Preview

Henry the VIII: Good or Bad King?

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1292 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Henry the VIII: Good or Bad King?
Introduction:

Henry VIII was King of England for 38 years from 1509 till 1547. Henry the VIII was the youngest son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. His parents spoiled him as a child because he was just a prince; his brother was the one who was the heir to the throne. That changed when Arthur died as a teenager, Henry was pushed into the role of his brother, and he had to marry his brothers widow, Catherine of Aragon. When his father died his was crowned king of England.
There has been a lot of discussion on whether or not he was a good king, and I am going to try and make a conclusion.

Henry The VIII: Good OR Bad King?
Henry The VIII: Good OR Bad King?

When Henry VIII became King of England, he was a Catholic and had no problems with the rules of the church. However he was a man lustful for power and wanted this power to last so of course he would need a son, which his wife couldn’t give him at the time. Also influencing him was the fact that the churches in Europe were divided into Protestant and Catholic, Protestant by Martin Luther and Catholic by the pope.

His main reason for wanting to break away from the Catholic Church was to give power to his family, in which he needed a son but he couldn’t have a son with Catherine, his wife. So he wanted a divorce so he could marry someone else and divorcing at this time was against the Catholic law, and only the Pope can allow you to divorce. So Henry VIII got people to ask the Pope but was turned down and was told that he was not allowed to divorce his first wife Catherine. This got Henry very annoyed because he was King of England and didn’t like being told what to do by other people. He also had a very bad temper and quickly got annoyed that the Pope was trying to overrule him. Henry VIII was also very annoyed at Wolsey his adviser at the time for not being able to get him a divorce so he fired him and had him beheaded. He still didn’t have his divorce and also a new person had come to his

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Henry Tudor, son of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth York, was born at the royal residence, Greenwich Palace, on June 28, 1491. Following the death of his brother, Arthur, he became Henry VIII, king of England. He married six times, beheaded two of his wives and was the main instigator of the English Reformation. His only surviving son, Edward VI, succeeded him after his death on January 28, 1547.…

    • 4482 Words
    • 18 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The King’s marriage kick started the English Reformation. Catherine Aragon would not produce a male heir for King Henry VIII, only Mary, and Henry wanted a divorce.…

    • 3911 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ap Euro chapter 14

    • 558 Words
    • 2 Pages

    He ruled England from 1509-1547. He broke the Catholic Church in England because his petition to Pope Clement VII for an annulment…

    • 558 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Roman Catholic Church was very powerful in England. Henry hated the fact that his country should allow someone else to have so much power of them. After all, Henry was very lustful for power, and was used to getting what he wants when he wants!…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Henry VII born on the 28th of January of 1457 and died on the 21st of April of 1509 was the first of five Tudor kings and queens that ruled England for around 120 years, quite short for that time, but they become one of the most famous dynasties of Europe’s history.…

    • 1491 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A first reason why henry viii broke from Rome was religion. You know this because he wanted to change the Catholic Church to protestant and he also thought that the Catholic Church was corrupt so he thought if he was head if the church it wouldn’t be. Henry viii didn’t like the way that Catholics could pay to have their sins removed. Therefore religion made henry viii break with Rome because if he was made head of the church he could say that only god could remove their sins he could also change the way the church was run so maybe it wouldn’t be corrupt.…

    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Mr. David Starkey, Henry VIII (the king) was far from similar to Henry VIII (the kid). Instead of researching through the records of the Royal Chamber, Starkey was able to find more details about Henry VIII’s early childhood in the Exchequer. The Royal Chamber wasn’t implemented yet until King Henry VII invades France back in 1492. By scavenging through the documents of the Exchequer, Starkey found a window where he could look at how Henry VIII was before all those wives and before becoming a king. To Starkey, how Henry VII was raised was a very crucial part of his life because it would explain how much of an influence it had made on his way to the throne and also during his reign at the throne.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Reformation in England began rather political, opposed to religiously later on, because of a dispute between the king and the pope (Nelson). The source of this dispute was that the king was expected to produce a male heir to the throne. England did not have the Salic law, which in France this law forbade female heirs to the throne, though England had just surfaced from a prolonged civil war, the Wars of the Roses, so a new male bloodline was needed to maintain the throne and prevent resumption of another civil war (Nelson). Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s then wife, had borne him many children, although only one remained living, Mary, and she was not expected to produce anymore (Nelson). Ordinarily the procedure in such a case was to find a fault in the marriage that would be enough for the pope to permit an annulment (Nelson).…

    • 1354 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    On the face of it, Henry showed Protestant sympathies in various legislations and in his behaviour through, for example, the Act of Supremacy, 1534, and the dissolution of the monasteries respectively. However, Henry not only acted similarly towards Catholicism, through, for example the Six Articles, 1539, but also appears to have had alternative motives for these seeming moves towards Protestantism.…

    • 2324 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    ap us chapter 2

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages

    King Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s, launching the English Protestant Reformation, and intensifying the rivalry with Catholic Spain.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When King Henry VIII became head of The Church of England, catholic churches started losing land and were Robbed, spoiled, and shorn Of cattle and corn. (doc 4) This was explained by catholic monks. Later in this document it says how they were shorn of their houses and lands. This shows how hostile the king was towards the catholic church after they did not allow him to get a divorce.…

    • 603 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people wonder why King Henry VIII, was such a brutal king. King Henry had six wives, he lost one due to a jousting accident. Henry wanted his tomb a certain way so he tried to have it made, however they didn’t get it made in time. As a young boy Henry was given a special task from Prince Arthur. King Henry just wanted a male heir for the throne and was willing to do anything to get one. I personally do not agree with what he did.…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anne Boleyn introduced Henry to some religious texts that undermined the power of the pope. These texts demonstrated that the king should be head of the church of his country, which helped lead to the idea of breaking away / controlling the church. She believed that Henry should make decisions and not have to bow down to Rome.…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Another reason to why Henry broke from Rome because of his desire for a son. He wanted this so that the Tudor dynasty could continue. Henry knew Catherine of Aragon had now chance of giving him a son. She has had lots of miscarriages and still births. If he broke from Rome he could divorce Catherine and marry Anne Boleyn who had more chance of giving him a son. Catherine’s last pregnancy had been in 1518. Henry didn’t stop sleeping with her until 1524 when he was sure Catherine wouldn’t give him a son. As you can see, this shows Henry would do anything for a son and that’s why Henry broke with Rome.…

    • 825 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unlike Machiavelli, Henry V was a devout Catholic man, which shows in how he ruled. Particularly in war, Henry called upon God several times during…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays