Henry 8 Tudor King of England. Tyranny and six wives of Henry VIII Tudor

Henry VIII Tudor 1491-1547 Outstanding statesman and warrior, patron of the arts and sciences, poet and musician? Or a woman-killer, a daring apostate, an executioner of the opposition, a vile and ruthless man, ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of his own interests and for the good

One of the paradoxes of the historical genre (whether it be literature or cinema) is that while many interesting periods of history remain untold, others are stubbornly reproduced over and over again, ultimately creating a sense of déjà vu. Among such plots is the unfading story of the loving English monarch Henry the Eighth. Back in the 30s, the British filmed a kind of tragicomedy about him, The Private Life of Henry VIII. Then there were The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970) and Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972), starring the same actor Keith Mitchell. Hollywood also considered it its duty to perpetuate the tragedy of Anne Boleyn ("Queen Anne's Thousand Days"). Already in our time, two films "The Boleyn Sisters" and "The Other Boleyn Girl" were shot based on the same novel by Philippa Gregory (the latter recently passed It would seem that everything that is possible was squeezed out of this story. Nevertheless, in 2003, a two-part historical melodrama "Henry VIII" was published.

Since English history is of interest to me, I naturally could not ignore this work. And I want to write not about the intricacies of acting, the skill of cameramen or costume designers and other features of the filmmakers' craft, but about the ideas that, in my opinion, the filmmakers are trying to convey to the viewer, and about how the iconic figures of the era are presented.

What can justify resorting to a story that has been told more than once before you? Innovative approach. The ability to turn a seemingly familiar picture to the smallest detail in such a way that the viewer exclaims: yeah, I just thought I knew her, but in fact, that's how it turns out! Moreover, to achieve this goal, it is not at all necessary to act as a revisionist and turn everything upside down, sometimes small details are enough to make fresh colors appear on the palette. So, I did not see any new colors in this film. He only reproduces the old patterns and cliches, and for the umpteenth time tells how a certain king really wanted an heir. And this despite the fact that the film is designed primarily for the English audience, which knows this story, one might say, from the cradle.

The protagonist has a certain, though distant, external resemblance to a historical character. This dignity of his image and limited. This does not mean that he is not attractive, quite the contrary. This is the kind Uncle Hol from English folklore, a shirt-guy, of course, he sometimes does evil deeds, but he repents so touchingly, he worries so much, signing death warrants for his wives! And in the finale, after all his executions, he gives such parting words to his son: it doesn’t matter, son, how many lands you conquer, how many enemies you grind to powder, and even how many heirs you leave, the main thing in this life is to be a good person. It makes me want to shed a tear from tenderness. Truly, as one mafioso said in the movie "Deja Vu": "We must fight for humanism in our profession."

So, the main message of the film is clear: we have a good tsar, these are bad boyars. Of course, this is a stable feature of the people's consciousness in a traditional society, but it would seem that modern directors could rise above such ideas.

Henry's queens are also presented in a rather formulaic way. Catherine of Aragon, known for her piety, prays and wears a sackcloth (and there is really nothing more to say about her), Jane Seymour, again a pious woman, really wants to reconcile Henry with the church and with her daughter Mary, Anna of Cleves, of course, is terribly ugly, Ekaterina Parr takes care of the children (however, she appears for 10 minutes, no more, and leaves no impression of herself). The adultery of Catherine Howard is again presented in a traditionally romantic spirit, and this despite the fact that in the life of her lover Culpeper there was such an episode as being in prison on charges of rape and murder, and being arrested, he quickly surrendered the queen. This is how Romeo turns out. Anne Boleyn is a definite exception. She is represented by a woman who aspires not to the heights of power, but to a lasting marriage and security. So this, whatever one may say, is Heinrich's innocent sacrifice, which, however, we forgive him, because he is so touchingly worried!

The environment of the king is also not original. Cromwell, the great statesman of England (one historian called his time in power a "government revolution"), is extremely repulsive, even outwardly. And he doesn’t seem to be doing anything particularly bad, but the viewer is persistently instilled with the idea that this is a bad person. Woolsey is not memorable. Mor generally fell out of sight (and rightly so, why divert the attention of the audience to various trifles). Norfolk, of course, is the main intriguer, which is generally justified, but only for the role of the first villain he lacks brilliance. And in general, all these courtiers build intrigues and conspiracies, so to speak, out of a sense of duty, because it is supposed to be so. All of them are somehow faded, even Anne Boleyn.

So what do we end up with? What's in front of us? An illustration for a school history textbook? But then it was necessary, at a minimum, to observe historical authenticity. A drama of ideas and characters? The film lacks depth for her. Just an entertainment show? Not enough action and tension. Perhaps the film will be of interest to history buffs who are not familiar enough with this era. It just made me feel confused.

On January 28, 1547, King Henry VIII Tudor of England died at Whitehall Palace. Much can be said about the reign of this sovereign. But he is known to the general public mainly due to his numerous marriages (Henry VIII had six wives). Many researchers believe that the main reason for the divorces and executions of wives objectionable to Henry was the desire to keep the throne of England for the young Tudor dynasty. Be that as it may, this desire of Henry VIII was granted: on October 12, 1537, his long-awaited son and heir, Edward, was born. His mother was Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour.

Edward VI - the unfulfilled hope of the dynasty

To have an heir to the dynasty was one of the most cherished desires of Henry VIII. Only his third wife, who died shortly after giving birth, was able to realize this dream. The newborn prince became a real joy not only for parents, but for the whole of England, because he guaranteed peace and stability in the state.

