character

• Character of Henry VIII

  • became king young, two months before his eighteenth
  • was a bright boy tutored in english latin french, good musician and jouster, "extroverted, affable and charming"
  • had lived with his father at Richmond Court after his mother and brother's deaths
  • was taught the code of chivalry
  • had no experience in government, state and public affairs likely affecting his initial ability to handle his role as King, wasn't considered likely to ascend so hadn't been prepped as well as arthur was
• Character of Henry VIII

  • his accession was welcomed as a breath of fresh air after the tense and stifling second half of 7s rule, the "the end of sadness, the beginning of joy" (more's poem presented at coronation)
  • his kingship differed from his father's, he disliked the business of government and had no experience, but had the ability to intervene anyway.
  • this threw into jeopardy the quality of decision making within the administration, the personal monarchy meant decisions came down to henry.
  • lacked his father's work-ethic evident in his pageantry sports hunting and tournaments
• Henry VII's Legacy- what he left

  • money, he left around £300k in inheritance
  • unpopular mechanisms for extracting money that had to be dealt with
  • peaceful foreign policy
  • a councilliar government
• Henry VII's Legacy

  • everything 7 left dissapeared
  • his money was wasted on aggressive foreign policy
  • the councilliar government was replaced with the chief ministers Wolsey, then Crowmwell (also More as lord chancellor)
  • the council learned is abolished and many bonds and recognisances cancelled. empson and dudley's arrest is orchestrated by Richard Fox and then executed on henry's order in 1510
  • henry wanted to distance himself from 7 to boost his popularity with the people, especially those who felt victimised by 7's approach to taxation, mainly the nobles
• Early Aims

  other than dismantling the unpopular aspects of 7's reign

  • establish his status amongst other european monarchs through marriage
  • re-establish the nobility
  • establish himself as a warrior king through success in battle
• Early Aims- Status

  • married Catherine of Aragon, his brother Arthur's widow. 7 had tried to get the king of Spain Ferdinand to allow for her to remarry 8, so kept her at court even after the death of her mother. they married in 1509, after 7's death
  • 8 was quick to rush into their marriage, which was initially successful, but he would later regret marrying an older women when CoA failed to birth him an heir by the 1520s
• Henry VIII was born in 1491 and died in 1547. he assented in 1509.
• Early Aims- Nobility

  • 7 limited the nobility, freezing them from political influence by keeping them from court and his peaceful foreign policy stopped their traditional role- pursuit of military glory
  • 8 shared their tastes, they were his sporting/hunting partners and accompanyied him to his war with france
  • however, wolsey was the one promoted for organisation, preventing the peers from securing political domination
  • in 1521 the duke of buckingham, a potential usurper due to his lineage, was executed on dubious charges, showing henry was suspicious of noble yorkists/usurpers
• Early Aims - Foreign Policy

  • 8 abandoned 7's peaceful foreign policy in favour of military glory, leading quickly into recurring wars with france which went on until the end of his reign. vast amounts of money were spent and little gained. mixed with the occasional alliance against the Holy Roman Empire/ Spain
• Henry's Later Aims


  • by the first five years, 8 had destroyed his father's legacy through extravagance and warfare
  • his reign led to the broadening use of statute law (acts of parliament) to achieve political ends, growing the importance of parliament
  • he didn't have a consistent approach to aims in government, some themes recur like pursuing glory and succession but he was remarkably uninterested in the business of government other than the occasional impulsive basis.
  • destruction of much traditional religion and plundering of the church's wealth through the Break and then the Dissolution
• Henry's Later Character


  • exhibited ruthlessness: Empson, Dudley and Buckingham, resorting to execution on flimsy charges. combined tyranny and insecurity
  • showed impulsivity, like in the speed of his marriage to catherine, around 2 months after he became king, as well as AoC and CH. as well as coming to regret cromwell's execution "most faithful servant"
  • combined with his poor foreign policy decisions, his personality spelled disaster for english governing
  • he gave total priority to personal pleasure