King+Henry+VIII

__ Henry VIII  __ Seher Roychowdhury Henry VIII was one of the most well known and infamous kings in England. He eventually beheaded two of his wives. Henry was well educated, athletic, and determined. On June 28, 1491, a boy named Henry VIII was born. He was named after his father, King Henry VIII. Henry was the third child and second son. His parents were King Henry VII, and Elizabeth of York. When Henry was a young prince, he spoke four languages, including Latin. He also played instruments. He owned 10 trombones, 14 trumpets, 5 bagpipes, 76 recorders, and 78 flutes. In all, he had 183 instruments! He composed music, and was athletic too. When he was still young, Henry loved to joust and hunt. During his youth, Henry was good at everything, and handsome but spoiled. Once he had a whipping boy, who got whipped every time Henry did something wrong. Although as Henry aged, his temper became worse. Henry became king at the age of 18, and that’s where it all started. King Henry married Catherine of Aragon, the first of his six wives. His six wives were: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. Catherine of Aragon had first married Henry’s brother, who died shortly after their marriage. Catherine’s father was a very important person in Spain, so Henry VII wanted Catherine to marry Henry instead. Back then, it was against the church law for a woman to marry her dead husband’s brother, but the Pope liked Henry, so he made an exception. Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon had two children, although their first child died 2 months after he was born. Their second child was a daughter, named Mary. In all, three of Henry’s children took the throne. They were Edward VI, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth I. After that he met Anne Boleyn, he wanted to annul the marriage between Catherine of Aragon and him. When he asked the Pope if he could annul the marriage, the pope said he wouldn’t because her father was very important. Henry VIII became very angry and started the Church of England, which severed all ties with the Roman Catholic Church. When Henry VIII started the Church of England, the Pope excommunicated Henry. Before Henry VIII and the Pope severed ties, the Pope and Henry were so close, that the Pope called Henry the “Defender of Faith”. Henry had an advisor named Wolsey, who was the one who asked the Pope to annul the marriage. When Wolsey came back telling Henry he said no, he was thrown in prison. Although Wolsey died right before the trial. Henry VIII died on January 28, 1547. __ Reference __

1. “Henry VIII.” VIII Encyclopaedia __Britannica – School Edition.__ April 21, 2008 http://school.eb.com/elementary/article?articleId=353239&query=henry%20VIII&ct = 2. Oliver, Marilyn Tower. __The Importance of Henry VIII__. San Diego: Lucent Books, 2004.   3. “Henry VIII.” __World Book Online__. April 21, 2008 http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar253039&st=henry+viii 4. “The Life of King Henry VIII.” __Mrs. Farrell’s Favorites.__ April 21, 2008 http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/tudorbio.htm 5. “Henry VIII.” __Mrs. Farrell’s Favorites.__ April 21, 2008 http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page19.asp 6. “Henry VIII.” __Mrs. Farrell’s Favorites.__ April 21, 2008 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/henry_viii_king.shtml 7. “Henry VIII King of England.” __Mrs. Farrell’s Favorites.__ April 21, 2008 http://tudorhistory.org/henry8/ 8. “Who Was Henry VIII?” __Mrs. Farrell’s Favorites.__ April 21, 2008 http://www.brims.co.uk/tudors/henry.html __ King Henry VIII __ By Colin Reder King Henry was an interesting King of England. He changed the religion of England because he needed to provide an heir for the trone of England. He became king at the age of 16 and his reign lasted for 38 years. King Henry was born on June 28, 1491, in England. He was the son of Henry VII. He had five other brothers and sisters. Henry had a tough childhood. He had 5 brothers and sisters and only 2 of them survived. Henry became a knight at a younger age then most people. He competed in tournaments and other events as a knight. When he was sixteen, the throne was handed down to him and he married Princess Katherine of Greenwich. As a king, Henry could order his subjects around and did what ever he pleased. In his spare time, Henry liked to listen to music, read, and to hear people applaud for him so he could feel proud of himself. Henry also loved to go to tournaments, but when he went he didn’t just watch, he would also gamble. Henry was much known for gambling. He would gamble huge amounts of money ranging from 5,000 to 500,000 pounds. Henry’s wife was unable to produce a son. He wanted a son to continue the Tudor family reign. He asked the pope for a divorce, but the pope would not allow this to happen because it was against the Catholic rule. Henry became furious with the pope because he would not allow the divorce. Henry spent long days thinking of what to do. One day, after every thing he tried, he decided behead her. He still wanted a son, so he married the young beautiful Anne Boleyn. As a king, Henry expected the best of everything. He would want to have the best performers at his parties, he wanted to win his bets, and most of all, he wanted a son. Whenever Henry got what he wanted, he was pleased, but when he was trying to get it, he would do anything. In 1511, Henry had to act quickly since the French battleships were coming to attack on England. Henry underestimated the number of troops sent from France. The French sent about 40,000 men and 200 ships, Henry sent 20,000 men and 150 ships. The British were out numbered, but Henry took the billions of pounds of family money and fully stocked his soldiers. Henry had different sections of men, like field soldiers, crossbow men, cannoners, and men on horse. Each field solider was equipped with one double-edged dagger, a new black powder hand gun, and a long bow. The crossbow men had one big crossbow, a dagger, and a small handgun. The cannoners were all different. Henry ordered 15 big cannons which were stationary and they shot 260 pound balls. He bought 24 small cannons which could roll around and shot 100 pound balls. The men with the big cannons got a friction stick and a small dagger, and the men with the small cannons got a cannon, a small dagger, and a hand gun. Last the men on horse got a sword, 2 handguns (2 for one backup), and a shield. At the end of winning the war against France, the Scots decided to join the war with France so Henry had to send all of his extra men to fight them. As the war was ending in France, the English sent all the rest of the survivors to fight the Scots. The English were even more out numbered. They only had 900 men and the Scots had 2,000. But since the Scots were so unequipped the English won. 150 injured men and 200 other men retuned. After the war, Henry was almost broke and he had no men in his army. It took years to recover from the loss of life. Henry did many things in his life. Unfortunately in the month of April in 1545 Henry passed away.

Bibliography Greaves, Richard L. "Henry VIII." __World Book Online Reference Center__. 2008. [Place of access.] 2 May 2008 . \  "Henry VIII." Reviewed by Robert Lacey and Jeremy Black. //The New Book of Knowledge®//. 2008. Grolier Online. 2 May 2008 . Ford, Nick. __Henry VIII__. New York: New York. Rosen, 2005. 