The question of Edward's health is still controversial. Some researchers say that he was a sickly child from birth. Others - that he had good health, despite the diseases common at that time, which he did not escape.

When Henry VIII died, Edward was only 9 years old. For several years before the death of Henry VIII, peace and tranquility reigned in the royal family. Moreover, leaving a will, the king did not forget to mention his daughters in it. Henry pointed out that in the absence of Edward's heirs, the next ruler of England was to be Mary and her heirs, and after her, Elizabeth and her heirs.

The guardian of the little king was appointed maternal uncle, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset. The boy received an excellent education. He knew French, Greek and Latin, was interested in state affairs and was a staunch Protestant. During the short period of his reign, a Protestant catechism was written, the Book of Prayers was republished, and some reforms of Protestant worship were carried out.

A lot of intrigue was woven around the young king. His uncle, the Duke of Somerset, who had taken care of him, was deposed in 1551 by the Earl of Warwick, who later became the Duke of Northumberland. Somerset was temporarily imprisoned, and when he got out of it, he immediately tried to regain the favor of the king. However, his opponent by that time was already very strong and, as a result, the Duke of Somerset was executed allegedly for participating in illegal meetings.

The Duke of Northumberland had very far-reaching plans. He managed to persuade the young king to bequeath the throne to Jane Grey, who was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII. The duke planned to marry this young lady to his son, thus founding a new dynasty. At the same time, neither Northumberland nor the king was at all worried about the presence of Edward's two older sisters, who were granddaughters of the founder of the dynasty and, accordingly, had much more rights to the throne than Jane Gray. The eldest of the daughters of Henry VIII, Mary, was a fierce Catholic. It was this fact that forced the young king, unlike his sister, who adhered to the Protestant faith, to bequeath the throne to Jane. Three days after signing the will, Edward VI suddenly fell ill. His guardian, for one reason known to him, removed the doctors from the king, sending a healer in their place.

Edward VI, the hope of the Tudors, died before his 16th birthday. Jane Gray was declared queen. Alas, the English people did not agree with the decision of their young king. The new queen lasted only nine days on the throne. She, along with the ambitious Duke of Northumberland, was accused of treason, arrested and executed. And the eldest daughter of Henry VIII, Mary, ascended the throne.

Mary the Bloody

On February 18, 1516, another child was born to King Henry VIII Tudor of England and his first wife Catherine of Aragon, who became a great joy, because little Mary was their first healthy child who did not die immediately after birth. Although Maria was a girl, her birth gave hope that Catherine would be able to give birth to a long-awaited son.

The little princess was surrounded by a magnificent retinue. And by the end of 1518, her future fate was also decided: she was betrothed to the heir of the French king Francis I. In the marriage agreement concluded by the two rulers, there was also a clause according to which Mary became heir to the throne if Henry died sons. However, the king himself at that time had not yet seriously considered such a prospect.

Mary was given an excellent education. She was taught to speak and write correctly in Latin and Greek. She studied art and poetry, and also learned to ride and hunt with a falcon. However, in the program of her education, there were no subjects at all that could prepare her for ruling the country. After all, her father, the king, did not consider such an opportunity at all. However, over time it became increasingly clear that Catherine would not be able to give birth to an heir to the king, and Mary was given the title of Princess of Wales, which was usually given to heirs to the crown. The girl at that time was 9 years old, and she was already engaged for the second time - with the son of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

Mary's life changed dramatically in 1527, when Henry annulled his marriage to her mother, Catherine of Aragon. The young princess was declared illegitimate and removed from the palace. The biggest stumbling block was religion. Catherine of Aragon raised her only daughter as a fierce Catholic, and her father demanded that she convert to Protestantism. The girl refused. When Henry married Anne Boleyn and she gave birth to his second daughter, Mary was returned to the court and assigned to the "legitimate" Princess Elizabeth. The new queen did not particularly favor her stepdaughter and often tore her by the ears.

However, Anne Boleyn did not stay on the royal throne for long, and soon Mary reluctantly recognized her father as the "Supreme Head of the Anglican Church." After that, she was returned to the retinue that was due to the princess. And soon the king married a third time. His wife turned out to be a sweet and kind woman who not only gave birth to his long-awaited son, but also warmed his daughters. Unfortunately, another stepmother died shortly after the birth of the child.

By the time of Henry VIII's death, Mary was already 31 years old. She did not marry during her father's lifetime, and after his death her marriage became even dangerous for those around her young brother-king. Therefore, she was kept away from the palace and from possible contenders for her hand. Young Edward was brought up in a deep dislike for his older sister. The 9-year-old boy was a staunch Protestant, and his sister Mary was an equally staunch Catholic. It was this contradiction that prompted him to deprive Mary of her right to inherit the throne.

Of course, Mary did not accept this will. Upon learning of Edward's death, she came to London. The fleet and army went over to her side, and the Privy Council declared her queen. The unfortunate Jane Grey, appointed by Edward as his heiress, was executed.

Upon assuming the throne, Mary first of all faced the same problem as her father: she desperately needed an heir. At that time, she was already almost 38 years old, and she did not differ in special beauty. However, as soon as she received the throne, a groom was immediately found for her - the heir to the Spanish throne, Philip, who was 12 years younger than her. He agreed to marry Mary for purely political reasons; he rarely came to England, where he was not particularly favored. But Maria, judging by the letters and reviews of her contemporaries, had rather tender feelings for him.

