10 Things You Need to Stop Believing About Henry VIII
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- Think you know everything about Henry VIII? Think again! From the number of wives he had to whether he was a bed-hopping tyrant, there are so many myths surrounding this infamous Tudor king.
In this video, I bust some of the biggest misconceptions about Henry VIII and reveal the truth behind the legend. Was he really a monster? Did he write "Greensleeves"? And what's the real story behind that "Flanders Mare" insult?
Get ready to challenge everything you thought you knew!
Video on Henry VIII and syphilis - • Did Henry VIII Really ...
#HenryVIII #TudorHistory #MythBusting #HistoryUncovered #TudorSecrets
I wish somebody would put together an exhibition of the likenesses of Henry taken during his lifetime in chronological order so we can see which version each wife had.
That would be very interesting 🤔
That's what I thought too
Very good idea.
And now I've got this song going through my head ...
I'm Henry the eighth, I am
Henry the eighth, I am, I am
I got married to the widow next door
She's been married seven times before
And every one was an Henry (Henry)
She wouldn't have a Willy or a Sam (no Sam)
I'm her eighth old man, I'm Henry
Henry the eighth, I am
Second verse, same as the first.
I immediately thought of that song as well--lol. It may have contributed to some of the confusion about how many wives Henry VIII had--at least among folks who remember the song!
Same!! That was the first thing I thought of when the eight wives idea was mentioned! 😂
You are spelling his name wrong. It is Enery. 👑
@@h.calvert3165 I stand corrected 😂
Earlier today, HistoryCalling posted “10 Good Things about Henry VIII”, and now your post is like the next followup chapter! It’s a good day. 😁
Yes I am a subscriber of her as well and I not too long ago got done watching the video. While my view of him is still that he is a terrible person which he was he had some good qualities and we should look at everything about him and not just the bad.
Also kist listened to that one ❤
Must be Henry VIII day on RUclips.
@@akaLaBrujaRoja I thought that too 😁
Never been a fan of Henry, too selfish and up his own backside. Was disgusting towards Anne, she didn't deserve her end.
I’ve encountered, more than once, the belief that Henry had all of his wives beheaded, like some sort of Tudor serial killer.
He and his entire family were responsible for thousands and thousands of executions. So no serial killer, but a mass murderer.
Oh yes!
Thank you Claire! I have heard so many people excuse Henry’s behaviour on his jousting accident. My response has always been that he executed his father’s men at the start of his reign, he treated his loving wife of 20 years and his daughter appallingly..keeping them cruelly apart, he had destroyed Wolsey, executed More, Fisher , Prior Houghton and all those Carthusian monks before the jousting accident of 1536.
My singing teacher told me that Greensleeves was first played when Henry was about two years old.
I haven't found any mention of it prior to Elizabeth I's reign.
@@anneboleynfilesI vaguely remember my Tudor lecturer/tutor at university mentioning there was a version of tune dating back to Henry VII’s reign.
0:20 "Number 1" Well, I blame Herman's Hermits and before them Fred Murray, R. P. Weston and Harry Champion-of course.
The misunderstanding that Henry wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon. He wanted a church sanctioned annulment! A split hair, but a very important point for a Catholic.
Henry was a hottie in his youth
Went downhill quickly
Henry VIII was a great husband, if you had an extra head.
Christina of Denmark, is that you? 🤣🤣
That was such a good comeback on that one. Such an intelligent snapback
@@cherrytraveller5915 She never really said that. But I think she did say something along the lines that she could barely help not bursting out laughing at the English ambassador who had come to praise Henry. Everyone knew he was a monster, even back then. Sure, no one would say it to his face, but people on the continent knew. Even some English nobles said it (although after his death), like Anne Seymour (Stanhope). But I was surprised that people still maintained the fiction that he was a great king after his death. In Jane Grey's proclamation he's referred to as "our uncle of famous memory", something like that. Mary and Elizabeth... I don't know of them saying anything bad about him, even though they'd have reasons.
I detest the popular myth that he was perpetually uncoth; that he scoffed turkey legs and yeated food from the table.
That he spoke only English!?
Such a shame that we could all be boiled down to such megre fare given enough time.
Thanks Claire.
🏵🏵🏵
Oh yes, the Charles Laughton-style Henry VIII!
@@anneboleynfiles Keith Michell’s Henry was very different. In one scene, when he and Katherine of Aragon are in bed, he tells her all his creative dreams for the future, and it’s as different from that version as it could be.
