much as he had raised
her“. (Weir, 2011, p.11) She was hoping that the birth of a son would put her on
more equal position, but on 7 September 1533, Anne gave birth to healthy
daughter, named Elizabeth, not to the expected son. (Kramer, 2012, p. 127) It was a
serious disappointment for Henry and when he came to visit her, he told her: “You
and I are both young and by God’s grace, boys will follow“. (Weir, 1991, p. 258)
Chapuys reacted to the birth by saying that God had entirely abandoned him. After
Elizabeth was born, the Princess Marry was deprived of the title of princess, and
was sent to Hatfield Palace in order to act as a maid of honour to her half-sister,
whose title she refused to recognise. (Weir, 1991, p. 258-260)
By February 1534, the Queen was pregnant again. In April it was reported
that she is having “a goodly belly“ but after July there is no further mention of her
pregnancy, so probably the baby was either stillborn or died after the birth.
(Kramer, 2012, p. 129)
In March 1534, the Parliament passed the Act of Succession that
disinherited the Lady Mary and vested succession upon the Princess Elizabeth.
(Weir, 2008, p. 352) „In 1534 the Act of Submission of the Clergy removed the
right of all appeals to Rome, effectively ending the Pope’s influence“. (Lynn)
Thereupon, the Act of Supremacy announced that Henry was and had always been
the Supreme Head of the Church of England; and so, the new Anglican Church had
been created. (Lipscomb, 2009, p. 40) Then, every King’s loyal subject was
obligated to swear an oath and recognise the King’s supremacy, likewise have no
prejudice against his marriage with Anne and their lawful heirs. If not, they would

29
be found guilty of treason for which the penalty was death. Even though Anne was
unpopular, most people took the oath without demur. (Weir, 1991, p. 265)
However, there were some who were defiant and refused to take it. Many
Carthusian monks were executed for treason since they opposed Henry’s marriage
and did not want to acknowledge the King’s supremacy. (Weir, 1991, p. 280-281)
Furthermore, both Fisher and Thomas More also declined to swear and were sent to
the Tower for their disobedience. (Weir, 1991, p. 266) More openly declared, „I am
the King’s faithful subject. I say no harm, I think no harm, but I wish everybody
good. And if this be not enough to keep a man alive, in good faith, I long not to
live“. (Neville Williams: Henry VIII and his Court; cited from: Weir, 2008, p. 352)
When Henry learned that the Pope made Fisher a cardinal and that his red hat is on
its way, he commented that he will have to wear it upon his shoulders for by the
time it gets to England, he will not have a head to put it on. (Weir, 1991, p. 266)
Fisher was executed on 22 June, wearing his finest clothes and declaring that it was
his wedding day. Thomas More were beheaded on 6 July claiming that he died „the
King’s good servant, but God’s first“. (Weir, 2008, p. 365) Their executions
provoked a great shock around Europe and many people accusing Henry that he
had gone too far this time. (Weir, 1991, p. 282)

As regards to Katherine and Mary, they also refused to swear. Katherine, as

a result of her disobedient behaviour, was removed to Kimbolton Castle, which
indeed, was her prison. When Mary became very ill, Henry even refused her to visit
her since he believed that both would hatch a plan with the Emperor to dethrone
him and wage a war against him just as her mother Isabella did in Spain. His
comment was a proof that he had very little of Katherine’s health condition (Weir,
1991, p. 269-277) since she was in the first stages of the cancer. (Weir, 1991, p.
263)

In the meantime, the Pope finally pronounced the judgement on Henry’s

nullity suit and declared that the union between Henry and Katherine was always
lawful and legitimate, and ordered to Henry to resume cohabitation with Katherine,
otherwise would be excommunicated. After hearing the Pope’s sentence, Henry
declared that the Pope has no authority over English affairs. (Weir, 1991, p. 267)

30
 Around March 1535, Anne discovered she was with a child again but
unfortunately it ended in a stillbirth. (Weir, 1991, p. 277) With the loss of another
child, the Venetian ambassador observed that Henry was „tired to satiety“ of Anne
and rumours were circulating in the court that he wants to get rid of her, and he
accused her of being responsible for all the present troubles and executions in the
court. (Weir, 1991, p. 283-284) He probably realised that marrying to her was a
mistake because he no longer saw her through a lover’s eyes for he also must have
seen how unpopular Anne is, since she was making a lot of enemies, and her
arrogance and vanity proclaimed her inadequacy as a queen. What’s more, she
probably lied about her virginity too, but mainly, she had failed to produce a son.
She knew that a son would solve all her problems and she told Henry that she
cannot conceive a son while Katherine and Marry are still alive. (Weir, 1991, p.
276) Chapuys once commented: „Neither the Queen not the Princess will be safe
for a moment while the Cuncubine still has the power; she is desperate to get rid of
them“. (Weir, 1991, p. 268)

Around this time, Cromwell was appointed as Vicar General, and after the
Valor Ecclesiasticus was passed, he was preparing an inquiry into the abuses within
the religious houses which culminated in the dissolution of monasteries. (Randell,
2001, p. 65-67) „Cromwell meant to have every monastery and convent visited and
reported upon, with a view to its possible closure and the appropriation of its wealth
by the Crown“. (Weir, 1991, p. 278) Henry, who was in need of funds, strongly
approved this plan because he was trying to deprive the Church of England from all
abuses corrupted by the Roman Church. (ibid)

In the summer of 1535, Henry and Anne set off on a progress towards West
Country. While at Wulfhall, Henry was visiting Seymour’s family, when his eye
lighted upon Jane Seymour, who was one of the Queen’s maids-of-honour. It is
assumed that Henry’s affair had begun prior to the progress, but there is no
evidence for that. In October, the Bishop of Tarbes observed that Henry‘s love for
Anne „diminishes every day because he has new amours“. (Weir, 2011, p. 18)
However, Anne’s influence was slightly restored in November, for she had found
out to be pregnant again, but still, she was fearfully aware of the fact that her future
depended on its outcome. (Weir, 1991, p. 293)

31
 Meanwhile during December, Katherine’s health has deteriorated and on 7
January 1536 she passed away even without seeing her only child for the last time.
(Weir, 1991, p. 294-297) After her death, Henry and Anne was dressed in yellow,
which some historians claim that it is the colour of mourning in Spain, but the fact
that they celebrated with feasts or tournaments indicates that they were jubilant
about her death, and makes this colour appear chosen for its cheerfulness.
(Lipscomb, 2009, p. 52-53) Anne, after hearing the news declared triumphantly:
„Now I am indeed Queen of England“. (Lehman, 2011, p. 301) Weir (1991)
reported that it was widely believed that Katherine was poisoned by Anne, and
even the King had some suspicions. (p. 298)

Henry was no longer the athletic young man as he used to be. Regardless of
that fact, he still insisted on jousting. On January 24 while he held one of the
tournaments to celebrate Katherine’s death, he was unhorsed, and his horse in full
armour then fell on top of him, and caused the King unconscious for two hours.
(Lipscomb, 2009, p. 58) Fortunately he recovered, but since then his jousting times
were over, and his old wound on his leg reopened which caused him a pain for the
rest of his life. (Weir, 1991, p. 302)

On the day of Katherine’s funeral, Anne miscarried a male fetus. According

to Duchess of Feria, during that afternoon, Anne caught Henry with Jane Seymour
and flew into frenzy, and later that evening she went into a premature labour. (ibid,
p. 303) There are some speculations that the fetus was deformed but there is no real
evidence for that after all. (Ives, 2004, p. 299) Both Henry and Anne were
disappointed, and when Henry visited her, he said bitterly, „I see that God will not
give me male children. When you are up, I will speak to you“. (CSP: Spanish;
from: Weir, 2008, p. 370) „Anne attributed it to the shock she sustained when
Norfolk told her that the King was dead and her distress over Henry’s infidelities“.
(ibid) She then told her ladies that she will be soon with child again. „Yet she was
being over-optimistic, for when Henry had closed the door of her room behind him,
he had also closed the door on his second marriage“. (Weir, 1991, p. 304)

32
 Henry’s passion over Jane was growing and since she declared she is saving
herself for marriage, he then promised her to speak with her only in the presence of
her relatives. Henry ordered Cromwell to vacate his rooms, which were connected
to the King‘s apartment, and installed there Jane’s brother Sir Edward and his wife,
to act as a chaperones when the King came to pay court to her. (Weir, 2008, p. 371)
The Queen had fallen out with Cromwell, for she had found out about vacating his
rooms and wanted to have him executed. Anne became Cromwell’s enemy and the
biggest threat to his career. Knowing the fact that the emperor would never
recognize Anne as Henry’s true wife but might accept another lady, he then realised
that supporting the Seymours would offer the best chance to the security of the
realm and his own future. (Weir, 2008, p. 373-374) He promoted Chapuys the
alliance between England and Spain, but because Anne was still in power, it would
not be possible; thus, she must be eliminated. (Weir, 1991, p. 304)

Jane was then about twenty-eight and still unwed. According to Chapuys
she was of „middle stature and no great beauty, so fair that one would call her
rather pale than otherwise“. She was also complete opposite of Anne for she was
demure, quiet and discreet, and unlike Anne she was a woman of great virtue and
meekness (Weir, 2011, p. 18) The Seymours were ambitious, just as the Boleyns,
but their sympathies laid with Katherine and despised Anne, and all that she stood
for. There were those at court who had been waiting for an opportunity like this in
order to get rid of her; thus, the Seymours were urging Jane to encourage Henry’s
courtship. (Weir, 1991, p. 289-291)

However, as Weir (2008) reported Anne’s position at court was strong until
April, for it was being suggested that she was with child again, and when it came to
justify the King‘s marriage with Anne, he was anxious to do so and defended her
zealously. (p. 372-375) On the other hand, there was no mention of her pregnancy
whilst she was in the Tower, for if she was, it would probably have saved her from
her unhappy fate. (p. 377)
A historian Greg Walkers argues that Anne’s downfall was due to the
conversation with Sir Henry Norris around the end of April. Anne was tackled
Norris why he had not yet married to her cousin Madge Shelton. He said he would
like to wait a bit longer, which irritated Anne, for she responded him that it is

33
because of her, saying: „You look for dead man’s shoes, for it ought came to the
King but good, you would look to have me“. (Kramer, 2012, p. 149-150) Norris in
protest declared that “he would his dead were off” rather than think about King’s
death since it was considered to be high treason. (Coby, 2009, p. 126) They then
realised they might be in a danger for having said something like this, so Norris
went to the Queen’s chaplain, to swear an oath that she is „a good woman“. (ibid)

During April, Cromwell and his supporters started to hatch the plot of
Anne’s downfall, and discussing the possibility of the marriage being annulled.
(Weir, 2008, p. 376) With the help of his agents, he was collecting the gossips and
questioning the women’s of the Queen’s household. After all, Anne was accused of
adultery with five men including her own brother. All those charges laid before
Henry and he chose to believe them. (Weir, 1991, p. 311-313) As Lindsey (1995)
stated, Henry also believed the rumours that Anne had betrayed him with more than
a hundred men. (p. 128) He was willing to believe such accusations because it was
suggested that the King himself began to suspect that he had been „seduced by
witchcraft“ into marriage with Anne. (Starkey, 2003, p. 551) The witches was
indisputably real for the Tudors, and some historians even believed that those
accusations caused Anne’s miscarriage of a deformed fetus since it was considered
to be a punishment from God for practicing sexual acts by devil worshipers.
(Warnicke, 1991, p. 195) But as mentioned above, there is no accusation for it.
That month, a musician Mark Smeaton was arrested and was accused of
sexual intercourse with the Queen, and probably under torture, he confessed to the
crime. He was the only one of the accused to have pleaded guilty. (Ives, 2004, p.
326) As Froude (1891) mentioned, Anne’s reaction to Smeaton’s death indicates
her innocence, as she said, „Did he not acquit me of the infamy he has laid on me?
Alas, I fear his soul will suffer for it“! (p. 430) After a May Day Tournament, the
King was questioning Norris and accused him of committing adultery with the
Queen, which he vehemently denied. (Lipscomb, 2009, p. 81) Sir Henry had been
one of Henry’s closest friends, and therefore it was quite disturbing that he chose to
believe Cromwell instead of him. The next day Norris was taken to the Tower.
(Weir, 2008, p. 378)

34
 On 2 May, Anne and her brother Rochford were arrested and sent to the
Tower. „On 12 May, Norris, Weston, Brereton and Smeaton were arraigned at
Westminster Hall; all were condemned to death“. (Weir, 2008, p. 380) The trial of
Anne and her brother was held couple of days later, and both were also found guilty
and sentenced to die. On 17 May, all men were beheaded on Tower Hill, and that
same day, Anne’s marriage to Henry was declared as null and void, and her
daughter Elizabeth illegitimate. (ibid, p. 380-381) Anne met her death with such
courage and wit. After she was brought to the scaffold, she made a speech, ending
with: „And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the
best“. (Hanson, 2015) She was executed with a sword on 19 May 1536. She was
the first English queen to be publicly executed. Anne was buried in the Chapel of St
Peter and Vincula in the Tower. (ibid)

Most historians are of the opinion that Anne was not guilty of all of those
charges she was accused to, even Chapuys thought so, and Anne herself swore she
was innocent. „However, her reputation, her flirtatious nature, her enjoyment of
male company, and her indulgence in the amorous banter and interplay of courtly
love all made the charges against believable“. (Weir, 2008, p. 376-377)

2.3 Jane Seymour

A day after Anne’s execution, Henry and Jane were formally betrothed, and
on 30 May were quietly married at Whitehall. However, many people were
repulsed by Henry’s rush to marry and Jane’s willingness to become Henry’s wife
so soon after Anne’s death. (Kramer, 2012, p. 160) Anyway, Jane was proclaimed
Queen on 2 June, and thanks to her elevation, her brother Edward became one of
the most important Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber. (Weir, 2008, p. 385)
After Anne’s execution, Lady Mary believed that her father would allow her
to return to court; however soon afterwards, a new Act of succession decreed that
the crown should pass on Henry’s death to the children of Queen Jane. It was also
appointed that the King’s first two marriages were declared as unlawful, and Mary
and Elizabeth were illegitimate. (Weir, 1991, p. 350-351)

35
 Lady Mary still maintained that the King’s marriage with her mother was in
accordance with God’s law, and denied the King’s supremacy. Henry was threating
her, and Chapuys, in order to save her life, was begging her to submit to his will.
(Scarisbrick, 1968, p. 352-353) Mary, under the extreme pressure, finally obeyed
his father’s commands, and had to sign a document which declared she is
illegitimate since her mother was her father’s sister-in-law, and also denied the
Pope’s authority. Once she submitted to the King’s will, she returned to court and
reconciled with her father. Henry forgave her, turned to his courtiers and accusingly
said, „Some of you were desirious that I should put this jewel to death“, even
though he himself was the author of his threats to Mary. (Lindsey, 1995, p. 132-
133)
Starkey (2003) claimed that Henry did not appear to be as enamoured of her
as he was with Anne for he had been married only a week, and after a meeting two
ladies, he expressed regret that he had not met them before his wedding. (p. 602)
Meanwhile in the north of England, broke out rebellion, centred mostly in
Yorkshire. The rebels called themselves the Pilgrimage of Grace and were led by
Robert Aske. They wanted monasteries to be restored, just as Mary’s place in the
succession, since many people still remained devoted to Catholicism. (Starkey,
2003, p. 602) Henry invited Aske to London in order to discuss the rebellion, and
he promised him that they should have justice and offered a full pardon. Aske,
believing the King, told his followers that the problems would be solved. (Kramer,
2012, p. 168) However as Scarisbrick (1968) mentioned, Henry could no longer be
trusted to kept his word, and when the rebels realised that Henry broke his promises
he had given them, they revolted again. Henry sent the Duke of Norfolk to lead the
troops in order to put down the rebellion. (p. 346) They captured all the leaders of
the rebellion, including Aske, who was captured unjust, since he was only trying to
stop the rebellion. (Kramer, 2012, p. 207) But this did not bother Henry, and Aske
was treated as a rebel and died in a painful death. He was hung up in chains over
the fortification of York castle, until he died of starvation and dehydration.
(Starkey, 2003, p. 605)

By 1537, the rebellion was suppressed, and during that time the Queen was
found out to be pregnant. (Kramer, 2012, p. 208) The Queen’s labour was long and
hard, but on 12 October she delivered a healthy baby – the long-awaited son.