Other important tasks of Mary were the strengthening of Catholicism in England and the revival of the country, which had become impoverished under Edward. The reign of Mary, which began with the execution of Jane Gray, who was just a pawn in the hands of cunning relatives, was marked by a series of arrests and executions of Protestants. About three hundred people - especially ardent Protestants and representatives of the Anglican Church - were burned at the stake. Even those who agreed to accept Catholicism were not spared. All these people were not just Protestants, it was through their efforts that the Reformation took place in England, and, accordingly, the split of the country. But the cruelty with which they were executed led to the fact that during the reign of Elizabeth I, Mary was given the nickname Bloody.

Medieval Europe is a world of merciless epidemics that claimed tens of thousands of lives and made no distinction between commoners and noble people. The Queen of England was no exception. The disease proceeded rather sluggishly, and Maria had time to think about the future of her country. Her marriage to Philip never produced a coveted heir for England. The only heir was a Protestant sister, born Anne Boleyn. On November 8, 1558, Mary conveyed her verbal blessing to Elizabeth, and on November 17 she died.

Mary Tudor, who ruled England for only a few years, became a rather iconic figure in the history of the country. She became the first woman on the English throne. But, alas, she also became the queen, to whom not a single monument was erected in her homeland. The day of her death was celebrated in England as a national holiday, and her entire reign is remembered as a series of cruel executions, for which her descendants named her Bloody Mary.

Good Queen Bess, or the last of the Tudors

September 7, 1533 London froze in anticipation: the second wife of King Henry VIII, his adored Anna, was about to give birth to a child. And England, led by her king, was looking forward to her son. Their hopes were not destined to come true: the child was born healthy and strong, but alas, it was another girl. The king was terribly disappointed. However, this did not prevent him from arranging magnificent celebrations in honor of the birth of his daughter, who was given the name Elizabeth - in honor of the king's mother.

Time passed, but Anna did not give the long-awaited son. This time, the king was more decisive than in the case of Catherine of Aragon, he did not wait 20 years for another wife to give birth to his heir. Heinrich had no reasons to divorce Anne Boleyn, but there were reasons to fabricate charges of treason against her. When Anne Boleyn was executed, Elizabeth was not even three years old. Like her older sister Maria, the girl was declared illegitimate and removed away from the royal court.

This was followed by a succession of wives, and some of them treated Elizabeth quite affably. Alas, three of the four wives of Heinrich, whom the girl knew, were waiting for an early death. It is generally accepted that the execution of Henry's fifth wife, Kate Howard, made such a strong impression on Elizabeth that she decided never to marry. However, some historians believe that this decision was made due to some physical and mental flaws of the princess.

Despite the fact that Elizabeth was recognized as illegitimate, her father took care to give her an excellent education. And for some time, the young heir to the throne, Edward, also studied with her. Elizabeth and Edward were very close, during the reign of Edward VI, Elizabeth was next to him. The death of her brother was a real blow to her, as was his will, which deprived her of her rights to the throne.

The reign of Sister Mary was another test for Elizabeth. Religion remains the main stumbling block. Mary began to actively restore the position of the Catholic Church in England, which led to violent resistance from the Protestants, who not only wove secret intrigues, but also raised outright riots. Regardless of whether Elizabeth took part in these protests or not, it was she who always became their symbol - the Protestant heiress. Elizabeth survived imprisonment in the Tower and exile. However, despite all the hardships of life, she remained the heir to the English throne.

At the insistence of the Privy Council and her husband Philip, Mary Tudor, a few days before her death, recognized her unloved sister as her heiress. So Elizabeth Tudor became Queen of England. London greeted her arrival with thunderous applause.

The new queen was 25 years old. By the standards of that time, it was a respectable age, but she looked much younger than her peers, was friendly and followed fashion trends. In a word, she had everything that Mary lacked. Unlike her sister, Elizabeth did not settle accounts with representatives of a religion alien to her. Moreover, one of her first acts was the creation of the “Act of Uniformity”, in which she announced that she would follow the course of the Reformation, but did not prohibit Catholics from celebrating mass according to the Catholic rite. Thus, Elizabeth extinguished all hints of civil war in a tormented country.

Elizabeth was haunted by the same Tudor curse as her father and sister: she needed an heir. However, faithful to the decision made in her youth not to marry, at first she gently, and over time, more and more firmly rejected any suitors who were persistently wooed to her. In her life there was only one man whom evil tongues called her lover, which Elizabeth herself categorically denied, arguing that between them "there was never anything vulgar." It was Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, whose brother was married to the unfortunate "Nine Day Queen" Jane Grey. Robert and Elizabeth had a friendship since childhood, which lasted until the count's death. Elizabeth trusted him so much that she even appointed him Lord Protector when she was seriously ill.

The policy of Elizabeth I (and she ruled for 45 years) was distinguished by thoughtfulness and thrift. She was quite careful and in the conduct of foreign policy. However, this did not prevent her from getting involved in the war of two queens, as the conflict between Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots and wife of the French King Francis II, is often called. Mary considered herself a more legitimate claimant to the English throne than Elizabeth, who was branded illegitimate. Other heirs also claimed the throne of England, each of whom was related to the founder of the Tudor dynasty. However, Elizabeth managed to stop all these encroachments. In the case of Mary - by execution.

