King Henry VIIIThis is a featured page

King Henry VIII as played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Motto: "Dieu et Mon Droit" (God & My Right - traditional motto of English Kings)*

Born June 28, 1491 - Died January 28, 1547
Crowned June 24, 1509
King Henry VIII - The Tudors Wiki Character's backstory: the third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. He was the first English monarch to be educated under the influence of the Renaissance, and his tutors included the poet Skelton. In his youth, Erasmus commented on his intelligence, and as second son, he studied to possibly enter the clergy. He became an excellent poet, scholar, linguist, athlete and musician.
Gentility: Royal House of Tudor.
Position: In 1493, Henry was appointed Constable of Dover Castle. In 1494, he was created Duke of York. He was subsequently appointed Earl Marshal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland before he became Prince of Wales in 1502 upon the death of his elder brother Arthur, who was first in line to the throne. Henry became King of England at the age of 17 when his father Henry VII died. His coronation took place just four days before His 18th birthday.

Personality type: Witty, talented & gregarious but also narcissistic, vain, proud, egotistical & craved admiration.
He was very insecure & could brood and become sullen for days if disappointed. The first 20 years of his rule, he was a benevolent ruler. He became selfish, cruel, grandiose, melodramatic, malevolent & a hypochondriac in later years.
As he grew older, he became devious, vindictive, and autocratic. He beat Thomas Cromwell, his second chief minister, around the head and swore at him.
He called Sir George Blagge, a gentleman of the king's Privy Chamber, 'my pig'.
Of Henry's megalomania, Ambassador Chapuys said : "You never saw prince nor man who made greater show of his horns, or bore them more pleasantly."
Ambassador Castillon said he was: "the most dangerous and cruel man in the world."


Signature look: A charismatic presence. Grandly dressed & always reaching for excellence in appearance. Physically magnificent. His tudor red hair [Although not shown in the series] But this certain matter gave him the nickname "The Redhead".
Endearing trait(s): Handsome, and he is... well... The King! "The Tudors" portray him much like a pop star of today. Full of enthusiasm and energy. Until around 1525, he was affable and willing to trust his counsellors.

Interests: included writing both books and music, and he was a lavish patron of the arts. An accomplished player of many instruments and a composer. He loved pomp and pageantry.
Annoying trait(s): Obsessed with producing an heir. By the end of the reign, Henry had deteriorated physically and mentally, becoming corpulent and immobile. He suffered from a festering leg wound as well as issues with his bowels causing him to be bloated and irritable. He was a hypochondriac & became paranoid demanding service but proving impossible to serve. A mass of contradictions and frustrations made him a conflicted and confused man.
Health: possibly severe uncontrolled diabetes 2, leg ulcers and dementia. Henry had a bout with malaria in 1521, at the age of 30. This was the beginning of his health maladies. He would later suffer from ulcers on both legs, a painful fistula from 1537, a lung blockage in 1542, dropsy and possibly syphilis. He would also get Tertian fever in 1541. This ailment resulted in severe attacks and increase in violent behaviour which would occur every other day. Tertian fever or ague was a malarial fever that made its host have hot and cold flashes and sweaty fits.

*For more on Henry`s health click here
& also check out The Tudors Medicine


Buried: St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, next to his third wife, Jane Seymour. Henry had 4 marriages annulled, so he only recognized his marriages to Jane & Catherine Parr.
As Jane had Edward, the only male heir to the throne,it would make sense dynastically to be buried with the mother of this heir to the throne.

