Head-Rolling Facts About Henry VIII, England's Most Infamous King
There are bad kings, there are horrible kings...and then there's Henry VIII. Famous for his many wives and their various chilling ends, Henry nearly tore England apart in his quest for a son.
He executed more people than any other English monarch in history, made his own church on a whim, and eventually betrayed basically anyone who had ever helped him. No, "horrible" doesn't even begin to describe Henry.
If you want to learn all the dirty details about this ruthless king's rise to power, his reign of terror, and his gruesome end, dive in and discover Henry VIII's twisted history.
1. His Father Was A Warrior
Henry VIII was born on June 28, 1491, with big shoes to fill. His father was the triumphant Henry VII, who had won the Wars of the Roses, and his maternal grandfather was the fearsome King Edward IV. However, despite how his life turned out, Henry wasn't supposed to step into those shoes. In fact, as far as royals go, Henry was kind of a nobody at first.
2. He Wasn't Going To Be King
See, Henry was his parents' third child and second son. His sister, Margaret Tudor, was the eldest, and his brother Arthur was the heir to the throne. As the next king, Big Artie got all of his parents' attention, and Henry was mostly forgotten.
But, the Tudors had a way of dropping like flies—something Henry's parents would learn all too soon.
3. His Childhood Was Mysterious
Since Henry wasn't supposed to become king, no one really cared much about him when he was young. No writers, at least. We have almost no record of what he was up to during his childhood because no one bothered to write any of it down. One of the few things we know is that he played a pretty noticeable role at the wedding of his brother Arthur and Catherine of Aragon.
He was probably mostly there to look cute and support his brother. I doubt anyone realized that Catherine would be marrying that cute little boy soon enough.
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4. He Lost His Brother As A Boy
Less than a year after Arthur and Catherine tied the knot, tragedy suddenly struck. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the strapping, 15-year-old Arthur went from healthy to dead. Out of nowhere, Henry, the forgotten prince, was now the heir to the throne of England. Pretty quickly, people around the court started to realize that was not a good thing.