During the reign of Elizabeth, England not only rose from its knees, on which it was placed by religious strife and embezzlement of previous rulers, but also became a great power. Through the personal efforts of Elizabeth, who financed and encouraged seafarers, the fleet of England, which was founded under her grandfather Henry VII, became a thunderstorm of the seas, displacing even the fleet of Spain. The world famous English pirate Francis Drake, who, in addition to smashing Spanish ships, bringing considerable income not only to himself, but also to England, also made an invaluable gift to all of Europe, bringing potato tubers from his travels. For his contribution to the fight against the Spaniards and the contribution of huge funds to the royal treasury, Elizabeth granted Drake a knighthood.

Despite the fact that Henry VIII could not even imagine that a woman would ascend the English throne, his daughter managed to become one of the greatest rulers in the history of this state. Elizabeth actively developed the country's internal economy and economic relations with other countries, encouraged the development of the arts, during her reign the first English colony in America was founded, and the fleet became the most powerful in the world.

However, the Tudor curse remained: the queen never married and did not give England an heir. There are stories in the historical literature that say that Elizabeth and Robert Dudley had a son, whom they had to give up for education. However, there is no reliable evidence for these stories. And even if this child really was, his mother decided that he should not play a significant role in the future fate of England. On her deathbed, Elizabeth Tudor bequeathed the throne to the Scottish King James VI, who was the great-great-grandson of the founder of the Tudor dynasty. Ironically, he was the son of the same Mary Stuart, with whom Elizabeth fought for almost half of her life and whom she executed ...

Despite a drop of Tudor blood, which allowed him to be declared heir, Jacob became the founder of a new dynasty on the English throne. The Tudor Age ended on March 24, 1603, with the death of Elizabeth I.

Henry VIII is remembered in world history primarily for his incredible debauchery. Although he could be remembered as a strong politician and diplomat who made unexpected moves on a chessboard called Europe. Or like a terrible tyrant who launched a real war against the most disadvantaged of his subjects.

Initially, Henry did not rely on the throne. The son of Henry VII Tudor, who won the War of the Scarlet and White Roses, and the representative of the losing dynasty, Elizabeth of York, was born on June 28, 1491 in Greenwich.

Prince without perspective

The heir to the throne was the elder brother Arthur, who received the name in honor of the legendary king, who became a model of chivalry. And Prince Harry (as he was called in the family) from childhood studied the works of the Holy Fathers in order to take the holy orders at the appointed hour, and in a few years to become the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Knowing the subsequent biography of Henry, it is difficult to imagine this cheerful guy in a cassock, "although ... Considering that at the time of his youth the Borgia family of poisoners ruled the Roman church, he would probably correspond to the spirit of the era.

Everything changed on April 2, 1502, when Prince Arthur died from an illness that the then doctors called "prickly heat". After him, a widow remained - Catherine of Aragon, whose presence sealed the alliance with Spain. And Henry VII decided to marry her to his second son. Such an alliance could be interpreted as incest, but everyone unanimously agreed that during the four months of marriage, Arthur and Catherine never entered into an intimate relationship. True, Catherine was six years older than Prince Harry, so the wedding was
laid down until he came of age.

The marriage took place in June 1509, two weeks before the newlywed became the British monarch.

This day is the end of slavery!

At the coronation of Henry VIII, the famous educator and popular lawyer Thomas More wrote an ode: "This day is the end of slavery, this day is the beginning of freedom."

The yard was in the Renaissance, and the new king seemed to be going to become a kind of "philosopher on the throne." Is it possible to expect bad things from a person who easily speaks several languages, owns perhaps the best library in Europe, writes good poems and plays, as well as works in which he talks about the need for strict observance of the legality and sanctity of marriage?

Outraged by the anti-Catholic preaching of Martin Luther, the king wrote the work "In Defense of the Seven Sacraments." In response, Luther called Henry "a pig, a fool and a liar", but the Pope gave the king the title of "Defender of the Faith." And when in 1516 Thomas More published his book on the ideal state of Utopia, the monarch was delighted with her and spoke more than once of his desire to turn Britain into the same happy island.

For subjects, the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII looked promising. It was he who began to pursue a foreign policy, which England continued with success until the time of Churchill. As soon as one of the great powers claimed leadership in Europe, the British immediately entered into an alliance with its enemies.

Possessing the most powerful fleet, England could speak down to the land powers. And this fleet also began to be created under Henry. His pride was the powerful four- and three-deck ships Great Harry and Mary Rose, which no foreign ship could withstand single combat with. England fought almost continuously, although King Harry personally did not mark himself in military campaigns.

Perhaps his most resonant foreign policy operation was a meeting in 1520 with King Francis I. Two monarchs who loved to show off sought to impress each other with luxury, so the place where they met was called the Field of Golden Brocade. But Henry still outdid his colleague, firstly, with his lush chestnut beard, and secondly, with a huge temporary palace erected on a stone foundation. True, the walls of the palace were made of fabric painted to look like stone. Contemporaries admired this majestic building, in which a hole could be made with a finger.

In general, Heinrich worked on his image with pleasure and success. At least until he gave vent to his whims.

"I have the right to execute"

At the beginning of his reign, he was generally very liberal. The first person Henry sent to the chopping block was Father Edmund Dudley's treasurer, thanks to whose efforts he got a treasury stuffed to overflowing with two million pounds sterling. But the execution of the Minister of Finance has never upset anyone in the world.

The next victim didn't come as a surprise either. Edmund de la Pole was one of the last representatives of the York dynasty to lose the War of the Scarlet and White Roses. He went to Harry as a prisoner by inheritance from the father, who could not execute him, being bound by an oath. Henry VIII did not take oaths, which means that he had every right to execute.