36
„Henry was jubilant, weeping joy as he held his son for the first time, and the
country erupted in celebration“. (Weir, 2008, p. 404) The Prince was christened on
October 15, and three days later he was proclaimed Prince of Wales. It seemed that
Jane was apparently recovering, but unfortunately, it did not last for she became ill
what was probably puerperal fever, as a result of unhygienic methods employed
during her confinement. Jane died on 24 October and was buried on 12 November
in St George‘s Chapel. (ibid, p. 405-407)

Despite her short life as a Queen, she had achieved the most important: she
had given the son to the King, and also she helped to restore Mary’s position in the
succession and her father’s affections. „It was, in every respect, the most successful
of his six marriages, and it was the only one to result in a surviving male heir“.
(Weir, 1991, p. 373)

2.4 Anne of Cleves

After Jane’s death, Henry remained a widower for two years. „With only
one son, Henry still needed to ensure the succession by siring others, and therefore
remarriage was of paramount importance“. (Weir, 1991, p. 378) However, Henry
had a very nasty marital reputation; a poor and disrespectful treatment of Katherine
of Aragon, the tragic tale of Anne Boleyn, and the quick end of Jane Seymour from
lack of proper medical care only contributed to his low reputation. (Hanson, 2015)
Henry preferred the idea of a French marriage. He heard of the charms of Marie de
Guise but after she learned about his imminent proposal, she quickly wed to his
nephew James V of Scotland. (Weir, 1991, p. 382-383) Kramer (2012) also noted
that she was opposed the match for she replied to have a small neck, clearly
implying that she did not want to risk her neck to Henry’s axe. (p. 215) Henry‘s
ambassadors then suggested another candidate – beautiful Duchess of Milan, the
Emperor’s sister. But Charles V would never allow such marriage and Christina
made it very clear that she would only marry under the Emperor’s commands. It
was rumoured that she replied to English ambassadors that if she had two heads she
would risk it, but she had only one. (Lindsey, 1995, p. 139)

37
 Cromwell had been urging the King to ally to one of the Protestant German
Princes and mentioned that the Duke of Cleves had two unmarried daughters –
Anne and Amelia. Cromwell, who was appointed Lord Great Chamberlain, had
then sent Nicholas Wotton and Robert Barnes to arrange the marriage. Since the
Duke John had died, they were received by his son William, who had strong
opinions about feminine modesty. When Anne and Amelia were introduced to
English ambassadors, they were all covered, so they could see very little of their
faces. They reported to Cromwell that Lady Anne would be more suitable for the
King. He then recorded to Henry all her charms with quite exaggeration since his
whole future depended on this match. The Duke was poor to provide a dowry,
though Henry decided to marry her without that if her portrait pleased him.
Therefore, Cromwell dispatched Hans Holbein to Cleves and gave him instructions
to paint the Lady Anne as attractive as possible in her picture. It was one of the
most exquisite portrait miniature ever painted, and when Henry saw it he was so
impressed for he made up his mind at once and declared that this was the woman
whom he wanted to marry. (Weir, 1991, p. 385-388)
Anne was intelligent and an expert needlewoman; however, she had no
knowledge of English, nor French or Latin. While Henry liked music, dancing or
playing the cards, she was proficient in none of these things. (Kramer, 2012, p. 229-
230) Despite of these obstacles, the marriage treaty was signed on 4 September
1539 and in November, Anne left Cleves. She arrived in Calais on 11 December
where she was welcomed with great honour. (Weir, 1991, p. 390-392) Henry was
so impatient to see her that on New Year’s Eve he set out on journey to Rochester
where Anne stayed for two nights. (Weir, 1991, p. 396)

At Anne’s lodgings, the King made an entrance with other five gentlemen,
disguised in marbled coats and hoods. Henry embraced her and kissed her, claiming
that he had come with the gifts from the King. She thanked him but paid a little
attention to him for she was always looked out of the window on the bull-baiting.
Henry tried to make a romantic gesture which was the part when a noble suitor
greets his future wife in disguise for they fall in love with one another at first sight.
Henry took an instant aversion of her and went into another chamber, took of his
cloak and came again in a coat of purple velvet, after which all presents realized he
was the King of England (Warnicke, 2000, p. 130-131) He then saluted her again

38
 and they spent some time in conversation; however, he was disappointed inside,
and he knew that he would never love her. Henry felt betrayed by Cromwell and
Holbein since Anne was different from how she was presented to him. He kept
saying, „I like her not“! , and many courtiers thought that he would do his best to
get out of this marriage contract. (Weir, 1991, p. 396)
After the visit was over, he complained, „I see nothing in this woman as
men report of her, and I marvel that wise men would make such report as they have
done“. (L&P; cited from: Weir, 2008, p. 427) „It is clear from Wotton’s reports 10
that Holbein had made a good likeness of Anne of Cleves, but he painted her full-
faced, making the best of her looks“. (Weir, 2008, p. 427) She had long nose, and
her skin was pitted by smallpox scars, and thus she was unattractive. (ibid) It was
not just Anne’s personal appearance that revolted Henry; he later told Cromwell
that she was „nothing fair and have very evil smells about her“, and he could „have
none appetite for displeasant airs“. (L&P; Weir, 2008, p. 427)
Nevertheless, Cromwell strongly convinced him that the alliance with
Cleves is important one since France and the Empire are against him. Besides, it
would be ungentlemanly to reject her at this last stage, and he also reminded him
that her brother might declare war on him. For all those reasons, Henry must marry
Anne, thus he forced himself to continue with the preparations for the coming
wedding. (Weir, 1991, p. 399) After all, Anne and Henry were married on 6
January in the Queen’s Closet at Greenwich. There were no public bedding
ceremony, but Henry was in no mood to consummate the marriage since he did not
like the Queen’s body. Despite of this fact, they shared a bed every night for four
months, but never achieved „true carnal copulation“. Anne was perhaps so innocent
that she did not even realise something is wrong, for she revealed to her ladies that
the King wished her good night and good morning, but one of her ladies told her
there must be more than this, and she replied she is content knew no more.

During their short marriage, Anne did her best to please the King. She
learned English, she began wearing dresses in the English fashion, and soon came
to share the King’s love of music. (Weir, 2008, p. 429-431) „Henry, however, had

10 L&P. There is no surviving contemporary evidence that Henry ever referred to Anne of Cleves as „the
Flanders mare“. This story dates from the late 17th century, when it was first written by Bishop Burnet,
who quotes no source for it.

39
no intention of trying to make this marriage a success“. (Weir, 1991, p. 404) He
was desperate to be free of his obligations and he was trying to find way out of his
marriage, since by Easter, it was publicly known that he began pursuing Katherine
Howard. (Weir, 2008, p. 432) Katherine, who was then about fifteen, was a niece of
the Duke of Norfolk and a cousin of Anne Boleyn. She was placed in the Queen’s
household with the instructions how to attract the King’s attention. Henry had
fallen in love with her, and wanted to marry her, but first, he needed to find a way
to annul his marriage, and he ordered Cromwell to do so. On 17 April, he created
him by the title Earl of Essex, but it is assumed that Henry wanted to give him a
false sense of security before he would destroy him. (Weir, 1991, p. 412-413)

Soon afterwards, Norfolk and Gardiner started to poison Henry’s mind

against Cromwell, who was arrested without warning on 10 June. The Parliament
passed an Act of Attainder condemning him to death as a traitor and heretic.
Cromwell was beheaded on 28 July declaring he died a faithful Catholic. The
people of England, especially the Catholic faction, were jubilant in his death.
(Weir, 2008, p. 433-434) „Cromwell’s fall also represented a victory for religious
orthodoxy, and drove many radical reformers underground“. (Weir, 2008, p. 435)