I was thinking about the turkey leg thing, there’s a supposed Mandela effect about Henry holding a turkey leg in the Holbein portrait but he actually has his hands on his hips. I think it turned out it was an advert using a doctored version of the picture from the 50s or there about.
Many thanks Claire - especially for highlighting both the 'Flanders mare' myth and the now commonly held belief that Henry
experienced a personality change following his 1536 accident.
I would say that despite all of his flaws, Henry VIII was courageous enough to defy the Pope's rule over his subjects and interference with his rule. Other kings had not wanted another ruler from afar influencing their subjects, and some did rebel against this, notably King John, but Henry had the help of the growing Protestant movement and had powerful people in his government, such as Cromwell, who were Reformists. Perhaps the Pope not authorizing Henry's divorce from Catherine was the final straw, but the King had the courage to do it.
Henry VIII remained very Catholic in his religious practices. He removed the Pope as head of the English church so he could obtain his divorce and take over the property of the church. He gave his supporters some of the land.
It was an incredibly selfish courage, though, if you are being honest. It was the kind of courage which petulant children exhibit.
@@Flash-sr8hm. A petulant child? More like a monarch, desperate to have a male heir, to secure his kingdom and avoid potential chaos if he died without one.
@@Flash-sr8hm🎯
I was at Westminster Cathedral (Abbey not Cathedral as I was corrected below) in 1972. Things were more civilized back then and tours were given by polite elderly gentlemen. The fellow giving us the tour gave us a little ditty to remember Henry 's wives and I've never forgotten it. Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived.
Shame it's wrong! He never divorced his 1st wife Catherine of Aragon. The marriage was annulled! Also his marriage to 4th wife Anne of Cleves was again annulled because it was never consummated & she was betrothed to Francis, Duke of Lorraine at the time.
@@Hayden1969-ws4vy Excellent points, but it's close enough. Besides, annulled, beheaded, died, annulled, beheaded, survived doesn't have the same ring to it. ;-)
I had never heard that ditty but unbelievably , randomly on the radio just now as I read your comment is a song from Six The Musical and the song begins: "Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived..."
@@Hayden1969-ws4vy It only took H8 24 years to work out his marriage to CofA was never legal !! lol
@@gap9992 He knew all along that there was a legal problem, but he believed it was legitimate and after some argument convinced the pope to grant a dispensation and allow it. But then their children kept dying. More than two decades in, and all he had to show for it was Mary. So he began to consider whether he’d been wrong, and perhaps the children died because the marriage was sinful and the pope should never have allowed it after all. He tried to convince the pope of this, and he would have succeeded had the pope not been virtually a prisoner of Catherine’s nephew.
OMG. That Mary Queen of Scots was Henry's daughter and that she was Bloody Mary (?!?!)
No, Mary Queen of Scots was Henry's great niece, the granddaughter of his elder sister.
@@sueellenwardmyers9900 I knew that. But it was an inaccuracy I heard from others for many years. Annoys me.
Thank you for this video it was brilliant!. In the future could you do a video about the myths of the six queens please x
He WAS tyrant and monster. Yes, he wrote poetry and composed music, he was very well educated, athletic and chivalrous. Thomas More was ecstatic when he became king. After his gorgeous granddad E4 Henry was exceptionally good looking and as John Ashodown-Hill wrote about E4, serial monogamist. But as I said, he was tyrant and monster.
I think there are a number of myths sorrounding this historical figure that were born not so long ago, due to fiction, both literary and cinematic that popularized Henry VIII's reing among general public. Like the one that he was a victim of a cynical, power-hungry, scheming woman who seduced him and made him to sacrifice everything, from his marriage to his country's well-being in order to win her favors. I see it everywhere, also in materials that seem to be historical and professional at first glance.
It is a shame that some sources people trust actually promulgate the myths.
This makes me think of someone I knew, has a big interest WW2. Unfortunately their source of historical information is films and TV series. They can't seem to differentiate between dramatisation and historical fact. Sadly there seem to be a lot of people out there who are similar, unable to look beyond what is ultimately entertainment very loosely based on past events.
That Catherine of Aragon do not give Henry a son. She did but he only lived a couple of weeks plus she had several miscarriages. There was no living male heir which was what Henry was obsessed over but to say Catherine of Aragon did not give Henry a son is inaccurate.
Henry VIII’s Church may have been Catholic in flavour but that didn’t stop him from closing down monasteries, executing clergy and seizing their wealth to enrich his own treasury.
