5/27/2023 0 Comments Holy Week by Louis Aragon![]() Running out of patience with the fruitless negotiations with the Pope, Henry announced that his marriage with Katherine had never been valid, because of her previous relationship with his brother, Prince Arthur. Header: Henry VIII (detail), after Hans Holbein the Younger, probably 17th century, based on a work of 1536, © National Portrait Gallery ![]() Perhaps these go some way to explain his behaviour and gradual decline. Henry was a ‘golden youth’ before a great series of losses and misadventures took their toll. He was a paradox: a strong ruler, yet an anxious, insecure man. It could be said that in many ways Henry VIII made our modern world. The break with Rome, the Reformation and the Dissolution of the Monasteries had profound and lasting effects. Many of his actions as king still resonate today. Two years later Henry’s beloved mother Elizabeth of York died and his protective father Henry VII kept his precious heir cossetted and restricted. ![]() Henry was once a vivacious little boy, adored and indulged until his elder brother Arthur’s death placed a huge, unexpected burden on this second son. But it is too easy to think of Henry VIII simply as the terrible monster of his bloated old age, shuffling painfully through Hampton Court Palace. Infamously, he sent two of his wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, to their deaths on the executioner’s block at the Tower of London. Henry VIII’s reign (1509-47) is usually remembered for the King’s six wives and his legendary appetite. ![]()
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