Two weeks later, on 24 June, Anne was sent from court to live at
Richmond, and on next day, their marriage was found to be invalid. She made no
protest, and in return, she gets the privilege to call herself the King’s sister, and she
would also be given manor houses, including Richmond. The marriage was
annulled on 9 July because of Anne’s pre-contract with the heir to the Duke of
Lorraine. (Weir, 2008, p. 435) Henry somehow expected more resistance from
Anne, as it happened with Katherine of Aragon, but it was obvious that she did not
love him. Still, he maintained that all her letters would go through royal channels
for he was feared that she might conspire with the Duke of Cleves against him.
(Kramer, 2012, p. 250-251) In order to please the King, Anne wrote to her brother
informing him she is happy in England and, „God willing, I purpose to live my life
in the realm“. (Lindsey, 1995, p. 157)

Anne had never remarry neither she had any children. Yet, she had
established a warm friendship with Henry’s daughters, but mostly with Elizabeth

40
who was her frequent guest at Richmond. Anne certainly ended up as the luckiest
of all Henry’s wives. (Weir, 1991, p. 427-429)

2.5 Katherine Howard

Henry and Katherine were secretly married on 28 July 1540, the same day
that Cromwel was beheaded. Couple of days later, the marriage was publicly
announced. Henry was infatuated with his new bride for he had showered her with
gifts or lands. It was said that „the King had no wife who made him spend so much
money in dresses and jewels as she did, and every day [she had] some fresh
caprice“. (L&P; CP, ed. Kaulek; cited from: Weir, 2008, p. 437) Whether Katherine
was elated with him is another matter since Henry was then forty-nine, and because
of his addiction to food and inactivity, vastly overweight as well. Despite his
obesity, he still hunted, rode, and dressed in gorgeous clothes. (ibid, p. 437)
According to Castillon: „He is a wonderful man and has wonderful people about
him, but he is an old fox“. (CP, ed. Kaulek; cited from: Weir, 2008, p. 438)
Katherine revealed herself as young and inexperienced with no concern with
political matters, and she did „nothing but dance and rejoice“. (CP, ed. Kaulek;
cited from: Weir, 2008, p. 440) She was neglected during her childhood as well as
her education, but she could read and write. (Weir, 2008, p. 440) Katherine was
never crowned as Queen because Henry wasted exorbitant money for the French
war or perhaps he wanted to wait until the marriage proves to be successful and she
would bore him a son. (Hanson, 2015)
Thanks to Katherine’s marriage, the Howards were once again dominated in
the court. The ascendancy of the conservative faction provoked jealousy of their
reformist enemies. On the other hand, neither faction could ever felt truly safe of
the King’s religious position since he was burning both Catholics and Protestants.
During these years, Henry was more politically active and concerned with
administrative matters than previous years. (Weir, 2008, p. 441-442)
On February, the ulcer on Henry’s leg had become “clogged“, causing him
fevers and extremely pain, and his doctors seriously feared for his life. He was
becoming more depressed, he snapped irritably at everyone, and accused his

41
 Councillors of being looked only to their own profits. He lamented the loss of
Cromwell and blamed his Councillors that „upon light pretext, by false accusations,
had made him put to death the most faithful servant he ever had“. (Weir, 2008, p.
449) Fortunately by the end of March, his health has improved and his leg was now
a little better. During April, Marillac observed that the Queen is thought to be with
child, but it was probably a false alarm, or she suffered a miscarriage. (ibid, p. 449-
450); even though Henry was visiting Katherine’s bad almost every night for the
first months of their marriage. Perhaps Henry was no longer capable of siring a
child. (Weir, 1991, p. 434)

In Yorkshire, people rebelled against the King’s religious policies. The

purpose of this rebellion, led by Sir John Neville, was to restore the old forms of
religion. Henry, feared that it would lead to plots for the reinstatement of the
Plantagenets, found it as a great excuse to eliminate another of the Plantagenet
relatives. One of them was Margaret Pole who had a valid claim on the throne but
she had never expressed any desire to occupy it. (Weir, 1991, p. 440) Nevertheless,
the Act of Attainder was passed, which was a way to punish or sentenced to death a
person, who was found guilty of treason, without even having a trial. 11 Thus,
Margaret was sent to the Tower, and even if she had nothing to do with the
rebellion, was sentenced to death. To make her death even worse, the executioner
was inexperienced due to which she was struck by an axe several times around her
head, neck and shoulders, before she mercifully died. (Weir, 1991, p. 441)

During that summer, the royal couple set out on the progress, mainly to
reinforce the authority in the areas of rebellion. During Henry’s illness, Katherine
begun an affair with Thomas Culpeper, and whilst on the progress, they secretly
met in Lady Rochford’s chamber who acted as a bawd. (Weir, 2008, p. 450-452)
Margaret Morton, who acted as a lookout, thought that „there was love between
them“. (L&P; cited from: Weir, 2008, p. 452) That same month, Katherine’s former
lover was appointed to her establishment, and perhaps under the threat of
blackmailing, he was in the capacity of her Private Secretary. (Weir, 2008, p. 452)
According to Rusell (2017), he claimed that if the King were to die, he would be

11
Available at: http://tudorhistory.org/glossaries/a/attainder.html

42
able to resume his relationship with Katherine, and reported, „I am sure I might
marry her“. (p. 301)

Around that time, a Protestant John Lasceless confided to Archbishop

Cranmer that he knew some things about the Queen’s promiscuous past. Cranmer,
who was also a secret Protestant, saw an opportunity to bring down the Queen and
all the Catholic faction. (Weir, 1991, p. 444) Dereham was taken to the Tower
where he admitted he had been pre-contracted with Katherine, which she
vehemently denied, although she confessed that she had intercourse with Dereham
on many occasions. Dereham denied such accusations asserting that Thomas
Culpeper „had succeeded him in the Queen’s affections“. (Weir, 2008, p. 454)
When Culpeper was arrested, he insisted that the affair with Katherine never
„passed beyond words“, and that Katherine was persuaded him that he had no
choice but to begin an affair with her, while Lady Rochford encouraged it and acted
as a bawd. (Weir, 2008, p. 455)
On November 14, Katherine was taken to Syon Abbey, and Lady Rochford
and Culpeper was sent to the Tower where she collapsed; her contemporaries
concluded that she had gone mad. Thanks to her condition, she could not legally
stand a trial, but Henry passed an Act making it lawful to execute an insane person;
hence, Lady Rochford was sent to the scaffold. Dereham and Culpeper were
beheaded on 10 December. (Weir, 2008, p. 455-458) „Their heads were set on
spikes on London Bridge, where they remained until at least 1546“. (Nicander
Nucius; cited from: Weir, 2008, p. 456)

Meanwhile in January 1542, the Parliament passed an Act which declared

that it was treason for an unchaste woman to marry the King without first revealing
her past. The same month, Act of Attainder condemned Katherine to death and was
taken to the Tower. (Weir, 2008, p. 457) A day before her execution, she asked for
an execution block to be brought to her room for she wished to „know how to place
herself“. (Hanson, 2015) Henry’s fifth wife was beheaded on February 13, 1542
and made a „most Godly and Christian end“. (Starkey, 2003, p. 684) Katherine was
buried near her cousin Anne Boleyn in the Chapel of St Peter and Vincula, which
was also called „the saddest spot on earth“. (Weir, 2008, p. 458)

43
2.6 Katherine Parr

The succession still remained a problem but Henry was not ready for a
marriage again, even though his health had improved. It was 18 months before the
King remarried. Meanwhile, he had paid more attention to the governing of his
realm. He was concentrated on finding possible matches for his daughters, or with
deteriorating relations with Scotland. In November, he sent a military force in order
to prevent Scottish army from crossing his northern border. On 24 November 1542,
James V’s army was defeated at Solway Moss. In December, the King received
another great news when he heard about the death of James V. His daughter, an
infant Mary became the Queen of Scots, and Henry wanted her as a bride for his
son Edward, and thus unites the two kingdoms under Tudor rule. Henry wasted no
time and sent his proposal to the Queen Regent. (Weir, 1991, p. 483-486) „On 1
July 1543, negotiations for the future marriage between Prince Edward and Mary,
Queen of Scots were concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Greenwich“.
(Weir, 1991, p. 493)
By February, Henry had begun interested in Katherine Parr. She was mature
and educated woman of thirty. Although she was not beautiful, she was kind,
generous, and intelligent for a woman of her time. Katherine had been married
twice but she had not produced any children from either marriage. (Weir, 2008, p.
461-462) Kramer (2012) pointed out that many historians argue that it was one of
the reasons why Henry chose to marry her since he himself was old and in ill
health, and she would be the perfect mask to hide Henry’s own inadequacies. (p.
289) Henry’s proposal did not appeal for she was fall in love with Sir Thomas
Seymour. However, she was „overruled by a higher power“, and the King had sent
Thomas on an embassy to Brussels. (Weir, 2008, p. 466)