@@iamanisland that's partly why Anne Boleyn fell from favour. She wanted the monasteries' wealth to go to charitable causes. Cromwell wanted them in the Crown's coffers. They fell out over it and a power struggle ensued, with Cromwell deciding Anne needed to go.
That had very little to do with faith.
@@anneboleynfiles
Henry VIII had as much faith as Trump does. Same kind of people.
@@iamanisland I find your comment about President Trump’s faith bigoted and boorish. How dare you judge from afar someone else’s faith.
@@elskacave3235
That’s hilarious. Anyone with two good ears and eyes, common sense and a decent set of values can see that this « president » hasn’t got the slightest shred of faith or decency.
Ok the 1st is ridiculous, 2nd yeah of course, 3rd not convinced, 4th no matter, 5th yes good point, 6th ok, 7th of course, 8th whaaa?, 9th yes, 10th interesting but constant pain does change one
Hi Claire, Henry from what I’ve read was a very polite eater, he didn’t throw food over his shoulder like The Private Life of Henry v111 w Charles Laughton! 😂🍗😂
At the time Laughton's film was made people saw that scene for what it was: humor, not history.
@@kalburgy2114 excuse me since I was 5 1 st x I saw it. A little pretentious aren’t we? Hi
Thanks Claire for putting the record straight about Henry the Vlll on this video.
I still think Catherine of Aragon was really the love of his life.
Had they had just one healthy son who had lived to adulthood, Henry would never, ever have left Catherine of Aragon. I feel Henry's fate was to raise a great Queen, the first recognised Queen Regnant of England - that was to be his legacy, but he couldn't, or wouldn't see/accept it.
I don’t think that was strictly true.
I always thought Jane Seymour was the love of his life.
@@lorenefairchild7616 That's what he wanted to portray, because Jane provided the male heir that lived. If she hadn't, she'd have been discarded too. After a certain point, Henry's true love was Henry 😁
@@TheMensRea Mary was the first accepted Queen regnant, but I wouldn't say she was great.
I’m not sure what constitutes promiscuity if sleeping with several ladies isn’t characterized as such. That’s just my perspective. It sounds as if it is subjective or based on a standard of the time. I’m not quite sure.
I would argue though that King Henry VIII, by breaking with the pope removes the Catholic nature of the religion since it is based specifically on that hierarchy. It certainly did pave the way for a Protestantized England which resulted in many lives shed there and in places like Ireland which was affected by the conflict for many decades following.
Those are my only critiques of the list. I enjoy your historical work and your perspectives on the subject. Your channel inspired my fascination on the subject, and I appreciate your work. Thank you for sharing.
The Reformation happened years earlier, largely because of corruption in the Catholic church.
Hi Claire! Good video as ever. This is a small thing, but I've heard/read that H8 built Hampton Court. Obviously, we know that he didn't, but he did have some beautiful work done to the palace. What always intrigues me are the references to our Anne that were missed after her fall. One day, I may put a bucket list together, and you can bet a tour of Hampton Court will be on it. Thanks again for the video!
Thomas Wolsey was the one who built Hampton court. Catherine of Aragon symbols are everywhere above stairs in the place. Anne Boleyn badge is in the hall on a screen at the back. It is worth the visit even if it isn’t quite the same place that Henry knew. Thinking about it now makes me want to go for one finally visit.
Oh that's interesting. He certainly carried out work on it, but he definitely can't take credit for building it.
Some folks seem to believe more than 2 of his wives lost their heads.
Yeah... about that... let's just say there were 3, technically.
8 wives🤔? I hadn't heard that one.
The others you had mentioned all appeared in fiction, novels and films. Interestingly, some of these myths were mentioned in nonfiction historical accounts. For example, I bought some small booklets about Henry VIII, and another about his six wives, at an art museum that repeated some of these myths (e.g., Henry VIII wrote Greensleeves for Anne Boleyn). Some of these myths have been repeated so persistently that even I took them as "fact" (i.e., Henry calling Anne of Cleves a Flanders mare).
Sadly, there are a few RUclips "historians" with videos that promulgate the myths that Henry VIII had syphilis and many mistresses (even naming them).
Thank you for setting the record straight on the most persistent myths. May history win out.
There was a song called Henry 8th in the nineteen fifties/60s about the 8th guy named Henry to be married to a woman. That may be where that rumor came from. It was a goofy song. I listened to it as a kid.
Edit: it was performed by Herman's Hermits. Dad had a CD of it. He grew up in the 60s.
Thank you! Yes, it's annoying to see the myths being repeated.