Then they began to execute more often, and the “good king” tried to ensure that in the most doubtful cases any massacre looked formalized according to the law. The total number of people executed during his reign amounted to 72 thousand people, or 2.5% of the population of England. This record was not broken by any other European tyrant of the 16th century, although it took place in a country considered the stronghold of democracy.

In England, the cloth industry developed, which needed raw materials - sheep's wool. The owners of the land raised the rent to an unbearable size for the peasants, and when they went bankrupt, they transferred arable land to pastures. Ruined peasants became vagabonds, and in the case of a third capture, vagrancy was punishable by death. “Sheep devour people,” said Thomas More on this occasion, although the sheep, of course, were not to blame.

Noble people, unlike vagrants, were usually sentenced to death for high treason, and new legal acts expanded this concept to the point of absurdity. For example, in 1540 a certain Lord Walter Hargenford was executed for "high treason against sodomy".

The most cruel, but very common, was the execution to which Thomas More was sentenced. “Drag on the ground through the whole of the City of London, hang him there so that he is tortured half to death, take him off the noose before he is dead, cut off his genitals, cut open his stomach, tear out and burn the insides. Then quarter him and nail one quarter of his body over the four gates of the City, and put his head on London Bridge.

But why did good King Harry decide to be so harsh on his favorite author? Of course because of the woman.

"Divorce" with the Pope

It is believed that evil inclinations began to gush in Henry in 1522, when the beauty Anne Boleyn appeared at court, having lived for several years in France and brought continental charm to her island homeland.

The king was known as a gallant cavalier and ladies' man, used to easy victories. But Anna turned his head, making it clear that she loves, but at the same time insisted on the status of a legal wife.

Lawyers suggested to the king a move: to prove that Catherine was the wife of the late Prince Arthur, not only de jure, but also de facto. In this case, her marriage to Heinrich could be interpreted as incestuous, and therefore subject to termination. They especially pressed on the testimony of witnesses that after the wedding night, Prince Arthur boasted: “I went to!” It remained to ask the permission of the Pope, but Clement VII rested. The case ended with the fact that in 1532 the king decided to break off relations with the pope and, of course, marry Anna. Parliament, who walked on the line with Henry VIII, did not even chirp.

Now the monarch was considered the head of an independent Anglican church, the daily leadership of which was carried out by the Archbishop of Canterbury. And those who did not agree with the reform began to be persecuted. The Catholic Church has new martyrs. The most famous of them were those executed in 1535, Thomas More and Bishop of Rochester John Fisher.

It was not difficult to send the straightforward Fischer to the chopping block, but the duel with an experienced lawyer Thomas More required great efforts from the judges. For example, when they tried to accuse him of high treason on the grounds that by his silence he expressed disapproval of the actions of the monarch, More wittily noted that, in general, silence was always considered a sign of consent. He was convicted on the basis of false evidence about the allegedly said phrase: "Parliament cannot make the king the head of the church."

However, they still did not subject the revered educator to savage torture. They just cut off his head. The king, when he was informed of the execution of Thomas More, threw to Anne Boleyn: "It's all your fault." In 1533, Anna bore him a daughter, not a son. And she bored him.

Voluptuary with magnificent horns

This time, instead of a divorce, the king preferred to send his wife to the chopping block - on charges of adultery, which was equivalent to high treason. One of his contemporaries noted with surprise: “The king loudly says that more than a hundred people had a criminal connection with her. Never has any sovereign, or any husband at all, exhibited his horns so everywhere and carried them with such a light heart.

True, the lawyers had to tinker so that all the facts of Anne Boleyn's alleged betrayals fit together, but on the whole the indictment was read quite convincingly. However, no one really believed in him, but it was enough for the death penalty.

Since the professionalism of the English executioners was considered low, Anna, in order not to suffer for a long time, ordered the executioner from France at her own expense. And he did his job meticulously.

On May 20, 1536, the day after her execution, the King became engaged to Lady Jane Seymour. In due time, she gave birth to the long-awaited son-heir. Having fulfilled her duty, she died.

The second and third spouses were ladies-in-waiting of previous queens, and Henry decided, for a change, to marry for the fourth time a representative of some royal house.

Princess Mary of Guise of Lorraine replied to the marriage proposal that although she was tall, her neck was short - clearly hinting that she did not want to put her under the axe. In a similar spirit, Heinrich and the Danish princess Christiana kicked off: “If I had two heads, I would definitely put one at Your Majesty’s disposal, but I don’t want to risk one.”

However, the portraits of several brides were delivered to England. Heinrich most of all liked the image of Princess Anna of Cleves. Consent to the marriage was given, but during a personal meeting it turned out that the portrait was too far from the original, and not for the better. Calling his wife after the wedding night "a hefty Flemish mare", the king soon annulled the marriage, and in order not to spoil relations with the politically important duchy of Cleve and Berg, he assigned a good maintenance to the fourth wife.

Dr. Kondom products

Heinrich again launched into all serious. The fat, cruel, capricious monarch bore little resemblance to the former gallant cavalier, but, as a rule, he was not refused. Especially for the voluptuous old man, the court physician Charles Condom made condoms - it was by the name of the doctor that they began to be called condoms, although this product itself was known in antiquity.

In the end, another maid of honor Catherine Howard, a representative of an influential family at court, became Henry's new legal wife. The Howards managed to remove Chancellor Thomas Cromwell from the helm and send him to the chopping block, but they did not rejoice for long.