Katherine’s religious views were radical, some might have found her she
was Protestant, and in these times, it was dangerous to have Lutheran opinions
since Gardiner ruthlessly seeking out heretics and traitors in order to discredit them.
In April, Gardiner accused Cranmer, representing Reformation, of heresy. (Weir,
2008, p. 463) With the King’s permission, he arrested and imprisoned him in the

44
Tower; however, Henry warned him of the plot telling him that „false knaves will
soon be procured to witness against you and condemn you“. (Scarisbrick, 1970, p.
481) Henry made it clear that he wanted to protect him from his enemies, and as a
token of his favours to him, he gave him his royal ring. (Scarisbrick, 1970, p. 481)
Katherine and Henry were married on 12 July, 1543. It was Henry’s sixth
marriage and quite astonishing, for one of his contemporaries wrote, „What a man
the King is! How many wives will he have“? (Kramer, 2012, p. 290) But it seemed
that they enjoyed a harmonious relationship, for she confided in a letter that this
marriage was „the greatest joy and comfort that could happen to her“. (Weir, 2008,
p. 468) Even Wriothesley admitted, „I am sure His Majesty never had a wife more
agreeable to his heart than she is“. (L&P; cited from: Weir, 2008, p. 468) Katherine
acted as a stepmother for all Henry‘s three children with whom they established
affectionate relations. (Weir, 2008, p. 472)

In February 1544, the Parliament passed Act which settled the succession on
Prince Edward and his heirs, and then on Lady Mary, Lady Elizabeth, and finally
on the heirs of Henry’s sister, the late Mary Tudor. In the same time, the relations
between England and France had deteriorated to such an extent that it resulted into
war, and Henry was preparing for the invasion of France (Weir, 2008, p. 477) He
left Katherine to keep an order in the country. As a proof of his faith in Katherine,
Henry named her regent, which was a role held by only one other of the king’s
wives, Catherine of Aragon. (Johnson) Henry’s success came on 14 September
1544, when his forces captured Boulogne, and when he returned home in October
of 1545, he was welcomed like a hero by his Queen and court. (Kramer, 2012, p.
295-297)

By December 1546, Henry’s health had deteriorated, and according to

Henry’s physicians he was „in great danger“, and „very ill“. „His leg was agony,
and he was running a high temperature“. (Weir, 1991, p. 526) „What killed Henry
VIII was probably a clot detaching itself from the thrombosed vein in his leg, and
causing a pulmonary embolism“. (Weir, 1991, p. 527) Henry died on January 28,
1547, and before he passed away, he reflected that „the mercy of Christ [is] able to

45
 pardon me all my sins, though they were greater than they be“. 12 Henry was buried
on February 16 next to his „true and loving Wife Queen Jane“. (Kramer, 2012, p.
313)

3 MEDICAL EXPLANATION

Henry, who had ruled England for 36 years, is popularly remembered as a

fat, covetous womanizer; further, for his dispute with the Catholic Church which led
to the English Reformation, and creation of the Church of England. However, this
image is only half of the story and most of the significant mysteries about his
extraordinary life lie in the unanswered questions. (Kramer, 2012, p. 15-17)
„Among a long list of personality quirks and historical drama, Henry VIII is
known for the development of health problems in mid-life and series of miscarriages
for two of his wives“, (DNEWS) which has attracted many medical diagnostic
theories especially for his mental decline and the lack of heirs. (Stride & Floro, 2013)
„As a young man, he was fit and healthy. By the time of his death, the King
weighed close to 400 pounds. He had leg ulcers, muscle weakness, and, according to
some accounts, a significant personality switch in the middle age towards paranoia,
anxiety, depression and mental declaration“. (DNEWS, 2011)
Kramer (2012): As regards to Henry’s personality, it radically changed after
his fortieth birthday and from once being reasonable and affable man became a
tyrannical madman. Plenty of historians have offered numerous theories which could
explain these mysteries dealing with Henry’s health problems. (p. 18)

3.1 Syphilis

One of the multiple theories that circulated about him, and could probably
explain his reproductive problems and his tyrannical behaviour, is a syphilis, or how
Tudor doctors called it „the great pox“. (Grueninger, 2010)

12
Encyclopedia of World Biography: “Henry VIII“. http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/british-
and-irish-history-biographies/henry-viii (cited on: 3.4 2017, 19:20 CEST)

46
 Nonetheless according to Kramer (2012), „for syphilis to have affected
Henry’s first wife’s pregnancies, the King would already have had to be infected by
1509, at the latest. He died in 1547. This means he would have had syphilis for more
than 30 years. Symptoms of the tertiary, or the late stage, of syphilis present
themselves between 15-30 years after contracting the disease“. (p. 12) Besides, none
of Henry’s surviving offspring showed signs of congenital or tertiary syphilis, and it
could be argued that those infants survived because the women had not contracted
the syphilis from the King. Hence the scientific evidence that Henry was not infected
with syphilis is undeniable. (Kramer, 2012, p. 12-14)

3.2 Brain injury

Another possible theory, according to research by a Yale University expert

in cognitive neurology, is that „Henry may have suffered repeated traumatic brain
injuries similar to those experienced by football players and others who receive
repeated blows to the head“. (Hathaway, 2016)
This theory attempts to explain Henry’s puzzling personality shift from
young renaissance king, to a petty, ruthless and whimsical tyrant. (Sanders, 2016)
Moreover, a team of US researchers at Yale Memory Clinic claim that this „would
explain Henry’s explosive anger, headaches, insomnia, memory problems, inability
to control impulses, and even impotence“. (Masson, 2016) This traumatic brain
injury probably sustained from several jousting tournaments that occurred during his
30s, between the 1520s and 1530s; however, the most notable injury occurred in
January 1536, (ibid) when 44-year-old Henry, in full armour, was thrown from his
horse which then fell on top of him, causing him unconsciousness for two hours.
Even only five minutes of being unconscious is considered to be a major trauma
today. (McCarthy, 2009)

47
 According to the History Channel documentary Inside the Body of Henry
VIII, „[...]although he recovered, the incident, which ended his jousting career,
aggravated serious leg problems which plagued him for the rest of his life, and may
have caused an undetected brain injury which profoundly affected his personality“.
(McCarthy, 2009) After Anne Boleyn received terrible news, it caused her to
miscarriage the male child she was expecting, and immediately after that Henry
turned against her; and further, by less than six months she had been executed and
Henry had married to Jane Seymour. (ibid)
Historians also agree that Henry’s behaviour radically changed after 1536
since he started to be forgetful and impulsive in decisions. (Hathaway, 2016)
Moreover, several ambassadors noted his unpredictability as he was often furious,
for reasons not immediately obvious, to his ministers or advisers. (Cohen, 2011) For
instance, in 1546 he was assuring his sixth wife Catherine Parr that she would not go
to the Tower of London. When soldiers arrived to arrest her, he was furious against
them, apparently having forgotten that he had given that order the day before.
(Hathaway, 2016)

In addition, many researches claim that Henry actually may have suffered a
brain injury which could affect his whole personality. An expert Lucy Worsley says
„we posit that his jousting accident of 1536 provides the explanation for his
personality change from sporty, promising, generous young prince, to cruel, paranoid
and vicious tyrant. From that date the turnover of the wives really speeds up, and
people begin to talk about him in quite a new and negative way“. (McCarthy, 2009)
Furthermore, Dr Worsley says „damage to the frontal lobe of the brain can perfectly
well result in personality change“. (ibid)

