Posted on 01/28/2018 9:43:51 AM PST by beaversmom
1
Henry VIII was slim and athletic for most of his life
At six feet two inches tall, Henry VIII stood head and shoulders above most of his court. He had an athletic physique and excelled at sports, regularly showing off his prowess in the jousting arena.
Having inherited the good looks of his grandfather, Edward IV, in 1515 Henry was described as “the handsomest potentate I have ever set eyes on…” and later an “Adonis”, “with an extremely fine calf to his leg, his complexion very fair…and a round face so very beautiful, that it would become a pretty woman”.
All this changed in 1536 when the king – then in his mid-forties – suffered a serious wound to his leg while jousting. This never properly healed, and instead turned ulcerous, which left Henry increasingly incapacitated.
Four years later, the king’s waist had grown from a trim 32 inches to an enormous 52 inches. By the time of his death, he had to be winched onto his horse. It is this image of the corpulent Henry VIII that has obscured the impressive figure that he cut for most of his life.
2
Henry VIII was a tidy eater
Despite the popular image of Henry VIII throwing a chicken leg over his shoulder as he devoured one of his many feasts, he was in fact a fastidious eater. Only on special occasions, such as a visit from a foreign dignitary, did he stage banquets.
Most of the time, Henry preferred to dine in his private apartments. He would take care to wash his hands before, during and after each meal, and would follow a strict order of ceremony.
Seated beneath a canopy and surrounded by senior court officers, he was served on bended knee and presented with several different dishes to choose from at each course.
3
Henry was a bit of a prude
England’s most-married monarch has a reputation as a ladies’ man – for obvious reasons. As well as his six wives, he kept several mistresses and fathered at least one child by them.
But the evidence suggests that, behind closed doors, he was no lothario. When he finally persuaded Anne Boleyn to become his mistress in body as well as in name, he was shocked by the sexual knowledge that she seemed to possess, and later confided that he believed she had been no virgin.
When she failed to give him a son, he plumped for the innocent and unsullied Jane Seymour instead.
4
Henry’s chief minister liked to party
Although often represented as a ruthless henchman, Thomas Cromwell was in fact one of the most fun-loving members of the court. His parties were legendary, and he would spend lavish sums on entertaining his guests – he once paid a tailor £4,000 to make an elaborate costume that he could wear in a masque to amuse the king.
Cromwell also kept a cage of canary birds at his house, as well as an animal described as a “strange beast”, which he gave to the king as a present.
5
Henry VIII sent more men and women to their deaths than any other monarch
During the later years of Henry’s reign, as he grew ever more paranoid and bad-tempered, the Tower of London was crowded with the terrified subjects who had been imprisoned at his orders.
One of the most brutal executions was that of the aged Margaret de la Pole, Countess of Salisbury. The 67-year-old countess was woken early on the morning of 27 May 1541 and told to prepare for death.
Although initially composed, when Margaret was told to place her head on the block, her self-control deserted her and she tried to escape. Her captors were forced to pinion her to the block, where the amateur executioner hacked at the poor woman’s head and neck, eventually severing them after the eleventh blow.
His daughter turned out to be almost as bad as him!
Which one - had two
Mary (Bloody Mary) a Catholic fanatic
or
Elizabeth a protestant fanatic
Elizabeth I wasn’t much better than Mary. Her target was priests and Catholic worshippers.
Thanks. I’ve read that account. Very gross.
Bloody Mary. She was portrayed in a very sympathetic light in Tudors, so it’s a bit of a shock then how she turned out.
If I recall, Tudors set some records for programming. And for good reason, it’s was excellent.
ROFL!
How funny! lol
At least Liz the First wasn’t paranoid. The Catholics really were out to get her.
Did either of Tudor women have children?
Killing Margaret de la Pole was his biggest atrocity
She was old and then last Plantagenet
Plus his dad had unjustly held and executed her touched little brother
Henry was not his dad who I think was a better king
Actually Parliament petitioned the Duke of Gloucester to become King rather than have them go through another child king which had led to disaster in the past. Also, the Bishop, Robert Stillington, showed up on the doorstep to reveal that Edward was not married to Elizabeth Woodville since he had married another lady years before. This, actually, was a common ploy of Edward’s. He was known to have slept with half the women of England. In fact, he bears an uncommon resemblance to Mr. Bill Clinton who also used ruses to get his BJs. Lastly, who says the kids were murdered? No evidence. The German diplomat, Von Poppelau said they were alive as late as 1485 - several months before Richard 3 himself died.
Anyone who thinks The Duke, appointed by his brother as Protector of the Realm in case of his death, had an easy or happy time of it in the spring of 1483, does not know the full story. I recommend historians John Ashdown-Hill and my pal, Stephen Lark, for the full story.
C, C++, C#, Java, or FORTRAN?
These old dead white guys remind me of the Clintons.
Your summary is quite enough. Thank you for putting in the work for us. [;^)
THAT... almost made me throw up.
You need to recommend a good history of all that stuff.
Yup! By executing anyone with brains and the ability to lead (not just royalty) they insured that France would go from the most powerful force in Europe, both militarily and scientifically, to a bunch of cheese eating surrender monkeys who could only win when led/rescued by foreigners...
Except these days they can't wait to surrender to the caliphate.
I am SO clicking on that link. Gross!
And the Tudors destroyed the evidence that supported Parliament’s move to make Richard king.
I have to admit a certain fascination with Richard III - he may be the most maligned monarch in British history.
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