*Henry sometimes used other more personal mottos for short periods during celebratory tournaments such as "Coeur Loyal" (Sir Loyal Heart) after the birth of Katherine of Aragon's son who died 52 days after birth and "Declare I Dare Not" generally believed to be in reference to Anne Boleyn in the early days of their romance.
King Henry VIII - The Tudors Wiki
Henry VIII Signature

Though some say that youth rules me,
I trust in age to tarry.
God and my right, and my duty,
From them shall I never vary,
Though some say that youth rules me.
- Henry VIII
"You could practically smell the testosterone. Any way and anywhere he could flash his burly energy, he flashed it in the saddle, on the dance floor or on the tennis court, where a besotted courtier wrote excitedly of the king's skin glowing through his finely woven shirt. Six feet tall, with a neck described by another admirer as long, thick and beautiful enough to belong to a woman. Henry wallowed in the praise droolingly lavished on him by his courtiers and foreign ambassadors:
Henry the gallant,
Henry the clever,
Henry the nimble,
Henry the superstar."
[Tudor Historian Simon Schama's description of the young King Henry in his "History of Britain" ]

"a spot of blood and grease
on the pages of English history"
~ Sir Winston Churchill said of Henry




King Henry VIII - The Tudors Wiki



Henry in his hat


CHARACTER CONNECTIONS


Family members:
Father: Henry VII, King of England
Mother: Elizabeth of York
Brother: Arthur Tudor
Sister: Margaret Tudor
Sister: Mary Tudor
Sister: Elizabeth Tudor (died as a young child)
Sister: Katherine Tudor (died as a young child)
Brother: Edmund Tudor (died as a young child)

Friends:
Sir Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Sir Henry Norris
Sir John Seymour
Sir Thomas More
Sir Francis Bryan

Enemies:
Changed with the times:
Francis I of France alternated between being a friend and enemy as did Charles V		 Children:

by Katherine of Aragon - Princess Mary- born February 1516

by Elizabeth Blount - Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond & Somerset - born June 1519

by Anne Boleyn - Princess Elizabeth - born September 1533

by Jane Seymour - Prince Edward - born October 1537


Many rumoured illegitimates but only one (Henry Fitzroy) acknowledged.
Click this link : Mistresses - for more detailed info on each mistress

- Anne Stafford, Lady Hastings 1510 (named Anna Buckingham in the series)

- Jane Popyngcort 1514 - possibly basis for fictional character Lady Jane Howard played by Slaine Kelly

-Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount 1514 -1519 - first acknowledged mistress

-"Mistress Parker" who could have been either Arabella Parker, the wife of a city merchant, or Margery Parker, who had been part of Princess Mary´s household since 1516

-Mary Boleyn c. 1521 - 1524/5 (the other acknowledged mistress)

- Joan Dingley (Dobson) 1520s - who had a daughter Ethelreda (Audrey) Tudor.

- Agnes Blewitt early 1520s her son, Richard Edwardes was born sometime between October 1523 to 1525 was claimed to be Henry's, Agnes was allowed to display the Tudor rose on her coat of arms

- Mary Berkeley 1525-1527 - had two sons Thomas Stucley and John Perrot both of whom were rumoured to be illegitimate children of Henry.

-Elizabeth Amadas, 1520's, daughter of Hugh Brice, courtier & wife of Robert Amadas, the richest goldsmith in England.

- possibly Elizabeth Bryan,sometime before 1528,

- Lady Mary Shelton Feb - Aug 1535 (Anne's 1st cousin) - possibly confused with Margaret Shelton.
* Madge Sheldon in the series


- In the late 1530's a man named William Webbe reported the king abducting his "mistress" (wife) - played by Katie McGrath in the series		 Marriage(s):

Katherine of Aragon1st: Katherine of Aragon
Queen Consort June 11th, 1509 - January 7th, 1533 - DIVORCED
(annulled) - died 1536 (aged 51)


Anne Boleyn2nd: Anne Boleyn
Queen Consort January 25th, 1533 - May 19th, 1536 - BEHEADED
on Tower Green accused of adultery/treason despite the marriage being annulled. (aged 29/35)


Jane Seymour3rd: Jane Seymour
Queen Consort May 30th, 1536 - October 24th, 1537 - DIED
soon after childbirth (aged 28/29)



Anne of Cleves4th: Anne of Cleves
Queen Consort January 6th - July 9th, 1540 annulled - DIVORCED
- died 1557 (aged 42)