Thank goodness Henry stopped at six wives! Imagine what could have happened if he added two more to the list! I dread to think 🪓😳🫣
He was just one away from being a legit serial killer (he'd need 3 to be a serial killer). But if you asked him, he'd say he only had 2 (Jane Seymour and Katherine Parr). Annulments meant he was never married to the other 4. 😀
@@octavianpopescu4776 Catherine Howard was definitely guilty, so that wasn’t murder, it was a legitimate execution for a capital crime. He didn’t even want to have her executed but he had no choice because the evidence was so overwhelming
Henry was fit and sporty in his youth. I watched a video about 10 things that were good about Henry. On Facebook, RUclips and Instagram people disagree with me about Henry’s head injury. They firmly believe that he wasn’t the same after his head injury. I explain that he didn’t lose consciousness. There’s no documentation about of him losing consciousness. And he was a tyrant before the accident. I even send them links of the Anne Boleyn Files. What I hate the most is when people call me immoral because I admire Anne Boleyn. Some can be vicious. Those I have to ignore for my sake. Thank you Claire. I enjoyed this video.
One does not have to lose consciousness to suffer a traumatic brain injury. It is not even necessary to receive an impact to the head.
It recently has been found , during research into traumatic brain injury in rugby players and American football players , that bodily impact alone is enough to cause TBI
@@PaulG.x
There was no documentation that he suffered ill effects from his head injury. The man was a cruel tyrant before his jousting accident.
I’ve had arguments about every one of these issues & I’m thrilled to have this video to direct people to.
I do have a degree in medieval history but up against someone who’s seen “the Tudors” I have no chance. The RUclips channel & books should get Claire some credit.
I have quite a bit more to say about the Cleves marriage but nothing relevant to this.
People who do listen are usually shocked to think that his first marriage was so long & stable that all subsequent marriages combined would have to be doubled in length to equal it.
#10 is the only place I disagree. Maybe I am personally biased, but I have a degenerative spinal condition.
Lack of mobility without significant dietary changes caused me to gain a tremendous amount of weight very quickly & due to constant severe pain, even with very strong modern medications, I can’t walk, bend or lift. Exercise becomes difficult when just brushing one’s hair sucks up the day’s energy.
Pain makes people grumpy. Chronic pain has it’s own special physical and psychological element from the compounded nature of 60 minutes of suffering per hour, 24/7. Not getting breaks from it IS a distinct issue that’s impossible to explain. You just have to know unending pain to feel the cumulative effect. I’ve often wished it, for a week, on doctors & insurance adjusters.
Between pain & weight gain, I had to redefine how I see myself. It changed my identity.
I didn’t grow up believing that I was divinely chosen to lead my people. I wasn’t even strongly religious. From the moment your brother dies you become God’s chosen next infallible leader of England. Maybe he even took your brother to give the crown to you…. But that goes into other things.
I was changed dramatically by a serious injury, and I never thought I was entitled to wield power over church and state. Plus, I have Vicodin, morphine, suboxone, neuroblockers. Lots if effective meds he didn’t have access to, and they just help me maintain hygiene. I haven’t been able to read a book for more than 10 minutes in a decade. I have not felt comfortable in over a decade.
I do think Henry’s leg stripped him of the majority of happiness in life. I don’t see how he could have a wound like that & experience the physical changes that would leave him unrecognizable to himself without becoming a darker, moodier, grumpier human.
I don’t dispute that he was a tyrant before, but I do believe he got worse. Especially in his personal relationships. The closer one is when we lash out, the more likely they are to be struck.
I think without the wound he might have been more patient. But I also think losing 2 wives (the king justified whatever he wanted, the man DID love them both at some point) & a son in the same year as his accident took his sense of self as sexy god-chosen monarch & his ability to play tennis or just go for a walk in peace- his entire world crumbled in 1536.
I don’t think it absolves him but it should earn some empathy. But again, I’m biased.
Oh I'm not saying that it didn't affect him, I'm just saying there wasn't a dramatic change after January 1536, just a continuation and perhaps worsening as he dealt with more challenges and with pain. I don't believe he had a brain injury that caused a personality change.
I'm so sorry about your pain.
Claire, I think you might enjoy a musical group called Blackmore's Night. They're sort of like modern-day minstrels, and one of their albums has a version of "Past Times with Good Company" that I personally like quite a lot.
They are awesome. Also Steeleye Span.
