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Henry was born on June 28,1491 in the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, Kent , second son (and third child) of King Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth of York. He had six siblings but only three survived into adulthood: his older brother Arthur,Prince of Wales and their sisters Mary and Margaret. He was given a first rate education from leading tutors and given appointments such as Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of Cinque Ports, Earl Marshal of England, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and introduced to the Order of the Bath at an early age, as he was not expected to be a king. Subsequently, he was created as the Duke of York. His father wanted to keep control of the lucrative positions and not share them with established families. He played significant ceremonial roles surrounding his brother's marriage to Catherine of Aragon (daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon) in November, 1501.

At the age of 10, Henry became the new Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall upon his brother's death from sweating sickness, his father gave him few tasks and had him under strict supervision and did not have him appear in public. The elder Henry renewed his efforts for an alliance with England and Spain and offered for the younger Henry to marry his brother's widow (Catherine of Aragon), shortly after Arthur's Death. Both the elder Henry and Isabella I of Castile were keen on the idea and a marriage treaty was made on June 23,1503. Two days later, Henry and Catherine were betrothed. A papal dispensation was required and Catherine of Aragon and her duenna (chaperone) claimed the marriage to Arthur, Prince of Wales was not consummated. Due to political complications arising from Isabella I's death (succession and deteriorated relations with Henry VII and Ferdinand II of Aragon), Catherine of Aragon was in limbo and stayed in England and was made an Ambassador to allow her to stay indefinitely but Henry rejected the marriage.

Upon his father's death on April 21,1509, Henry succeeded the throne at the age of 17 and decided to declare that he would indeed marry Catherine of Aragon, soon after his father's burial. It was a low key affair and the wedding took place at the friar's church in Greenwich on June 11, 1509. On June 23,1509 they were jointly crowned as King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon in a grand affair.

Two days after his coronation, he arrested his father's unpopular ministers (Sir Richard Empson and Edmumd Dudley) for high treason and executed in 1510. He also returned the public money extorted by the two ministers. He pardoned several that were imprisoned by his father, such as the Marques of Dorset.

His marriage to Catherine of Aragon produced a total of seven children but only one survived to adulthood, a daughter named Mary (born on February 18,1516). He had many mistresses, most notably, the sister of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Elizabeth Blount. Out of any purported illegitimate children he may have had with his mistresses, only one was acknowledged, a son named Henry Fitzroy (from Elizabeth Blount). Henry Fitzroy was born on June 15, 1519 and named as Duke of Richmond in 1525, which many thought was a step to legitimization. Parliament enabled the Second Succession Act in 1536 which would've made Henry Fitzroy King but he died of illness (left behind a widow, Lady Mary Howard and their marriage produced no children) .

He also had an affair with Mary Boleyn, one of Queen Catherine of Aragon's ladies in waiting. In 1525 he became more impatient with Catherine's inability to have (his much desired) male heir and became enamored with Mary Boleyn's sister, Anne. Anne resisted his attempts to seduce her and refused to become his mistress, as Mary had. His desire to marry Anne and annul the marriage to Catherine would lead him to reject the papal authority and begin the English Reformation.

By 1527, Henry was convinced that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was cursed because of the lack of living male heir (for marrying his brother's widow). Attempts to have Catherine retire to a nunnery or go down quietly failed. As well as attempting to obtain an annulment from the Pope in 1529. Cardinal Wolsey bore the brunt of the blame for failing to obtain the annulment for King Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon and was charged with treason and praemumire but died while awaiting trial. Subsequently, Sir Thomas More was appointed Lord Chancellor and Chief Minister. More and several others (including the King's sister Mary) supported Catherine of Aragon's case in the annulment.

Around 1531, Catherine of Aragon was banished from court and her rooms were given to Anne Boleyn. In the winter of 1532, Henry and Anne met with King Francis I of France to enlist support for their marriage. Immediately after they returned from Dover, they had a secret marriage ceremony. Soon Anne became pregnant and they had a second marriage ceremony in London on January 23,1533. Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury declared the marriage to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon as null and void on May 23,1533. Days later, Cranmer declared the marriage to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn as legal and valid . Catherine of Aragon was stripped of her title as Queen and demoted to her former title of Dowager Princess of Wales. Anne was crowned Queen Consort on June 1,1533. Months later, Anne gave birth on September 7,1533. To their dismay, a girl named Elizabeth.