Katherine Howard5th: Katherine Howard
Queen Consort July 28th, 1540 - February 13th, 1542 - BEHEADED
on Tower Green like her cousin Anne (possibly aged not quite 18yrs)


Catherine Parr6th: Catherine Parr
Queen Consort July 12th 1543 - 1547 - SURVIVED Henry who died January 28th, 1547. After his death, she married Lord Thomas Seymour & died after childbirth in August 1548 (aged 36 yrs)
UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTER QUOTES
  • "You are my wife. You are not my minister, you are not my chancellor, but my wife!"
  • "I AM THE KING OF ENGLAND!"
  • "So you were a f-----g Virgin; that's not the point!"
  • "Anne, I want to say something to you. If it pleases you to be my true loyal mistress and friend; to give yourself to me body and soul, I promise I'll take you as my only mistress. I won't have a thought or affection for anyone else."
  • "And don't you know that I can drag you down as quickly as I raised you!"
  • "Everyone has an agenda and what I want doesn't matter.........Oh the Poles have an agenda. They have plantagenet blood in their veins and my father told me that if you leave even a sapling in the ground it will grow into a tree and that little boy in the tower will have 40,000 troops flocking to his banner and you will be the succor." to Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
  • "Don't go, please don't go, Just because you have done everything that you've promised , Please don't leave me, you are the milk of human kindness, the light in my dark, dark world, without you, life is a desert, a howl in the wilderness. Please God in your mercy don't take her away from me...........my son needs his mother and I need my queen" Henry to Jane Seymour on her death bed
DEFINING EPISODES | MEMORABLE SCENES
  • The wrestling match with the King of France at the Cloth of Gold.
  • When Henry speaks to Wolsey about seeking a lasting friendship with Charles V rather than maintaining a French alliance.
  • Henry confronts ambassador Mendoza after learning that Charles V has released the King of France as a prisoner without consulting him "a friend and ally".
  • Henry confesses his concerns about marrying his brother's widow.
  • Henry approaches Anne asking her to be his official mistress.
  • Henry promises to honor Anne's maidenhead until they marry.


PHOTOS
King Henry VIII - The Tudors Wiki

JRM as Henry
Season 3
Henry by Joos Van Cleve 1535
Henry VIII by Joos Van Cleve c. 1535
aged 44
Henry as portrayed by Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Jonathan Rhys Meyers aged 30
playing Henry VIII in Season 2
King Henry VIII c. 1520
Henry VIII aged 29
JRM as Henry
Season 1		Henry VIII by Horenbout
Henry VIII c. 1525/6 aged approx 35
Miniature by Lucas Horenbout
Promo for Season 1 with clips of interviews from the cast & writer about Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII
We all know about the Fat Old Henry VIII, what about the Young Henry VIII (A showtime promo video for Season 1)

Promo for Season 2 with clips from the cast & writer
Promo - Making a king : Bypassing the typical costume drama for a more scandalous take on the times

Jonathan Rhys Meyers talks at length
about his character's life & loves
For more on Henry VIII - click links below
















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TudorFan89 I was watching the two episodes where Henry sees Mary and Elizabeth (page: 1 2) 38 Sep 30 2009, 8:55 PM EDT by amore_angel
Thread started: Sep 16 2009, 5:05 PM EDT  Watch
After he has not seen them in while is me or but does he kinda have a look as if he saw Anne or Catherine .
-I am sorry if this has been talked about before
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charlucy Henry's Sex Life 14 Sep 27 2009, 7:48 AM EDT by KingHenryVIII
Thread started: Jul 16 2009, 3:11 PM EDT  Watch
Do you think that the reason had so many wives wasn't because he wanted to or had to but because secretly he was gay?
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KingHenryVIII How come... 4 Sep 26 2009, 1:40 PM EDT by KingHenryVIII
Thread started: Sep 23 2009, 1:10 PM EDT  Watch
this page has been locked? I've seen several mistakes on this page. I'd rather not have people read false information about my person.
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