When he ascended the English throne in 1509, Henry VIII had wanted to be loved; he wanted his kingship to be natural and just. He thought of himself as good.
But by the time he died in 1547, the athletic boy whose cloth and hair was spun with gold had become an obese, temperamental monster. His reputation was that of a brute whose hands were soaked with the blood of the executions he ordered.
Below are some key moments in Henry’s reign that mark the king’s descent into a paranoid, megalomaniac.
On Midsummer's Day in 1509 a 17 year old was crowned king of England. He would go on to transform his realm over almost four decades on the throne. But who was Henry VIII? Man or monster, statesman or tyrant?
Henry will be forever remembered for his marriages. Six, by far the most of any English king. He sought glory and immortality. His awareness of his dynasty and legacy grew more and more pronounced as he grew older.