The Act of Succession 1533 legitimized Henry's marriage to Anne and any child(ren) in their marriage to be legitimate and in the line of succession. Whereas Mary (daughter of Catherine of Aragon) was declared illegitimate and stripped of her title as Princess. The Act of Supremacy 1534 recognized the King's status as Supreme Head of the Church of England along with the Act in Restraint of Appeals in 1532 abolishing the right to appeal in Rome. King Henry VIII and Thomas Cranmer were subsequently excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Failure to submit to the oath was treason and punishable by death.

John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and Sir Thomas More were staunch Catholics (and supporters of Catherine of Aragon) that refused to take the oath, they were each arrested and executed for treason.

His marriage to Anne was mercurial, as she was reputed for her irritability and violent temper. Her independent and opinionated nature was acceptable as a mistress but not as a wife. She refused to play the submissive role expected of her. She became pregnant again in 1534 and miscarried. Anne's ultimate downfall was when she became pregnant for the third and final time that resulted in the stillbirth of a male in 1536. He began to take an interest in one of Anne's ladies in waiting, Jane Seymour. Anne and her purported lovers, Henry Norris, Mark Smeaton, Sir Francis Weston and her brother George Boleyn were charged with treason (adultery and incest) and executed in May,1536.

Days after Anne Boleyn's execution, he became engaged to and subsequently married Jane Seymour. On October 12,1537, Jane Seymour gave birth to the long awaited legitimate son and heir, Edward. A few weeks after the birth, she died from childbirth complications stemming from a difficult labor and birth. Henry did not remarry and wore black for three years . During his time as a widower, he gained a substantial amount of weight and as a result, developed gout and other health problems.

Eventually, Thomas Cromwell, the Chief Minister suggested to the King to marry the Protestant German Anne of Cleves, the daughter of the Duke of Cleves to secure a political alliance. Henry was enamored with the portrait, to marry her at once and set out to meet Anne of Cleves in disguise but changed his mind claiming "I LIKE HER NOT!" when he first saw her in person. Despite his misgivings, the marriage went on. The marriage was annulled on the grounds of the lack of consummation and her pre-contract (betrothal) with Francis, the son of the Duke of Lorraine. Anne of Cleves was generously rewarded for consenting to the annulment with the Richmond Palace, Hever Castle (former family home of Anne Boleyn), a generous settlement and the honorary title of "The King's Beloved Sister" provided she remain in England. Thomas Cromwell fell out of favor with the King due to his role in the unsuccessful marriage to Anne of Cleves and was summarily charged with treason and executed by beheading.

One the same day Thomas Cromwell was executed (on July 28,1540) the middle-aged King married the young teen aged Catherine Howard (a lady in waiting to the fourth Queen Anne of Cleves and first cousin to the second Queen Anne Boleyn). Henry was delighted with his young and new Queen and awarded her with splendid jewels and lands that formerly belonged to Thomas Cromwell. Not long after the marriage, Catherine Howard was engaged in an adulterous affair with the King's groomsman, Thomas Culpeper. She employed her former lover, Francis Dereham (they lived together in Lambeth at the home of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk) in her household as a Secretary to buy his silence. Eventually her affair and licentious history came to light and she was executed by beheading (along with her lovers and her principle lady in waiting, Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford for aiding and abetting) on February 12,1542.

A year later in July, 1543 he married his sixth and final wife, the wealthy and twice-widowed Catherine Parr. She helped reconcile the King's daughter's Mary and Elizabeth and an Act of Parliament restored them to the line of succession after Edward.

Henry's health declined and his obesity hastened his death. He died at age 55 on January 28,1547 at the Palace of Whitehall. He was interred in the St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, next to his third wife Jane Seymour.

Upon Henry's death, his young son Edward succeeded the throne at age 9 and was unable to rule directly. Henry's will designated that 16 executors were to serve under the council of regency until Edward reached the age of majority (18 years old). Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (the young King's maternal uncle) was chosen as the Lord Protector of the Realm. If Edward died without heirs, Mary would succeed the throne and if Mary died without heirs, Elizabeth would succeed. If Elizabeth died without heirs, the crown would then go to the descendants of Henry's deceased sister, Mary the Greys. The Stuarts (from Henry's sister Margaret), rulers of Scotland were excluded from the line of succession. The final provision in the will failed when James I of Scotland became James I of England and VI of Scotland in 1603.

