Henry Viii as a King, Evaluation
How far did Henry VIII achieve his aims as king between 1509-1514?
To an extent Henry VIII achieved his aims as King between 1509-1515. Whilst he achieved aims such as to have glory in battle such as with France to earn prestige and therefore establish greater power within the European countries, he did fail in some aspects with most set aim as king. An example of this is his inability to produce a male heir to the throne which arguably was one of his prime aims as king. One of Henry’s main aims as king was to be a different leader in terms of his style from that of his father; he wanted to be a more warlike leader who was more dominant across Europe and also to be a generally more popular king. We know that this would have been one of Henry’s main aims as in the first year of his reign he executed Empson and Dudley. These two people were corrupt and unfair leaders and were very unpopular within England; they were very much associated with Henry’s father. By Henry executing them publically in 1510, by way of a big public ceremony illustrated two things to the people; firstly that he is a perhaps fairer king and that their desires were what were to shape his decisions and secondly that he would be a completely different, more popular and significant leader on a larger scale, so within Europe, by having more of a dominant presence, this is shown through the bold and trademarking execution. Henry succeeded in this aim, he indeed did become a more popular leader by taking the interests of his people very seriously, and he even built a strong army to protect everyone from frequent civil wars so making England more of a unity in itself and therefore a stronger nation. Also Henry, in an attempt of gaining the popularity from the nobility, cuts back on bonds and recognizes to please them as well as letting the nobles into his private life more and inviting them to private events of his, this in turn would’ve made them feel more important and involved with the
To an extent Henry VIII achieved his aims as King between 1509-1515. Whilst he achieved aims such as to have glory in battle such as with France to earn prestige and therefore establish greater power within the European countries, he did fail in some aspects with most set aim as king. An example of this is his inability to produce a male heir to the throne which arguably was one of his prime aims as king. One of Henry’s main aims as king was to be a different leader in terms of his style from that of his father; he wanted to be a more warlike leader who was more dominant across Europe and also to be a generally more popular king. We know that this would have been one of Henry’s main aims as in the first year of his reign he executed Empson and Dudley. These two people were corrupt and unfair leaders and were very unpopular within England; they were very much associated with Henry’s father. By Henry executing them publically in 1510, by way of a big public ceremony illustrated two things to the people; firstly that he is a perhaps fairer king and that their desires were what were to shape his decisions and secondly that he would be a completely different, more popular and significant leader on a larger scale, so within Europe, by having more of a dominant presence, this is shown through the bold and trademarking execution. Henry succeeded in this aim, he indeed did become a more popular leader by taking the interests of his people very seriously, and he even built a strong army to protect everyone from frequent civil wars so making England more of a unity in itself and therefore a stronger nation. Also Henry, in an attempt of gaining the popularity from the nobility, cuts back on bonds and recognizes to please them as well as letting the nobles into his private life more and inviting them to private events of his, this in turn would’ve made them feel more important and involved with the