I was just listening to some of their songs before watching this. 😀
Your channel, Claire, is consistently one of the most thorough and engaging. You really know your material and your love of it shines through. And I really enjoyed Tim’s arrangement of H VIII’s melody. Very nice.
Oh thank you for the recommendation!
Wonderful video Claire. It does seem that Henry VIII has been vilified for centuries, and with quite good reason of course. But it was really interesting to think of him in a little different way for a moment. That he was, as you say, a man with varied interests and talents. It's so much easier to recall the bad things in his life, the terrible things he did. But those facts alone do not necessarily define him entirely. As always, enjoy your insights and knowledge. Love to watch your videos. I am an American and I find your accent charming, and soothing to listen to.
I hate to bring Godwin's Law into this, but Hitler also had his “good" side. He was a vegetarian and loved ( as far as he was capable) his dog. Just like with Hitler, I acknowledge the more appealing side to Henry. But I , nonetheless, will always perceive him as a narcissistic tyrant.
@@india1422 Hitler lived in an entirely different era where democracies were normal.
I always remember that Henry added the last lines of the commonly used 'Lords Prayer', namely 'For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory, for ever and ever', they didn't exist before that.
I am Henry the 8th, I am
Henry the 8th, I am, I am
I am married to the widow next door
She's been married seven times before
And every one was a Henry 🤣
Well, great! Today's earworm. LOL
She wouldn't take a Willy or a Sam.😊
The only thing on your list that I did believe was that he had had a personality change after the jousting match… It’s just so hard to square the younger Henry with what he became, esp. the treatment of his wives. Murdering his own queen? It was just unheard of, even in that crazy time! But as you pointed out, the younger Henry was already a murderous sort!
It is so great to have corrections of videos. Truth.
While perhaps brutal my modern standards I believe as far as being tyrannical he was pretty normal for his time.
It was Ivan the Terrible who had 8 wives.
True! But man, none of those 14 wives ended up well eh? At least the last one of both them survived him. But they didn’t die of old age in their beds either. Sheesh🤦♀️
I have heard some say that he had three of his wives killed. That's probably due to confusion over the death of Jane Seymour who died as the result of an infection attributed to giving birth to Edward (later Edward V). You can't blame that one on Henry.
I love your videos.. thank you for making them. I’ve been listening to you for years. I can’t get enough.. thank you again.
You are so welcome!
She took a long time to get between the Palaces dint she? That Amble Lynn
Hmmm....the only one I can think of is really about Anne Boleyn: that she was convicted of treason against him, not because of infidelity but because her alleged infidelity was devastating to the king's health, endangering his life. 😒 Really, Henry?
How about the myth he couldn't father sons? Henry actually fathered a lot of sons. Unfortunately, they were miscarried, still born, or passed away in youth.
I believe Henry VIII to be a well intentioned noble prince. When he became the image of the tyrant I believe it was due to a series of frustrations and disappointments, including not living up to his own hype. It was probably very difficult for him to not have a quiver full of sons. Henry was not borne a lumbering tyrant, but he most assuredly was one many times. I am disappointed however about Greensleeves. 😉
Well he did compose some music at least.
OK. This is trivial. But your hair looks great. I had to say that. (You are also a marvelous historian.)
The biggest myth about Henry the VIII may be that he was so madly and genuinely in love with Anne Boleyn that he broke with the Catholic Church. I don't believe that Henry ever truly loved her. He may have been infatuated and wanted to proof that he could get her. I always thought him rather narcissistic. I think that his main motive was siring a male heir and appearing as a rightful king, having God's blessing for his reign, fathering a dynasty. Henry seems to mostly have been concerned with himself. I suspect that this story of true love that some perpetuate is fuelled more by a naive desire for a fairytale story than anything else, which is quite peculiar as everything ended with an execution, that - in the very least - the king didn't stop when he could have.
Yes, I think it was obsession too.
He was such a narcissist, that he couldn't stand being told no.
Fathering a dynasty would also have protected the country from foreign enemies of course.
@@joebloggs396Definitely! England needed a indesputable male monarch for stability. Henry must have been acutely aware of the 30 years of civil war that his father had to deal with. If Edward VI had lived longer, Philip of Spain would not have had any claim on the throne of England, and maybe the Armada would have never happened.
I agree with you regarding Ann Boleyn, he wanted what he couldn't have, and she certainly led him a merry dance. It was about power and control - catching the moth and then controlling it and getting that male heir that he wanted. I think that is more than narcissism? Domestic terrorst? Grand narcissism? Sociopathy?