Description
Henry was born on June 28,1491 in the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, Kent , second son (and third child) of King Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth of York. He had six siblings but only three survived into adulthood: his older brother Arthur,Prince of Wales and their sisters Mary and Margaret. He was given a first rate education from leading tutors and given appointments such as Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of Cinque Ports, Earl Marshal of England, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and introduced to the Order of the Bath at an early age, as he was not expected to be a king. Subsequently, he was created as the Duke of York. His father wanted to keep control of the lucrative positions and not share them with established families. He played significant ceremonial roles surrounding his brother's marriage to Catherine of Aragon (daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon) in November, 1501.

At the age of 10, Henry became the new Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall upon his brother's death from sweating sickness, his father gave him few tasks and had him under strict supervision and did not have him appear in public. The elder Henry renewed his efforts for an alliance with England and Spain and offered for the younger Henry to marry his brother's widow (Catherine of Aragon), shortly after Arthur's Death. Both the elder Henry and Isabella I of Castile were keen on the idea and a marriage treaty was made on June 23,1503. Two days later, Henry and Catherine were betrothed. A papal dispensation was required and Catherine of Aragon and her duenna (chaperone) claimed the marriage to Arthur, Prince of Wales was not consummated. Due to political complications arising from Isabella I's death (succession and deteriorated relations with Henry VII and Ferdinand II of Aragon), Catherine of Aragon was in limbo and stayed in England and was made an Ambassador to allow her to stay indefinitely but Henry rejected the marriage.

Upon his father's death on April 21,1509, Henry succeeded the throne at the age of 17 and decided to declare that he would indeed marry Catherine of Aragon, soon after his father's burial. It was a low key affair and the wedding took place at the friar's church in Greenwich on June 11, 1509. On June 23,1509 they were jointly crowned as King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon in a grand affair.

Two days after his coronation, he arrested his father's unpopular ministers (Sir Richard Empson and Edmumd Dudley) for high treason and executed in 1510. He also returned the public money extorted by the two ministers. He pardoned several that were imprisoned by his father, such as the Marques of Dorset.

His marriage to Catherine of Aragon produced a total of seven children but only one survived to adulthood, a daughter named Mary (born on February 18,1516). He had many mistresses, most notably, the sister of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Elizabeth Blount. Out of any purported illegitimate children he may have had with his mistresses, only one was acknowledged, a son named Henry Fitzroy (from Elizabeth Blount). Henry Fitzroy was born on June 15, 1519 and named as Duke of Richmond in 1525, which many thought was a step to legitimization. Parliament enabled the Second Succession Act in 1536 which would've made Henry Fitzroy King but he died of illness (left behind a widow, Lady Mary Howard and their marriage produced no children) .

He also had an affair with Mary Boleyn, one of Queen Catherine of Aragon's ladies in waiting. In 1525 he became more impatient with Catherine's inability to have (his much desired) male heir and became enamored with Mary Boleyn's sister, Anne. Anne resisted his attempts to seduce her and refused to become his mistress, as Mary had. His desire to marry Anne and annul the marriage to Catherine would lead him to reject the papal authority and begin the English Reformation.

By 1527, Henry was convinced that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was cursed because of the lack of living male heir (for marrying his brother's widow). Attempts to have Catherine retire to a nunnery or go down quietly failed. As well as attempting to obtain an annulment from the Pope in 1529. Cardinal Wolsey bore the brunt of the blame for failing to obtain the annulment for King Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon and was charged with treason and praemumire but died while awaiting trial. Subsequently, Sir Thomas More was appointed Lord Chancellor and Chief Minister. More and several others (including the King's sister Mary) supported Catherine of Aragon's case in the annulment.

Around 1531, Catherine of Aragon was banished from court and her rooms were given to Anne Boleyn. In the winter of 1532, Henry and Anne met with King Francis I of France to enlist support for their marriage. Immediately after they returned from Dover, they had a secret marriage ceremony. Soon Anne became pregnant and they had a second marriage ceremony in London on January 23,1533. Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury declared the marriage to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon as null and void on May 23,1533. Days later, Cranmer declared the marriage to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn as legal and valid . Catherine of Aragon was stripped of her title as Queen and demoted to her former title of Dowager Princess of Wales. Anne was crowned Queen Consort on June 1,1533. Months later, Anne gave birth on September 7,1533. To their dismay, a girl named Elizabeth.

