The older King Henry VIII By the end of his life, Henry was a sad and lonely person. He was terrified of getting ill, and anyone who had had contact with small pox or the plague was not allowed in court. He had a serious weight problem, he ate vast amounts of food, meat, fish, dairy products and lots of wine and beer. He wouldn't stop eating, even when a doctor told him to cut down. He became so fat that he had to be carried everywhere by servants. He also had a bad leg, with ulcers possibly from an old jousting wound. Both legs became infected in 1538 and doctors thought he would die. On 28th January 1547, he died at Greenwich. Various theories have been put forward for the possible cause of death:     * Old age - 56 was a ripe old age in Tudor times     * A sexually transmitted disease     * Over eating     * Gangrene - where his bad legs went off     * Scurvy - lack of Vitamin C because he didn't eat his veggies! No-one knows the answer. This is his signature Here you can see a letter he wrote to Anne Boleyn See a letter that Anne sent Henry here >> ©ALBrims2010. Site sponsored and hosted by FutureServers This site is used by schools across the world to help teach about the Tudors and the Romans. It is funded by our sponsors FutureServers and by the contributions from Amazon Products purchased through the site. Please support this site by purchasing your Amazon products here! Thank you. Books about the Tudors