In her youth, Catherine had many hobbies, and not all of them quietly disappeared into the past. As a result, Henry walked again and shook his horns, and his fifth wife was executed for treason.

The last wife of Henry VIII was Catherine Parr - twice a widow, a pretty and charming woman who knew how to get along with her husband, and with his relatives, and with the courtiers. It is not clear, however, how much these abilities would be enough for her. A year after the wedding, Henry quarreled with his wife on religious grounds and ordered her to be executed as a heretic. Accidentally learning about the verdict, Catherine rushed to her husband and persuaded him to forgive her at the very last moment, when a detachment of guards had already come to arrest her.

On January 28, 1547, King Harry, who had greatly tired his subjects, died. The cause of his death was a wound that had been received a long time ago while hunting and continued to fester, as well as terrible obesity - for the last five years of his life, the king could not even walk himself, he was driven in a wheelchair.

The writer Charles Dickens considered Henry VIII "the most unbearable bastard, a disgrace to human nature, a bloody and greasy stain in the history of England." However, it was under him that Britain, if not become, then at least prepared for the role of a great power. So he was a winner, and winners are not judged too harshly.

Six wives of Henry VIII

To memorize the biographies of the six wives of the "good King Harry", British schoolchildren use a rhyme-counter: "Divorced, decapitated, died; divorced, beheaded, survived."

1. Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536)

Her first marriage was to Prince Arthur, and after his sudden death, to his younger brother, the future King Henry VIII. After her divorce from Henry, she spent the rest of her life on the estate allocated to her.

2. Anne Boleyn (1507-1536)

Having married the monarch, Anna chose the motto: "The happiest." Going to the chopping block, she said: “You, Your Majesty, have raised me to an unattainable height. Now you want to elevate me even more. You will make me a saint."

3. Jane Seymour (1508-1537)

She had a beneficial effect on her husband and fulfilled his main desire by giving birth to a son and heir. Edward VI ruled England from 1547-1553 and became the subject of Mark Twain's famous story The Prince and the Pauper.

4. Anna of Cleves (1515-1557)

After their wedding night with her, Henry VIII declared: “She is not at all pretty and she smells bad. I left her the same as she was before I lay down with her." And soon he insisted on the dissolution of the marriage.

5. Catherine Howard (1520-1542)

By marrying her, Heinrich seemed to be younger; tournaments, balls and other entertainments began again at the court. However, Catherine resumed contact with her former lovers, which led her to the chopping block.

6. Catherine Parr (1512-1548)

At 15, she married the elderly Lord Edward Borough. Widowed three years later, she became the wife of Lord Latimer, who died in 1543. From these marriages, as well as from her marriage to Henry, she had no children.

early years

In 1513, he set out from the city of Calais, preparing to make his first land campaign against the French. Archers were the backbone of the advancing army [ ] (Henry himself was an excellent archer, and he also issued a decree according to which every Englishman should devote one hour every Saturday to the exercise in archery). He managed to capture only two small towns. In the next twelve years he fought in France with varying degrees of success. In 1522-23, Henry approached Paris. But by 1525, the military treasury was empty, and he was forced to conclude a peace treaty.

As a result of the policy of ruining small peasant farms, the so-called fencing, which was carried out by large landowners, a huge number of [ How many?] vagabonds from among the former peasants. According to the "vagrancy law" many [ How many?] of them were hanged. Despotism [ clarify] this king knew no boundaries. The fate of his six wives is a prime example of this.

Break with the papacy and ecclesiastical reform

The formal reason for breaking off relations with the papacy was in 1529 the refusal of Pope Clement VII to recognize Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon as illegal and, accordingly, annul it so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. In such a situation, the king took the decision to break the connection with the Apostolic See. In 1532, English bishops were charged with treason under a previously “dead” article - an appeal for trial not to the king, but to a foreign ruler, that is, the pope. Parliament passed a resolution forbidding henceforth appeal to the pope on ecclesiastical matters. In the same year, Henry appointed Thomas Cranmer as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, who undertook to free the king from an unnecessary marriage. In January 1533, Henry arbitrarily married Anne Boleyn, and in May Thomas Cranmer declared the king's previous marriage illegal and annulled. Pope Clement VII excommunicated the king on July 11, 1533.

Having led the religious reformation in the country, in 1534, being proclaimed the head of the Anglican Church, in 1536 and 1539 he carried out a large-scale secularization of the monastic lands. Since the monasteries were the main suppliers of industrial crops - in particular, hemp, which is essential for sailing - one could expect that the transfer of their lands to private hands would adversely affect the condition of the English fleet. To prevent this from happening, Henry issued a decree ahead of time (in 1533) requiring each farmer to sow a quarter acre of hemp for every 6 acres of cultivated area. Thus the monasteries lost their main economic advantage [ clarify] , and the alienation of their possessions did not harm the economy.

The first victims of the church reform were those who refused to accept the Act of Supremacy, who were equated with traitors to the state. The most famous of those executed during this period were John Fisher (1469-1535; Bishop of Rochester, in the past - the confessor of Henry's grandmother Margaret Beaufort) and Thomas More (1478-1535; famous humanist writer, in 1529-1532 - Lord Chancellor of England ).

Later years

In the second half of his reign, King Henry turned to the most cruel and tyrannical forms of government [ clarify] . The number [ How many?] executed political opponents of the king. One of his first victims was Edmund de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, who was executed back in 1513. The last of the significant figures executed by King Henry was the son of the Duke of Norfolk, the outstanding English poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, who died in January 1547, a few days before the death of the king. According to Holinshed [ ], the number of people executed in the reign of King Henry reached 72,000 people. (unavailable link since 12-02-2018) [ ]

Death

The Palace of Whitehall where King Henry VIII died.

