Young Prince Henry
The young Prince Henry, the second son of Henry VII and
Elizabeth of York was born on 28 June 1491 at Greenwich.
Henry had a very spoilt childhood as you might expect of a Royal
Prince. So spoiled was he that he even had his own ‘whipping boy’
who was punished every time Henry did something wrong!
After his elder brother died, Henry became next in line to be King. His father died in
1509 and the young Prince became King just before his 18th birthday.
Henry was vigorous and handsome. He was an incredible athlete and loved
jousting and hunting.
He was very clever also, he was good at Latin, maths, astronomy, cosmology
and music.
This is a description of Henry by someone who saw him in 1509:
"His Majesty is the hansomest potentate I ever set eyes on; above the usual
height, with an extremely fine calf to his leg, his complexion fair and bright, with
auburn hair, combed straight and short in the French fashion, and a round face
so very beautiful that it would become a pretty woman, his throat was rather
long and thick"
And later:
"He is very fond of hunting, and never takes his diversion without tiring eight or
ten horses which he causes to be stationed beforehand along the line of country
he means to take, and when one is tired he mounts another, and before he gets
home they are all exhausted. He is extremely fond of tennis, at which game it is
the prettiest thing in the world to see him play, his fair skin glowing through a
shirt of the finest texture."
He must have been an incredible man in his youth.
Here is a description of the clothes he wore:
"His fingers were one mass of jewelled rings, and around his neck he wore a gold collar from which hung a diamond as
big as a walnut. His clothes were magnificent to match, sumptuous silks, cloth of gold, satins, coloured feathers and of
course jewels and precious metals sprinkled everywhere."
Well Educated and Sporting
He was a very well educated man, he spoke 4 languages, wrote poetry, and knew a lot about religion.
He was excellent at many sports. It is said that he could use a bow and arrow better than any man in England. (Perhaps
no other man dared to beat him).
He was famous for wrestling and loved hunting stags in the forests
which still covered most of England. He played a game very like
tennis.
A Terrible and Cruel King
But he was also a terrible and cruel King. He executed (had killed)
anyone who disagreed with him (including two of his wives!)
When he became King the country was Catholic and was controlled
by the Pope in Rome. When the Pope wouldn’t let Henry get
divorced from his first wife, Henry made himself head of the church
in England instead and gave himself the divorce he wanted.
Later Henry closed all the Monasteries and Nunneries in England
and took all the money from the Monks and Nuns. He literally threw
all of them out onto the streets to beg and gave their Monasteries to
his friends for fine houses.
This time was called the Reformation. (Find out more.....)
This happened with Titchfield Abbey (in Titchfield, Fareham, Hampshire)
which was given to Thomas Wriothesley, one of Henrys closest friends in 1537 and renamed Place House. William
Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I are said to have visited there in later years.
By the time Henry died, everyone was completely terrified of him.
A Fine Musician
Henry was famous for his love of music. He was
a keen musician, composer and singer. It is said
that he owned:
* 10 trombones,
* 14 trumpets,
* 5 bagpipes,
* 76 recorders and
* 78 flutes!
He composed many pieces of music, one was
called ‘Helas Madame’ and he is said to have
written a famous tune called ‘Greensleeves’
(although most historians now don’t think he
did).
(Click on their names to hear them!)
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Books about the Tudors
When Henry VIII came to the throne, England was a Roman Catholic country. The head of the church was the Pope in Rome, Clement VII.
Henry was a devout Catholic and defended the Church against Protestants.
A German Monk, Martin Luther (1483-1546) started a religious movement called the Reformation which lead to the birth of the Protestant
faith. In 1517 he protested against the Catholic practice of granting indulgences. An indulgence was a pardon instead of punishment for a
sin. To gain an indulgence, a person had to perform a good deed. This was often giving money to the church, so it looked like the Church
was selling pardons.
Luther protested that this was wrong. He believed that a man could only be saved by his faith. There was definitely much corruption in the
Catholic Church at the time and many things needed reforming.
Luther gained support for his protests and other people started to protest also. Like John Calvin (whose followers were called Calvinists).
Europe was split, with very little tolerance from either side (Catholic or Protestant) for other peoples beliefs. Both sides persecuted the
other.
In England, Henry VIII was a devout Catholic, in 1521, Pope Clement VII gave him the title of Defender of the Faith. However by 1529,
Henry was trying to get rid of his wife, Catherine of Aragon but couldn't persuade the Pope to annul the marriage. So the King decided to
claim that he was now head of The Church of England. The King persuaded Parliament to pass a new law making England independent
from Rome. Henry divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn. In 1534 Parliament made a law called the Act of Supremacy, making the
King Supreme Head of the Church of England.
Later on the King closed all the catholic monasteries, abbeys and religious houses. He resented their power and saw them as a threat. He
also wanted their money.
The Reformation - the break with Rome