Wait, what? There was a rumour that Anne of Cleves had a secret baby by Henry? I’d never heard of that one before.
I have to admit, Anne of Cleves is my favourite of his wives. If you do another video on her would you mind explaining/debunking this one? Also, did she have any other romantic interests rumoured? All I’ve heard is that she just lived as the king’s ‘good sister’ (best deal, and can’t say I’d want to marry in that position), never any hint of even flirtations etc. I guess everyone in Henry’s court had to be so careful, but still. Did her brother ever try to ‘reclaim’ her for the marriage market?
Yeah, about that. I think people misinterpret what her sister status meant. It wasn't the sweet deal people think it was. Terms and conditions applied. Yes, she did get a lot of property and things, BUT she wasn't allowed to leave England or to re-marry without the King's permission. Since the King admitted he couldn't... do it with her, no one was allowed to be more manly than the King. People back then, including Henry were very touchy about these things. So, I'd assume people stayed away. She was Henry's turf even though they weren't married anymore. Then during Henry's subsequent marriages, it seems she kept hoping that the tensions between him and Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr would lead to him returning to her. She despised Katherine Parr, saying she was prettier (what did Henry see in Katherine? 😀I love these petty squabbles in history, they were like high school kids, and it makes them so human and relateable). Regarding Anne's dreams of re-marriage, Chapuys had to jump to prevent rumours by spreading the rumour Anne was a drunk. More high school drama.
As for her brother? Nope. Just nope. You see Henry and her brother had a deal and her brother... Wilhelm (?) screwed Henry over striking a deal with the Emperor, whose power him and his Protestant buddies were supposed to keep in check. This made Anne worthless politically for Henry. And Wilhelm's position on Anne was... good luck with that, you're on your own. In fact, it's fair to assume Anne took the "sister" deal in no small part due to her brother basically throwing her to the wolf. She didn't really have much of a choice, but to take the deal. Politically, she had 0 friends anywhere and further annoying Henry with her presence wasn't a good idea. If anything Henry cared more about her than her own brother and that's saying a lot.
Here's an article I wrote on the rumour - www.theanneboleynfiles.com/november-1541-anne-cleves-rumoured-given-birth-kings-son/
I've never come across any other rumours about her, and, no, the duke didn't do anything.
One other Henry VIII myth I've heard was that he married Katherine Howard when she was only 14 or 15. She was more likely around 17 years of age (an age difference that was large enough to be remarked upon - Henry was 49 - but not one that meant they were all "oh no, she's a baby!"). People are probably thinking of another Henry, her music teacher Henry Manox, who behaved very inappropriately towards poor Katherine when she was very young.
I do enjoy listening to your mini lectures. I have learned quite an over time.❤
I'm so glad!
‘Carry on Henry’ tells the story of the two forgotten wives of Henry, bringing the total to Eight. Which may be why some people think that he had Eight Wives.
Claire, you consistently serve up thoroughly researched, engaging material and this was top notch as usual. Your love for this work shows, which is awesome. Tim’s arrangement of Henry’s melody is lovely, and I see some musical suggestions in the comments that I will try. Thanks😊
Thank you so much and I'm glad you enjoyed Tim's arrangement.
As a lawyer (but not a specialist in family law - whether contemporary or 16th century law), is it really correct to use the word “divorce” as regards Henry’s “untangling of things” marriage wise ? The word “annul” is used in this video - and that’s what I would use to describe process in his case (in other words, an annulment - at least as regards the marriage to Catherine of Aragon). A “divorce” is a dissolution of a marriage, the legal validity of which marriage is not in doubt.
Both terms seem to have been used interchangeably at the time. For example, a treatise against the annulment had "pretended divorce" in its title.
Thank you Claire for setting straight some of the misconceptions about Henry - particularly the myth about the jousting accident and it causing Henry’s brutal behaviour.
he had 6 wives and he was not promiscuous? What? He was a psycho that killed several of his wives and he didn't killed the first one because was the the daughter of the king of Spain and he was afraid of the consequences. He killed Thomas More, chancellor of England (1529-32), who was beheaded for refusing to accept King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England.