In the last years of his life, Henry began to suffer from obesity (his waist size grew to 54 inches (137 cm), so the king could only move with the help of special mechanisms. Towards the end of his life, Henry's body was covered with painful tumors. It is possible that he suffered from gout.

Obesity and other health problems may have been the result of an accident that happened to the king in 1536, in which he injured his leg. Perhaps an infection got into the wound and because of this, the wound received earlier on the hunt reopened. The wound was so problematic that all the invited healers considered it intractable, and some even inclined to believe that the king was incurable at all. Some time after the injury, the wound began to fester, thus preventing Henry from maintaining his usual level of physical activity. He could no longer perform the usual physical exercises that he regularly did before. It is believed that this injury caused a change in his shaky character. The king began to show tyrannical traits and became increasingly depressed.

At the same time, Heinrich changed his eating style and began to mainly consume a huge amount of fatty red meat, reducing the proportion of vegetables in his diet. It is believed that these factors provoked the early death of the king. Death overtook Henry VIII at the age of 55, on January 28, 1547 at Whitehall Palace. The last words of the king were: “Monks! Monks! Monks! .

Wives of Henry VIII

Henry VIII was married six times. The fate of his spouse is memorized by English schoolchildren using the mnemonic phrase "divorced - executed - died - divorced - executed - survived."

From the first three marriages he had 10 children, of whom only three survived - the eldest daughter Maria from the first marriage, the youngest daughter Elizabeth from the second, and son Edward from the third. All of them subsequently ruled. Henry's last three marriages were childless.

• Anne Boleyn (c. 1507-1536). For a long time she was Henry's unapproachable lover, refusing to become his mistress. According to one version, Heinrich was the author of the text of the ballad Greensleeves (Green sleeves), which he dedicated to Anna. After Cardinal Wolsey could not resolve the issue of Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, Anna hired theologians who proved that the king is the lord of both the state and the church, and is responsible only to God, and not to the pope in Rome (this was the beginning of the detachment of the English church from Rome and the establishment of the Anglican Church). She became Henry's wife in January 1533, was crowned June 1, 1533, and in September of the same year gave birth to his daughter Elizabeth instead of the son expected by the king. Subsequent pregnancies ended unsuccessfully. Anna soon lost Henry's love, was accused of adultery and beheaded in the Tower in May 1536.
• Jane Seymour (c. 1508-1537). She was a lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn. Heinrich married her a week after the execution of his previous wife. She soon died of puerperal fever. Mother of Henry's only son, Edward VI. In honor of the birth of the prince, the cannons in the Tower fired two thousand volleys.
• Anna of Cleves (1515-1557). Daughter of Johann III of Cleves, sister of the reigning Duke of Cleves. Marriage with her was one of the ways to seal the alliance of Henry, Francis I and the German Protestant princes. As a prerequisite for marriage, Heinrich wished to see a portrait of the bride, for which Hans Holbein Jr. was sent to Kleve. Heinrich liked the portrait, the engagement took place in absentia. But the bride who arrived in England (unlike her portrait) categorically did not like Henry. Although the marriage was concluded in January 1540, Henry immediately began to look for a way to get rid of his unloved wife. As a result, already in June 1540, the marriage was annulled; the reason was the pre-existing engagement of Anna with the Duke of Lorraine. In addition, Heinrich stated that the actual marriage relationship between him and Anna did not work out. Anna remained in England as "the king's sister" and survived both Henry and all his other wives. This marriage was arranged by Thomas Cromwell, for which he lost his head.
• Catherine Howard (1520-1542). Niece of the powerful Duke of Norfolk, cousin of Anne Boleyn. Henry married her in July 1540 out of passionate love. It soon became clear that Catherine had a lover before marriage - Francis Durham - and was cheating on Henry with his personal page Thomas Culpeper [ ] . The guilty were executed, after which, on February 13, 1542, the queen herself ascended the scaffold.
• Catherine Parr (c. 1512-1548). By the time of her marriage to Henry (), she had already been widowed twice. She was a staunch Protestant and did a lot for Heinrich's new turn to Protestantism. After Henry's death, she married Thomas Seymour, brother of Jane Seymour.

Children

Only three legitimate children of the king survived infancy. They all successively succeeded to his throne.

1. From marriage to Catherine of Aragon:
   1. Unnamed daughter (b. and d. 1510)
   2. Henry Tudor, Duke of Cornwall (b. and d. 1511)
   3. Henry (b. and d. 1513)
   4. Henry (b. and d. 1515)
   5. Maria I (1516-1558)
   6. Unnamed daughter (b. and d. 1518)
2. From marriage to Anne Boleyn:
   1. Elizabeth I (1533-1603)
   2. Nameless son (b. and d. 1534)
   3. Nameless son (b. and d. 1536)
3. From marriage to Jane Seymour:
   1. Edward VI (1537-1553)

Illegitimate children:

• Henry FitzRoy (1519-1536) - from an association with Elizabeth Blount. The only officially recognized bastard of the king.
• For a list of Henry's other bastards, see: en:Children of Henry VIII .

On coins

In 2009, the Royal Mint released a £5 coin to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to the throne.