The Act of Succession 1533 legitimized Henry's marriage to Anne and any child(ren) in their marriage to be legitimate and in the line of succession. Whereas Mary (daughter of Catherine of Aragon) was declared illegitimate and stripped of her title as Princess. The Act of Supremacy 1534 recognized the King's status as Supreme Head of the Church of England along with the Act in Restraint of Appeals in 1532 abolishing the right to appeal in Rome. King Henry VIII and Thomas Cranmer were subsequently excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Failure to submit to the oath was treason and punishable by death.

John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and Sir Thomas More were staunch Catholics (and supporters of Catherine of Aragon) that refused to take the oath, they were each arrested and executed for treason.

His marriage to Anne was mercurial, as she was reputed for her irritability and violent temper. Her independent and opinionated nature was acceptable as a mistress but not as a wife. She refused to play the submissive role expected of her. She became pregnant again in 1534 and miscarried. Anne's ultimate downfall was when she became pregnant for the third and final time that resulted in the stillbirth of a male in 1536. He began to take an interest in one of Anne's ladies in waiting, Jane Seymour. Anne and her purported lovers, Henry Norris, Mark Smeaton, Sir Francis Weston and her brother George Boleyn were charged with treason (adultery and incest) and executed in May,1536.

Days after Anne Boleyn's execution, he became engaged to and subsequently married Jane Seymour. On October 12,1537, Jane Seymour gave birth to the long awaited legitimate son and heir, Edward. A few weeks after the birth, she died from childbirth complications stemming from a difficult labor and birth. Henry did not remarry and wore black for three years . During his time as a widower, he gained a substantial amount of weight and as a result, developed gout and other health problems.

Eventually, Thomas Cromwell, the Chief Minister suggested to the King to marry the Protestant German Anne of Cleves, the daughter of the Duke of Cleves to secure a political alliance. Henry was enamored with the portrait, to marry her at once and set out to meet Anne of Cleves in disguise but changed his mind claiming "I LIKE HER NOT!" when he first saw her in person. Despite his misgivings, the marriage went on. The marriage was annulled on the grounds of the lack of consummation and her pre-contract (betrothal) with Francis, the son of the Duke of Lorraine. Anne of Cleves was generously rewarded for consenting to the annulment with the Richmond Palace, Hever Castle (former family home of Anne Boleyn), a generous settlement and the honorary title of "The King's Beloved Sister" provided she remain in England. Thomas Cromwell fell out of favor with the King due to his role in the unsuccessful marriage to Anne of Cleves and was summarily charged with treason and executed by beheading.

One the same day Thomas Cromwell was executed (on July 28,1540) the middle-aged King married the young teen aged Catherine Howard (a lady in waiting to the fourth Queen Anne of Cleves and first cousin to the second Queen Anne Boleyn). Henry was delighted with his young and new Queen and awarded her with splendid jewels and lands that formerly belonged to Thomas Cromwell. Not long after the marriage, Catherine Howard was engaged in an adulterous affair with the King's groomsman, Thomas Culpeper. She employed her former lover, Francis Dereham (they lived together in Lambeth at the home of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk) in her household as a Secretary to buy his silence. Eventually her affair and licentious history came to light and she was executed by beheading (along with her lovers and her principle lady in waiting, Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford for aiding and abetting) on February 12,1542.

A year later in July, 1543 he married his sixth and final wife, the wealthy and twice-widowed Catherine Parr. She helped reconcile the King's daughter's Mary and Elizabeth and an Act of Parliament restored them to the line of succession after Edward.

Henry's health declined and his obesity hastened his death. He died at age 55 on January 28,1547 at the Palace of Whitehall. He was interred in the St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, next to his third wife Jane Seymour.

Upon Henry's death, his young son Edward succeeded the throne at age 9 and was unable to rule directly. Henry's will designated that 16 executors were to serve under the council of regency until Edward reached the age of majority (18 years old). Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (the young King's maternal uncle) was chosen as the Lord Protector of the Realm. If Edward died without heirs, Mary would succeed the throne and if Mary died without heirs, Elizabeth would succeed. If Elizabeth died without heirs, the crown would then go to the descendants of Henry's deceased sister, Mary the Greys. The Stuarts (from Henry's sister Margaret), rulers of Scotland were excluded from the line of succession. The final provision in the will failed when James I of Scotland became James I of England and VI of Scotland in 1603.