After all, any other ailments attributed to Henry such as syphilis or diabetes
seem to be less convenient because the traumatic brain injury best explains most of
his behavioural abnormalities. (Hathaway, 2016)
According to Kramer (2012) on the other hand, Henry was already
exhibiting signs of mental change before 1536 since he was becoming more irascible
in 1532, and from 1535 he began executing a great number of people even though
many victims were among his family members or closest friends. (p. 144-145)

48
3.3 The leg pain

Nevertheless, how fascinating the analysis about brain injury is, there is
another speculation that could explain Henry’s erratic behaviour. First of all, the
contemporary accounts about Henry’s joust tournament in 1536 seem to be not
accurate because the idea about the King’s being unconsciousness for two hours
comes from a report by a foreign ambassador who was not even in the country when
the accident happened; further, none of the witnesses notice anything of that kind.
(Masson, 2016)
On the other hand, what is certain is that after the accident Henry had
suffered a nasty injury to his leg which later it was causing him an extremely pain,
and from that moment Henry was unable to take regular exercises, thus he rapidly
gained weight and became more irascible. (ibid) „His mood would hardly have been
improved by the knowledge that he was no longer the sporting ‘adonis’ that he had
been for the first 20 years or more of his reign“. (ibid)
By 1541, Henry had gained 17 inches around his waist, so that his waist was
now 50 inches, and one contemporary observed that “the King was so stout that such
a man has never been seen. Three of the biggest men that could be found could get
inside his doublet“. (Cohen, 2011) „The fact that the King was in the constant,
worsening pain from that time forward is enough to account for his increasingly foul
temper“. (Masson, 2016) Besides, the symptoms such as depression, insomnia or
impotence could be explained by the pain that Henry suffered, as well as his
overweight (because of the lack of exercise); therefore, it does not prove that he had
sustained a brain injury nor that he suffered from frequent memory loss. (Masson,
2016)

Such as in the example above, it claims that Henry gave a warrant for the
arrest his wife Katherine Parr, but then he had forgotten about it and got furious to
his councillors. „In fact, the warrant was part of a conspiracy led by the queen’s
enemy, Stephen Gardiner, and Henry knew nothing about it until Katherine ran to
him, pleading for her life“. (ibid)

49
 „Henry’s increasingly irascible behaviour can therefore be explained by the
pain and frustration that he suffered after 1536“. (Masson, 2016) Although, it is
possible that the signs of his despotic behaviour may have been evident since his
childhood when he had been raised as a spoil “spare heir“. (ibid)

All in all, even though the theories about brain injury and leg pain provide
an explanation, each of them have flaws because they inadequately explain the
King’s reproductive issues since Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn had suffered
multiple miscarriages. (DNEWS, 2011)

3.4 Kell antigen and McLeod syndrome

Another mysterious question about Henry VIII is concerning with his

reproductive problems or whether if he was just unfortunate to marry several women
who all had compromised fertility. (Kramer, 2012, p. 18-19) Despite having six
wives and two confirmed mistresses, Henry VIII had only one legitimate son, and
one being born outside of marriage, and two legitimate daughters. (Bilyeau, 2014)

In order to explain those patterns, bioarcheologist Catrina Banks Whitley

and anthropologist Kyra Kramer show that Henry’s blood type might have belonged
to a rare blood group, called Kell positive which could cause the numerous
miscarriages suffered by Henry’s wives as well as may explain his midlife physical
and psychological deterioration. (Southern Methodist University, 2011) „Only 9
percent of the Caucasian population belongs to this group“. (DNEWS, 2011)

„A person whose blood is Kell positive has an additional antigen on the

surface of their red blood cells“. (Kramer, 2012, p. 20) Often it does not cause any
significant trouble, although sometimes it can have serious consequences, just like
the problems which affected Henry’s health, because it was probably the reason why
he had such difficulty conceiving heirs. (ibid) „Considering the fact that the King’s
first two wives had at least eleven, and possibly thirteen or more, pregnancies, and
the fact that he impregnated his third wife and one of his mistresses, it is obvious that

50
fertility was not Henry’s problem. Fetal and newborn mortality were the crux of his
reproductive troubles, not an inability to get women pregnant“. (Kramer, 2012, p. 21)

Furthermore, in Tudor era repeated stillbirths and neonatal deaths were

uncommon, thus it seems that Henry was the source of their problems. (Kramer,
2012, p. 146) Hence, the researchers suggest that Henry’s blood carried the Kell
antigen while none of his sexual partners did, and as a result it was making them
poor reproductive matches causing the obstetrical losses suffered by Henry’s first
two Queens. (Cohen, 2011) A Kell negative woman and Kell positive man can
produce a healthy Kell positive baby in a first pregnancy. „When a Kell positive man
impregnates a Kell negative woman, there is a 50 percent chance of provoking an
immune response in the woman’s body that attacks her developing fetus“. (DNEWS,
2011) But as Kramer (2012) stated, the first pregnancy is usually safe and they can
produced a healthy Kell positive baby since the woman’s body needs at least one
Kell positive pregnancy until her body becomes “allergic“ to fetus. (p. 21)

Notwithstanding, in subsequent pregnancies, the antibodies that mother

produced during the first pregnancy can cross the placenta and attack a Kell positive
fetus which can increased the risk of suffering from late-term miscarriage, stillbirth
or the death of her newborns shortly after they are delivered. (Cohen, 2011) This is
exactly what happened to Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn who had more than
one pregnancy with Henry VIII. Yet as for Katherine, the hypothesis of Kell antigen
is not supportive since in her first pregnancy produced stillborn female and the only
child who survived, Mary, was produced in the fifth pregnancy. However it is rightly
suggested that she may have inherited the recessive Kell negative gene from her
father and making her immune to her mother’s antibodies, unlike her Kell positive
siblings. The latest diagnoses argue that the coexistence of Kell blood group might
be possibly inherited from Jacquetta Woodville, Henry’s maternal great
grandmother. (Stride & Floro, 2013) Whitley and Kramer also explain, that „the
pattern of reproductive failure among Jacquetta’s male descendants, while the
females were generally reproductively successful, suggests the genetic presence of
the Kell phenotype within the family“. (Cohen, 2011)

51
 In addition to Henry’s problematic blood type, the researchers theorizing
that Henry suffered a rare genetic disorder called McLeod syndrome, discovered in
1961, which generally affects only men and it usually sets around the age 40 when
physical and psychological symptoms appear and increase in time including muscle
weakness, memory loss, paranoia, impulsivity as well as schizophrenia-like
behaviour. (Bilyeau, 2014)

Given the above, if Henry suffered from McLeod syndrome, it would finally
explain why his personality markedly changed and has become paranoiac and
despotic after he turned 40 because descriptions of middle-aged Henry indicate that
he suffered many, if not all, of the physical and psychological symptoms associated
with McLeod theory. (Southern Methodist University, 2011)
Henry found it increasingly difficult to walk as he grew older. It was said he
had the „worst legs in the world“, and he was often wheeled around in a „tram“, or
traveling chair. (Erickson, 1980, p. 360) Additionally, it could be a result of McLeod
syndrome because a patient with this illness often endures muscle weakness or nerve
deterioration. (Wada et al., 2003)

On the other hand, we must consider the fact that Henry had other health
problems which could have affected his lack of mobility such as osteomyelitis, a
chronic bone infection, which causes pain when walking, or his vastly overweight;
hence, his excessive bulk could be also one of the consequences of his lack of
mobility. (Kramer, 2012, p. 23) Furthermore, „records do not indicate whether Henry
displayed other physical signs of McLeod syndrome, such as sustained muscle
contractions (tics, cramps or spasms) or an abnormal increase in muscle activity such
as twitching or hyperactivity“. (Southern Methodist University, 2011)
To complicate the issue, Kramer (2012) reported that there is a strong
evidence of the inconsistency of symptoms associated to McLeod syndrome which
means that one patient may have noticeable facial tics while another patient may
have not. (p. 24)

Considering all these facts, it is questionable whether Henry actually

suffered from McLeod syndrome because historical records do not provide all the
symptoms needed for analysing his condition, thence it is difficult to confirm how