Image in art

Literature

• William Shakespeare . "Henry VIII"
• Grigory Gorin. The play "Royal Games"
• Jean Plaidy. Novel "The Sixth Wife of Henry VIII"
• Judith O'Brien. The Scarlet Rose of the Tudors novel
• Simone Vilar "Queen to boot"
• Philippa Gregory - novels from the Tudors series (The Eternal Princess, The Other Boleyn, The Boleyn Legacy)
• Karen Harper, The Last of the Boleyn Line, The Queen's Mentor
• Carollie Erickson - "Royal Secrets"
• Mark Twain . "Prince and the Pauper "
• Mühlbach Louise - "Henry VIII and his mistresses"
• Mantel Hilary - "Wolf Hall", "Bring in the bodies"
• George Margaret - "Between an Angel and a Witch", "Hopelessly Lonely King"
• Holt Victoria - "St. Thomas' Day", "The Way to the Scaffold", "Temple of Love in the King's Court"
• Weir Alison - "Lady Jane's Throne and Block"
• Small Bertris - "Blaise Wyndham", "Remember Me Love"
• Galinax Brezgam - "Kingdom for Love"
• Peters Maureen - "Hayvor Rose", "The Whore Queen"
• Miles Rosalyn - "I, Elizabeth..."
• Vantris Rickman Brenda - "The Heretic's Wife"
• Emerson Keith - "Refuse the King"
• Sansom K.J. - "Lord Cromwell's Hunchback", "Dark Fire", "Sovereign", "Seventh Bowl", "Stones for Hearts", "Lament"
• Esenkov Valery - "Henry VIII"
• Pavlishcheva Natalia - "The sixth wife of Henry VIII: in the arms of Bluebeard"
• Henry Rider Haggard - "Mistress of Blossholme"

Cinema

• The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) - the role of Henry VIII was played by Charles Lawton
• The Prince and the Pauper (1937) - the role of Henry VIII was played by Montague Love
• "Baby Bess" (1953) - as Henry VIII again by Charles Lawton
• "Sword and Rose" (English)Russian(1953) - as Henry VIII James Robertson Justice
• In one of the episodes of the popular American television series My Wife Bewitched Me, the role of Heinrich was played by Ronald Long
• "A Man for All Seasons" (1966) - as Henry VIII Robert Shaw
• Anna for a Thousand Days (1969) - Richard Burton as Henry VIII
• The Six Wives of Henry VIII (English)Russian(1970) - the role of Henry VIII was played by Keith Michell
• "Elizabeth Queen of England" (English)Russian(1971) - television series, the role of Henry VIII in one of the episodes of which was played by Keith Michell (uncredited)
• "Henry VIII and his six wives" (English)Russian(1972) - Keith Michell also played the role of Henry VIII
• "Prince and the Pauper" (English)Russian(1977) - the role of Henry VIII was played by Charlton Heston
• "Henry VIII Ray Winstone
• "Another of the Boleyn family" (2003) - in the role of Henry VIII Jared Harris
• "The Tudors"- television series (Canada-Ireland, 2007-2010), has four seasons. The King is played by Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
• "Another of the Boleyn family" (2008) - in the role of Henry VIII Eric Bana
• "Wolf Hall" (mini-series) (2015) - as Henry VIII Damian Lewis

• In The Simpsons Season 15, Episode 11, Marge tells the children the story of Henry VIII.

Music

• Album "The Six Wives Of Henry VIII" () by Rick Wakeman
• Opera "Henry VIII" by Camille Saint-Saens
• Army of the Pharaohs song "Henry The VIII"
• Herman's Hermits song - "I'm Henry the Eighth I am"
• Emilie Autumn song "Marry Me"

see also

Notes

Literature

• Petrushevsky D. M.,.// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
• Arnold, Thomas. The Renaissance at War. - London: Cassell & Co., 2001. - ISBN 0-304-35270-5.
• Ashley, Mike. British Kings & Queens. - Running Press, 2002. - ISBN 0-7867-1104-3.
• Ashrafian, Hutan (2011). . Endocrine. 42 (1): 218-9. DOI:10.1007/s12020-011-9581-z. PMID. Archived from 2 January 2012.
• Bernard, G.W. The King's Reformation: Henry VIII and the Remaking of the English Church. - 2005. - ISBN 978-0-300-10908-5.
• Betteridge, Thomas (2005). "The Henrician Reformation and Mid-Tudor Culture". Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. 35 (1): 91-109. DOI:10.1215/10829636-35-1-91.
• Betteridge, Thomas. Henry VIII in History / Thomas Betteridge, Thomas S. Freeman. - Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2012. - ISBN 978-1-4094-6113-5.
• Brigden, Susan. New Worlds, Lost Worlds. - Penguin, 2000. - ISBN 978-0-14-014826-8.
• Chibi, Andrew A. (1997). “Richard Sampson, His Oratio, and Henry VIII's Royal Supremacy”. Journal of Church and State. 39 (3): 543-560. DOI:10.1093/jcs/39.3.543. ISSN 0021-969X.
• Churchill, Winston. The New World. - Cassell and Company, 1966. - Vol. 2.
• Crofton, Ian. The Kings and Queens of England. - Quercus Books, 2006. - ISBN 978-1-84724-141-2.
• Cruz, Anne J. The Rule of Women in Early Modern Europe / Anne J. Cruz, Mihoko Suzuki. - University of Illinois Press, 2009. - ISBN 978-0-252-07616-9.
• Davies, Jonathan (2005). “"We Do Fynde in Our Country Great Lack of Bowes and Arrows": Tudor Military Archery and the Inventory of King Henry VIII.” Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 83 (333): 11-29.