Henry was determined to be a different king from his father - who had been called mean
Henry wanted to be known as a king of great wealth, prosperity and generosity
Henry was just 18 when he became king in 1509
He had not expected to be king as he was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York
Henry was brought up by his mother, with his two sisters. He rarely saw his father or older brother, Arthur.
Henry was an energetic and outgoing young boy
His childhood changed when his brother died in 1502 and he became heir to the throne
Henry's mother died in childbirth in 1503
Once he became Prince of Wales Henry was moved to the Royal Court
His father was very protective over Henry and stopped him from doing things he enjoyed like archery and hunting
Henry was banned from doing jousting as a young man because his father thought it was too dangerous. This angered Henry
Henry was very intelligent and had a good education
His father had not really prepared him to be king and Henry had no experience of governing
Henry married Catherine of Aragon soon after becoming king. She had been married to his older brother Arthur
Henry had been betrothed (engaged) to Catherine since 1503
The marriage to Catherine of Aragon gave Henry an important and powerful ally - Spain
Most historians believe that Henry was genuinely fond of Catherine of Aragon when he married her
Henry inherited a stable and wealthy country when he became king in 1509. However he would spend all of it and die in debt.
Henry was a powerful athlete and was very good a archery and wrestling
Henry was excellent at jousting, which he did a lot once his father was dead
Henry knew how to have fun and pursued pleasure above everything else
People who met the young king thought he was friendly, affectionate and generous
Henry spoke French, Spanish and Latin
He was a talented musician and composer
He had an excellent singing voice and was a fine dancer
Henry loved to dress in fine clothes and cover himself in jewels
Henry was a deeply religious man: as a Roman Catholic he went to mass every day
Some people believe that Henry had a big ego and thought his own opinions were the only ones that mattered
Henry believed he had been appointed by God (DIVINE RIGHT) - but then so did all kings at this time
Henry was stubborn and his advisers found it very difficult to change his opinion once set
Henry let his ministers look after the day to day paperwork of running the country - this was different to his father.
Henry thought that the king was supposed to be a towering figure with a dazzling court - he spent a lot of money on this
Henry wanted to repeat the glories of England's past and take land from the French - unfortunately he was never very successful and wasted millions of pounds
Henry wanted a son to succeed him, but by 1526 he only had a daughter - Mary
Catherine of Aragon is too old by 1526 to have anymore children
Henry has an illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy from an affair in 1519
In 1527 Henry falls in love with Anne Boleyn, a lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon
Catherine and Henry had been happily married but the need for a male heir and Henry's love for Anne Boleyn meant by 1528 Henry wanted a divorce
Henry began to think that God was upset with him for marrying Catherine of Aragon and that was why he didn't have a son
Anne refused to have a full relationship with Henry, which made him love her even more
In January 1533 Henry secretly married Anne Boleyn who was pregnant
In May 1533 Henry had his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled
When Catherine of Aragon died in 1536 Henry and Anne dressed in yellow and held a celebratory mass
Henry banned Catherine of Aragon from court in 1532.
Henry did not allow Catherine of Aragon to see her daughter Mary after 1533
Henry fell from his horse when he was jousting days before Catherine of Aragon's funeral.
Possibly because of his fall Anne Boleyn had a miscarriage
In May 1536 Henry accused Anne of adultery with 5 men, including her brother. She was found guilty and executed
11 days after Anne's execution Henry married Jane Seymour
Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves was very short (7 months) he claimed he had been tricked into it and that she was unattractive to him
Henry gave Anne of Cleves two palaces and a yearly allowance when they divorced
Henry was flirting with Catherine Howard when he was still married to Anne of Cleves
Henry married Catherine Howard within weeks of his divorce with Anne
Henry had married Anne of Cleves to get an alliance abroad, but quickly found he didn't need it
In 1534 Henry had a law passed that made him head of the Church in England
Henry allowed an English Bible to be published in 1539 which allowed ordinary people to read the Bible for the first time
In 1536 Henry began dissolving the monasteries. Some people at the time thought the monasteries were corrupt
Monasteries offered alms (charity) to the poor and also ran small hospitals
Henry sold a lot of the land the monasteries owned and made money from them
Any monks that opposed Henry were executed
Henry had the rebel leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace executed after he said he wouldn't
Henry was 6' tall, which meant he was literally head and shoulders above most other men
Henry weighed 400lbs when he died in 1547
Henry could not walk by the end of his life, partly because of an injury to his leg that never healed.
The pain from his leg made Henry very bad tempered
Henry married his last wife, Catherine Parr, in 1543. She had been married twice before and was used to looking after ill, older men
Catherine Parr was a true Protestant and she and Henry clashed over religion.
Henry tried to have Catherine Parr arrested, but she convinced him to change his mind
Catherine Parr spent a lot of time educating Henry's daughters, especially Elizabeth
Henry never said goodbye to his wives, each time he simply left the palace without them
When Elizabeth was born, Henry declared his first daughter Mary illegitimate
When Edward was born, Henry declared both of his daughters illegitimate. They were no longer called Princess