Re: What Henry VIII. ate for dinner. In the popular SHO ( or HBO?). Series “The Tudors” , one of the settings was a Lake and a pair of beautiful White Swans swimming around, presumably depicting the Love affair between Henry and Anne . The day after Anne was beheaded, the series showed Henry contemplating the Swans on the Lake as though remembering Anne. and the next scene shows Henry sitting at the table and a roasted Swan with its wings as decoraton was set before him. It showed him eating in a greedy manner, with a smile on his face. The next scene showed only one Swan on the Lake. My question : Did Henry REALLY eat one of a mated pair of Swans to celebrate Annes death?? For some creepy reason, it seemed to me and my husband, that it was implied he ate the female,! Swans mate for life and to deliberately kill one of a pair is an incredibly cruel act.. Oftentimes the surviving swan will refuse to eat and pine away and die of a broen heart💔
That was an interesting and poignant scene.
My understanding is that Anne Boleyn was not at all attractive. The only known image of her taken during her lifetime is the Most Happy Medal, the medallion she planned to give out as a commemorative when her last child was born. The medallions were destroyed when she miscarried. But, Elizabeth I wore a locket on a necklace that had the image of her mother taken from the medallion.
TV and movies usually have a drop-dead gorgeous actress playing Anne, and I think this serves to generate unwarranted sympathy for her. Thinking of her as an attractive woman makes it easy for us to forget that Anne intentionally targeted another woman's husband and gave him an excuse to break up his marriage.
She was not considered conventionally beautiful for the time, but that doesn’t mean she was not attractive. It is also a little rich saying she targeted Henry. The evidence suggests he pursued her.
@@brontewcat And she didn't resist. Her intention was to supplant the existing lawful wife.
@@purrdiggle1470 Interesting how you blame Anne, but not Henry.
@@brontewcat But I do blame Henry. He was nothing more than a parasite.
I’ve always known that he was tall and extremely athletic and fit when he was young what I don’t understand is why there aren’t any portraits of him and his glory. I’d also like to try to understand why he became so destructive even when he was younger. Do you think it’s the paranoia of power?I know his father Henry the seventh was a little insecure about his position and do you think that was inherited?
I think Henry VIII would say that the portraits after Holbein are him in his glory, a huge and powerful king.
I think he felt that he had to act brutally to stop others from challenging his authority.
Interesting information. By the way, your closed captions keep saying Henry VII instead of Henry VIII.
Very good points! As far as Henry's size, I understood that he was very tall, more than the average tall man of the time, so he dominated a room just by his stature (combined with a strong personality), and his size was always an asset for him even when he was a lean mean fighting machine. True or false?
I've always wondered why there has never been another King Henry of England. Did monarchs think the name was unlucky, or that no one could follow in Henry VIII's footsteps? Just curious! The present day King Charles III ascended the throne 337 years after the death of his previous namesake.
“Henry VIII wasn’t a bed-hopper”.
Guess we’re gonna have to get Lindsay Holliday on the line….
Herman's Hermits had a song called "I'm Henry VIII, I am" about a man who was a woman's eighth husband called Henry. Perhaps that confused the public.
Okay, I have one... a pretty gross one, actually. There are rumors on the internet that Henry the 8th's body exploded after his death. Although, I have heard of this happening to corpses, I'm pretty sure it only occurs in a more advanced state of decomposition.
Some people talk like he beheaded all or most of his wives not just 2, and I've seen that way more then I've seen the 8 wives thing.
I think the most common two that people seem to believe are:
1.) He was a Protestant, no he was a devout Catholic and remaind so his whole life.
2.) He was succeeded by his daughter Elizabeth, no she didn't succeed Henry; Henry was succeeded by Edward and Edward by Mary and Mary by Elizabeth.
Thank you i really found that interesting...i love history ❤
Thanks for your history lessons Claire. I enjoy them very much! (and as a silly American, I love hearing them in your accent)
I saw a movie once when I was a kid where he was on a ship and Elizabeth screamed because she thought he was going to have her executed and when he asked why she screamed she said she saw a mouse. I believed that was real but now I don't know if there's any truth to that at all. I think it was The Six Wives of Henry VIII. Now we need someone to make a video like this about George III.
I think that was Young Bess, with Jean Simmons, and her scream was really to distract him, because he was threatening Katherine Parr.
@@suebursztynski2530 Thank you! I haven't seen that film since I was a kid and that scene just always stuck in my memory but I guess not to clearly.
Maybe only 5 wives since Anne of Cleves annulled? Maybe that's my imagination
He was a bed hopper. He was promiscuous because he committed adultery. Catherine of Aragon was his legitimate wife and he broke his wedding vows repeatedly. Regardless of how many women he slept with, he was still an adulterer. But then, don't mind me. I stand with Catherine of Aragon who was faithful to him and their marriage until her dying day. He was the one who deserves the belief that he was promiscuous. He knowingly broke faith with his wife. He knew that it was wrong, but did it anyway. Anyone who knows the 10 commandments knows that you can't sleep with a woman who is not your wife and not be considered a lecherous man. He was an educated man. Therefore that cannot be used to excuse his actions.