52
many symptoms associated with McLeod syndrome Henry displayed. (Kramer,
2012, p. 23) Additionally, Kramer (2012) argues that there is a reasonable possibility
of having a Kell positive blood type and McLeod syndrome which could explain
both his difficulty in producing an heir as well as his psychological alteration after
the age of forty; however, it is doubtful that they can be blamed for everything that
went wrong with Henry. For instance, it probably did not cause his leg ulcers, which
are most likely the result of osteomyelitis, mentioned above, since it has nothing to
do with his blood type. (p. 171) Moreover, without any genetic evidence there is no
way to know with certainty whether these hypotheses are true. (DNEWS, 2011)
Likewise, Kramer (2012) noted „thus, if Henry’s body were exhumed for analysis, a
DNA test could prove, beyond doubt, if the King had Kell positive blood and
McLeod syndrome“. (p. 32)

To conclude, the idea of having McLeod‘s syndrome or brain damage is an

important one because it proves that Henry became a slaughtering tyrant only for
being a victim of his own illness. (Kramer, 2017)

53
CONCLUSION

The aim of this bachelor thesis was to describe Henry’s tumultuous life and
his reign. Further, to discover whether there could be a medical explanation for
Henry’s descent into tyranny.
After more than 500 years when Henry VIII first ascended the throne, his
charisma still has the power to intrigue many scholars and historians. We can look
and talk about Henry’s life before 1536 and after 1536, since the events which
occurred after 1536 are markedly different from the early years of his reign. We can
assume that despite having such notorious reputation, his contemporaries did not
view him in that light since they praised his talent and qualities, and they saw him as
someone more than a human. At the beginning of his reign, he enjoyed the reputation
of „most accomplished prince“, and he was happily married to Katherine Aragon.
Yet, no one could have predict that he would fall in love with Anne Boleyn and
move heaven and earth to get the annulment of his previous marriage from the Pope.
When he died, his reputation of a true Renaissance prince was gone, and instead,
people were to call him as an overweight and tyrannical womanizer.
It is hard to cover Henry’s life into one thesis since there are hundreds of
books written about him and many things are not being told here, but I wanted to
focus on the most important events in his life, depict his positive and negative sides,
and provide reasons of his personality’s deterioration, which I found really
fascinating.
Many people think about Henry only as a ruthless king who killed two of
his six wives and yearned to have a male heir. For instance, Anne’s execution was a
tragic consequence of Henry’s profound concern about the continuation of the Tudor
dynasty. But still, they do not realize that at the beginning of his reign, his younger
self was complete opposite of how he is portrayed today. Further, they do not
consider the fact that there could be a medical explanation for his mental decline.
Many scholars and historians write various books focusing mostly on his
life, wives and political career, because still, there are some who argue that Henry’s
personality changed because he simply grew older and was more aware of his power,
and only few of them are concentrated on what is behind the tyranny of Henry VIII.

54
 In my thesis, I covered all those things, but also I wanted to go deeper and I
was trying to analyse Henry’s behaviour as well as his reproductive issues using
selected sources that provide these explanations. One of them was Blood Will Tell
(2012) by Kyra Cornelius Kramer.
My thesis presented various hypotheses, one of them is syphilis, but it
turned out to be a false one, and still, regardless of the fact that it is not true, it keeps
resurfacing and still being discussed as a matter of the fact. The scientific fact is,
however, incontrovertible. Another theories discussed in my thesis were leg pain and
brain damage, which perfectly provided an explanation for Henry’s mental
deterioration. However, none of these explain Henry’s failure to produce a male heir.
It seems that the blood type, which he inherited from his ancestors, might be
the key to his problems. It is very plausible that Henry’s blood type was Kell
positive, which can sufficiently explain his difficulty of siring heirs. Moreover, if he
was Kell positive, than it is possible that he developed McLeod syndrome, the
symptoms of which begin around fortieth birthday, and could explain both physical
and psychological problems of Henry, since he became physically weaker and
mentally unstable. As I have mentioned it above, the possibility that Henry had both
problems causing his mental degeneration to become a murderous tyrant cannot be
explained without DNA analysis, which could clarify the situation and terminate the
debate. Having said that, the possibility of having Kell antigen and McLeod
syndrome is important and very convincing, and it would be a proof that Henry
became a tyrannical madman due to his own illness.
Most people, who study history, often do not account the mental or medical
history of the subjects, which it turned out to be an important factor that determined
who they were and why they did the things they did. And this exactly happened to
Henry as well. Even though the theory about Kell antigen and McLeod syndrome is
still not confirmed, it is unfair that most people let him continue to be remembered,
as a psychopathic despot when in fact he was also a virtuous man and a good
monarch. It is a shame that Henry is remembered not for the lives he spared before
he was thirty-nine, but rather for the lives he took after he reached his forties, and
whatever happened to him, it would be appalling were Henry to remain condemned
for behaviour he could not control. But whatever the consequences of his erratic
behaviour are, it is beyond doubt that Henry still remains one of the most famous
kings in English history.

55
RESUMÉ

Henrich VIII., druhý panovník z rodu Tudorovcov, je jedným

z najvýznamnejších panovníkov anglickej histórie. Henrich sa dostal do povedomia
ľudí predovšetkým svojimi šiestimi manželstvami a odlukou anglickej cirkvi od
Ríma. Henrich VIII je vyobrazený ako tyran, a to najmä kvôli náhlej zmene
osobnosti po dovŕšení štyridsiatich rokov. Henrich VIII. sa stal predmetom verejného
záujmu a jeho život a vláda sú zobrazované v mnohých hrách, literatúre či televízii.
Mňa osobne začal Henrichov život zaujímať pred pár rokmi, keď sa v televízii
objavil seriál Tudorovci (2007), preto som veľmi rada, že som dostala príležitosť
písať prácu práve o ňom, nakoľko ma jeho život fascinuje a taktiež som sa dozvedela
aj množstvo zaujímavých informácií, ktoré som o ňom doposiaľ nevedela.
Cieľom mojej bakalárskej práce bolo predstaviť život a panovanie Henricha
VIII, a zistiť či existuje nejaké lekárske vysvetlenie, ktoré by mohlo objasniť
Henrichove reprodukčné problémy a prudkú zmenu správania. Aby sme mohli plne
porozumieť jeho pohnútkam, treba vziať do úvahy jeho osobnosť a manželky, ktoré
ho do istej miery ovplyvňovali.
O Henrichovom živote bolo popísaných množstvo kníh, no väčšina
historikov sa zameriava na jeho život, vládu, manželky a politickú kariéru, no len
málo z nich sa snaží prísť na to, čo sa skrýva za tyraniou Henricha VIII.
Bakalárska práca je rozdelená do troch kapitol. Prvá kapitola sa venuje
Henrichovmu ranému detstvu, mladosti a jeho úspechom. Henrich sa narodil 28. júna
1491 v greenwichskom paláci ako tretie dieťa Henricha VII. a Alžbety z Yorku. Už
ako dieťa bol nadaný, vzdelaný a oplýval veľkým talentom pre hudbu či tanec. Na
začiatku svojej vlády sa tešil povesti najdokonalejšieho princa. Henrich bol vo
svojom srdci pravý katolík a obranca rímskej cirkvi, čo dokazuje jeho polemika
z roku 1521 nazvaná Obrana siedmich sviatostí, kde útočí na učenie Martina
Luthera, za ktorú mu pápež udelil titul Fidei Defensor (Obranca viery). Paradoxom
je, že o niekoľko rokov neskôr sa otočil chrbtom Rímu a pápežovi, a vyhlásil sa za
hlavu anglikánskej cirkvi .
Druhá kapitola bakalárskej práce, keďže je písaná v chronologickom
formáte, opisuje Henrichove manželstvá, rovnako ako aj politickú situáciu počas
jeho vládnutia, vrátane anglickej reformácie. Nakoľko Henrich nebol prvorodený

