His Majesty

I have this weird obsession with Henry VIII whom I discovered years ago but gotten quite fascinated with his life recently. I've read fictions about him, watched some documentaries about his life and of course some historical dramas about him and his series of six wives.

King Henry VIII was one of the famous English monarchs, and is probably the most well known  of the Tudor kings, reigning from 1509 - 1547. He was known for the separation of Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church.  But he was utterly famous for marrying a total of six wives, where most of them met premature ends, in his search for political alliances, marital bliss and a male heir. 

Ok, from the start. This is going to be a long tedious ride folks and do correct me if I am wrong.

So, King Henry was married to Queen Katherine of Aragon, the daughter of the powerful Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. They were blessed with a daughter, Princess Mary but the king still desired for a son to inherit his throne. Eventually, the king grew frustrated with his marriage since the Queen failed to conceive a son. Some time in 1520, King Henry became infatuated with Anne Boleyn, one of the Queen's lady-in-waiting. So the king wished to marry Anne Boleyn but obviously his wish was rebuffed by the Pope. Since his annulment was without papal approval, King Henry proceeded to separate Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church in order to marry Anne Boleyn. After almost 24 years of marriage, the King divorced Queen Katherine and banished her from the court.

King Henry had another daughter with the second queen, Princess Elizabeth I. Happy ending never was for Anne Boleyn. She was beheaded by the order of the king for treason and infidelity. Months later, he married Jane Seymour, the third queen. Queen Jane Seymour gave birth to a son, the future King Edward IV, but she died weeks later due to postnatal complications.

The fourth marriage was with a political bride, Anne of Cleves. But the marriage only lasted for several days because King Henry did not find Anne of Cleves to be as attractive as her portrait. He had his marriage annulled and proceed to marry his fifth wife, Catherine Howard. Two years later, Queen Catherine was executed on count of treason and adultery. His final marriage was to the widow Catherine Parr before his death in 1547. 

My first thought of King Henry was he's a bully. A tyrant. He sent two of his wives to the chopping block, one was banished from the court and well one was dead. He also executed relatives, ministers, courtiers and also friends, mostly on count of treason. Those who refused to acknowledge his marriage to Anne Boleyn were regarded as traitors. Those who associated with the traitors were also as guilty. And those who never acknowledge him as the superior of the Church of England were acquitted as heretics. He renounced his daughters' illegitimacy, and he forbade Princess Mary from visiting her mother, Queen Katherine, even on her death bed, for fear these two lot would concoct a secret plan towards him. There, the man you love to hate.

But.

But, I think, perhaps His Majesty's ruthlessness, cruelty and blustering egotism were just a masquerade for his insecurity. He was too insecure in his own sense of self, which rendered him to be quite vulnerable to being influenced by those around him, especially by those who had the means and intentions to make Henry feel better about himself. Henry was deeply insecure, and that these individuals were able to exploit and manipulate that insecurity through a different kind of ways.

Or just maybe he developed a firm inner certitude, where he listened to no one but himself and trusting his own opinion and judgement completely.

King Henry VIII, who was once vouched as the handsomest king during his earliest reign, who was once "one of the goodliest men that lived in his time, in manners more than a man, most amiable, courteous and benign in gesture unto all " , an overweight depressed king with erratic behavior, died at the age of  55.

At the end there was no master and servant, no prince and churchman; just a priest preparing a departing soul for eternity.

Henry VII is a complex character. This is why I have an odd fascination about His Majesty.