Fantastic video
Henry VIII had 3 wives: Jane Seymour, Katherine Howard and Katharine Parr.
The supposed marriages to three other ladies, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Anne of Cleves were all annulled so, in the eyes of the law, they were always invalid.
Their children, Mary and Elizabeth, were declared to be illegitimate, as their parents had not been legally married.
[I know Anne Boleyn was beheaded but not before her marriage had first been annulled.]
If you didn't already know all this then all i can say is you've never been interested in this guy, relying on RUclips for your information. Shame.
Yes his ego was so big that he felt that he was/should be the successor to St. Peter because Christ’s Church wouldn’t repeatedly forgive his constant adultery and murder.
One thing I think needs to be more widely acknowledged is that royals and aristocrats didn't have ideal picturesque upbringings. Psychological trauma was very much prevalent across all social classes.
Interesting Green Sleeves was one of my first actively learned and performed songs. A fine simple tune I played an arrangement in 6 grade on soprano recorder for music class . Like most British Monarchs there will always be facts and fiction of their lives just adding to their legacies . It is from there to hopefully not repeat itself but to gather the information of this extended family linage .
The subtitles were worse than usual, and it's time they learnt Roman Numerals! VII is SEVEN: VIII is eight. This article was about Henry VIII.
Thanks for the video, excellent. I have one question for you whilst Henry was in a practical sense married 6 times, officially he was married 4 times. The 2 annulments are as I understand it mean 2 of the 'marriages' never happened in a legal sense. Is this correct?
That whole idea of him having horrible table manners, throwing chicken bones on the floor and generally acting like Mr. Creosote in Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life". There's no evidence for any of that and if he was that gross surely someone would have written it down. I think that comes from silver screen movie portrayals of him. 🙃
I saw Henry’s suit of armor when I last visited. He had a high opinion of his manhood. His codpiece was big enough for a horse.
I doubt that anyone thinks that Henry VIII had 8 wives because he was called Henry the Eighth.
So if he didn’t have syphilis, then that’s all the worse. that means he was just evil and corrupt a thief and a murderer.
If you want to talk him up and make him sound like a good bloke, I’d stick with the syphilis story .
Fun fact: No Pope then not Catholic, and that means Protestant, and yes because of Henry the 8th.
It would certainly seem like he had some mental illness and/or personality disorder. I'd be interested in hearing what a forensic psychiatrist would say about him.
If I was given a time machine, I would love to see the young Henry in action at the field of cloth of gold.
Sorry, but he was not a good man. What did it for me was his behaviour upon learning of the death of his first wife. He was a truly reprehensible person.
I thought Henry VIII was over 6 feet tall. If true, that would make him a big man in the 16th century.
Is it true he was thinking of putting Kathrine parr to death or divorce her to marry Kat Brandon??
Or was that just the ambassadors
Henry table manners was good , not the crude messy eater , Yes he hate a lot
Yes, that is a big misconception.
He didn't have six wives, and even if he did, he didn't have any of them beheaded. And he never employed Hans Holbein.
He wasn't really married to the widow next door.
It would have been wild if Henry the 8th had 8 wives.
Wasn't elizabeth Woodville called a grey mare ( gray) her husbands name 😊
I heard that he invented Tennis im sure this is untrue though when I say Tennis it was a form of tennis not the tennis we know today mind.
Rather he was running the country than the horrorhead we have now.
Best laugh in ages. I know that I've corrected people several times over many of these points and been told I was wrong as they read it in so and such historical fiction. At which point I roll my eyes and say whatever. 🙄🙄🤦🤷
@@teresacooper7122 I haven't forgiven Philippa Gregory for writing stuff that my friends think are true, eg "Is it true that Anne's sister took Elizabeth away after Anne's execution and brought her up in the countryside?" I nearly burst a blood vessel! 🤣
The one I see most often is that people think he killed all his six wives.
The only thing I believe is that he was a big fat waste of space
I'm 'Enery the Eighth, I am,
'Enery the Eighth I am, I am!
I got married to the widow next door,
She's been married seven times before
And every one was an 'Enery
She wouldn't have a Willie nor a Sam
I'm her eighth old man named 'Enery
'Enery the Eighth, I am!
I've seen people say many times he had 8 wives