56
syn, nebol predurčený stať sa kráľom, avšak smrť jeho staršieho brata, ktorý
podľahol vážnej chorobe, posunula všetky povinnosti na Henricha. Artur bol ženatý
s Katarínou Aragónskou, španielskou princeznou, a keďže jeho otec nechcel prísť o
spojenectvo so Španielskom, navrhol zosobášiť Katarínu s Henrichom. Katarína
prisahala, že manželstvo s Arturom nebolo naplnené, a tak pápež udelil povolenie na
sobáš. Spočiatku ich manželstvo vyzeralo byť ideálne, no postupom času začal byť
Henrich netrpezlivý, pretože Katarína mu nedokázala priviesť na svet syna, porodila
mu len jednu dcéru, princeznú Máriu.
Henrichova túžba mať syna a fakt, že sa zaľúbil do Anny Boleynovej,
prispela k tomu, že Henrich dospel k rozhodnutiu anulovať manželstvo s Katarínou.
Trvalo celých sedem rokov, kým sa Henrich a Anna zosobášili. Nakoľko pápež
zamietol anulovať jeho manželstvo s Katarínou, Henrich prerušil vzťahy s Rímom
a vyhlásil pápeža za kacíra. Následne na to sa v Anglicku schválil The Act of
Supremacy, teda Zákon o zvrchovanosti, ktorý uzákoňoval, že kráľ Henrich VIII. je
najvyššou hlavou cirkvi v krajine. Manželstvo s Annou bolo Zákonom
o nástupníctve (Act of Succession) vyhlásené za právoplatné a jej deti za legitímne.
Všetci v kráľovstve museli zložiť sľub a uznať tento zákon, a tí ktorí odmietli, boli
potrestaní smrťou. Henrichove manželstvo s Annou však vydržalo len necelé tri
roky, nakoľko ani ona mu nebola schopná porodiť syna, iba dcéru Alžbetu. Anna
bola obvinená z cudzoložstva a velezrady, aj keď dôkazy neboli presvedčivé, a 19.
mája 1536 bola popravená.
Len pár dní po Anninej smrti sa Henrich oženil s Janou Seymourovou, ktorá
mu o pár mesiacov na to porodila vytúženého syna, princa Eduarda. Jej pôrod bol
však komplikovaný a o pár dní neskôr zomrela na následky infekcie.
Vzhľadom na to, že Henrich mal len jedného syna a potreboval zaistiť
nástupníctvo, rozhodol sa oženiť po štvrtýkrát. Zosobášil sa s protestantskou Annou
Klévskou, aj napriek jej vzhľadu, ktorý ho odpudzoval. Anna sa snažila zo všetkých
síl potešiť Henricha, on však hľadal spôsob ako manželstvo čo najrýchlejšie
anulovať. Anna bola nútená opustiť kráľovský dvor a Henrich ju požiadal, aby
súhlasila s anulovaním manželstva. Anna bola natoľko inteligentná a neprotestovala,
a ako vďaka za jej ochotnú spoluprácu, dostala právo nazývať sa “kráľova sestra“.
Už v čase manželstva s Annou sa Henrich zahľadel do mladej Kataríny
Howardovej, s ktorou sa krátko na to oženil. Kráľ bol spočiatku Katarínou
uchvátený, no keď vyšli na povrch jej milenecké vzťahy pred aj v čase sobáša

57
s Henrichom, bola obvinená s cudzoložstva a stihol ju rovnaký osud ako jej
sesternicu Annu Boleynovu.
Aj napriek pokročilému veku a zhoršujúcemu sa zdraviu sa Henrich oženil
po šiestykrát, jeho ženou sa stala Katarína Parrová, ktorú si vzal v roku 1543.
Manželstvo s Katarínou bolo veľmi harmonické, aj napriek odlišnému
náboženskému vyznaniu, čo ju takmer stálo život. Pomohla zlepšiť Henrichov vzťah
s jeho dvoma dcérami a navrátiť im právo na trón, v prípade, že ich brat Eduard
zomrie. Henrichov zdravotný stav sa zhoršoval. Rana, ktorú mal na nohe sa mu
zapálila a spôsobovala mu veľké bolesti a horúčky. Henrich zomrel vo veku 56
rokov 28. januára 1547 vo Whitehallskom palác na následky pľúcnej embólie, ktorú
mu spôsobila zrazenina v nohe.
Posledná kapitola sa venuje analýze Henrichovho zdravia, nakoľko mnoho
historikov a vedcov skúma jeho zmenu správania a jeho problém s počatím
mužského potomka. Niektorí tento problém pripisujú tomu, že Henrich mal syfilis,
ale táto teória sa neskôr vyvrátila, pretože Henrich ani jeho manželky nepreukázali
žiadne symptómy terciárneho syfilisu. Ďalšou z možností je poranenie mozgu, ktoré
Henrich zrejme utrpel počas rytierskeho turnaja v januári 1536, keď ako 44-ročný
v plnej zbroji spadol z koňa na zem, a následne kôň spadol na neho. Henrich bol
v bezvedomí po dobu dvoch hodín. Historici sa zhodujú na tom, že Henrichove
správanie sa radikálne zmenilo po roku 1536, pretože začal byť zábudlivý
a impulzívny. Doktor Worsley navyše tvrdí, že poškodenie čelového laloku v mozgu
môže spôsobiť zmenu správania a osobnosti. Jednou z ďalších hypotéz je bolesť
v nohe, ktorá Henrichovi spôsobovala značné ťažkosti pri chôdzi. Skutočnosť, že
Henrich trpel neustálymi bolesťami mohli zapríčiniť jeho zlú náladu. Okrem toho
depresia alebo nespavosť mohli byť zapríčinené práve touto bolesťou, rovnako ako aj
jeho nadváha (z dôvodu nedostatku pohybu). Obe teórie objasňujú Henrichove
nestále správanie, no ani jedna z nich dostatočne nevysvetľuje jeho reprodukčné
problémy.
Bioarcheologička Catrine Banks Whitley a antropologička Kyra Kramer sa
domnievajú, že v pozadí reprodukčných problémov Henricha VIII mohla byť
nezlučiteľnosť krvných skupín Henricha a jeho manželiek. Ich početné potraty sa
pripisujú tomu, že Henrichova krv obsahovala tzv. Kellov antigén, ktorí
pravdepodobne do rodiny priniesla Jaquetta Luxemburská, Henrichova stará mama
z matkinej strany. Kell-negatívna žena pri prvom počatí s Kell-negatívnym mužom

58
môže priviesť na svet zdravé dieťa, no následné počatia sa vždy skončia
samovoľným potratom, pretože protilátky, ktoré žena vyprodukuje počas prvého
tehotenstva, napadajú plody počas ďalších tehotenstiev. Takto možno vysvetliť
potraty Kataríny Aragónskej a Anny Boleynovej.
Whitley a Kramer dodávajú, že pokiaľ Henrichova krv obsahovala Kellov
antigén, panovník navyše trpel tzv. McLeodovým syndrómom. Ide o genetickú
poruchu, ktorá je typická pre Kellovu krvnú skupinu a zvyčajne postihuje mužov vo
veku štyridsiatich rokov, kedy sa objavujú prvé príznaky, napríklad strata pamäti,
paranoja, schizofrénia či impulzivita. Whitley a Kramer konštatujú, že Kellov
antigén a McLeodov syndróm najlepšie zodpovedajú vývoju zdravotného stavu
Henricha VIII., avšak bez genetického dôkazu nemôžeme s istotou potvrdiť túto
teóriu.
Cieľom tejto práce bolo poukázať na Henrichove pozitívne i negatívne
stránky, objasniť dôvody jeho správania a zistiť či pre ne existuje nejaké vysvetlenie.
A hoci teória o Kellovom antigéne a McLeodovom syndróme nie je zatiaľ potvrdená,
je veľmi reálna a presvedčujúca, a preto je nespravodlivé, že väčšina ľudí si naďalej
pamätá Henricha ako despotického tyrana, aj keď v skutočnosti bol taktiež
spravodlivý, cnostný a dobrý panovník. Ľudia by nemali zabúdať aj na jeho svetlé
stránky, a nech už za jeho konaním stálo čokoľvek, bolo by smutné pokiaľ by sme
Henricha odsudzovali za správanie, ktoré nemohol kontrolovať. No bez ohľadu na
následky jeho nevyspytateľného správania je nepochybné, že Henrich VIII naďalej
zostane jedným z najznámejších panovníkov anglickej histórie.

59
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