Under the Planets at Chelsea
I am a Tudor history buff. It all began with an album called "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" by Rick Wakeman. My brother had it and I remember being fascinated by the cover. Rick was strolling through a museum, Maddam Tussaud's in London, perhaps, and the wax figures of Henry and his six wives were standing there. Rick, the former keyboard player for Yes, had composed individual pieces for each of Henry's queens.
I have a ton of books in my library at home about Henry and his assorted wives and children. He is considered, for the most part, to be a brute -- a self-centred, cruel man. He did have that side to him, but most monarchs had those qualities. They were people accustomed to getting their way. And of course, because of the girth he is so famous for, he is considered to be a glutton, in his matrimonial habits as well as his eating habits. The fact is, though, that Henry did not become very fat until his later years. In his youth he was an amazing athlete, very handsome and accomplished at jousting and other sports.
His marriages, of course, are what fascinate me the most about him. Why did he marry so many times? One of the reasons is that he was desperately seeking a male heir. His first wife, Katherine of Aragon, bore him many children, although the only surviving child was his daughter Mary. All of the sons she bore him died at birth or she miscarried. It was extremely important that kings had sons to succeed them (like the modern "heir and the spare" of Prince Charles, William and Henry). Daughters were considered nuisances and bargaining pieces only, to marry off to a rich ally.
Henry's need for a son and growing displeasure with his wife Katherine are what predisposed him to fall madly in love with a young lady at his court, Anne Boleyn, who became his second wife after much wrangling with the Church and his own advisors. It was here that his reputation for cruelty and selfishness became legendary, for he simply discarded Katherine after decades of marriage and married Anne anyway. When she failed to bear him a son (they had a daughter who became Elizabeth I, another great monarch), he had her tried for adultery on contrived charges and then beheaded.
His third wife Jane finally gave him the son he so longed for, Edward. But happiness for Henry had never come easily and Jane died shortly after giving birth. One of Henry's wishes when he died was to be buried next to her. Since she had borne him his only successor (ironically enough, one of his mistresses had borne him a son as well, but since he was "illegitimate", he could never inherit Henry's throne) he considered her his only "true" wife.
Henry married three more times: Anne of Cleves, an "arranged" marriage that was a disaster. Henry thought she was hideous and had the marriage annulled as quickly as possible. Then he fell in love again, with a flighty young girl named Katherine Howard, who promptly cheated on him, for real this time. Hardly a surprise as she was a mere teenager and by this time Henry was very large and much older than her, more a father than a husband. She was beheaded for her dalliances, which were, of course, discovered. Another one of her great crimes was that she was not a virgin when they were married. (Can you imagine how many heads would be rolling in the streets if the same standard were applied these days?) His final wife was more of his nurse, Catherine Parr. She took care of him in his old age and was a very educated, noble woman.
Henry was an amazing man, extremely intelligent and artistic. One of his hobbies was astronomy. One of his most admired friends and colleagues was Thomas More, whom he later appointed his Lord Chancellor, his right-hand man. More was a lawyer with a reputation for honesty, extreme intelligence, and his ethics. He was extremely opposed to Henry divorcing his first wife and marrying Anne, but did his best to stay alive and avoid saying so out loud. Henry knew that if he could get More to side with him, a lot of the opposition facing him by the Pope and other people would lessen. He did his best to convince More, and one evening he visited More at his home in Chelsea to try and talk him into it. They went up to the roof when the stars came out and Henry showed More his new astrolabe. Sometimes I think I can actually see them there, two esteemed men, peering up at the sky together.
I have a ton of books in my library at home about Henry and his assorted wives and children. He is considered, for the most part, to be a brute -- a self-centred, cruel man. He did have that side to him, but most monarchs had those qualities. They were people accustomed to getting their way. And of course, because of the girth he is so famous for, he is considered to be a glutton, in his matrimonial habits as well as his eating habits. The fact is, though, that Henry did not become very fat until his later years. In his youth he was an amazing athlete, very handsome and accomplished at jousting and other sports.
His marriages, of course, are what fascinate me the most about him. Why did he marry so many times? One of the reasons is that he was desperately seeking a male heir. His first wife, Katherine of Aragon, bore him many children, although the only surviving child was his daughter Mary. All of the sons she bore him died at birth or she miscarried. It was extremely important that kings had sons to succeed them (like the modern "heir and the spare" of Prince Charles, William and Henry). Daughters were considered nuisances and bargaining pieces only, to marry off to a rich ally.
Henry's need for a son and growing displeasure with his wife Katherine are what predisposed him to fall madly in love with a young lady at his court, Anne Boleyn, who became his second wife after much wrangling with the Church and his own advisors. It was here that his reputation for cruelty and selfishness became legendary, for he simply discarded Katherine after decades of marriage and married Anne anyway. When she failed to bear him a son (they had a daughter who became Elizabeth I, another great monarch), he had her tried for adultery on contrived charges and then beheaded.
His third wife Jane finally gave him the son he so longed for, Edward. But happiness for Henry had never come easily and Jane died shortly after giving birth. One of Henry's wishes when he died was to be buried next to her. Since she had borne him his only successor (ironically enough, one of his mistresses had borne him a son as well, but since he was "illegitimate", he could never inherit Henry's throne) he considered her his only "true" wife.
Henry married three more times: Anne of Cleves, an "arranged" marriage that was a disaster. Henry thought she was hideous and had the marriage annulled as quickly as possible. Then he fell in love again, with a flighty young girl named Katherine Howard, who promptly cheated on him, for real this time. Hardly a surprise as she was a mere teenager and by this time Henry was very large and much older than her, more a father than a husband. She was beheaded for her dalliances, which were, of course, discovered. Another one of her great crimes was that she was not a virgin when they were married. (Can you imagine how many heads would be rolling in the streets if the same standard were applied these days?) His final wife was more of his nurse, Catherine Parr. She took care of him in his old age and was a very educated, noble woman.
Henry was an amazing man, extremely intelligent and artistic. One of his hobbies was astronomy. One of his most admired friends and colleagues was Thomas More, whom he later appointed his Lord Chancellor, his right-hand man. More was a lawyer with a reputation for honesty, extreme intelligence, and his ethics. He was extremely opposed to Henry divorcing his first wife and marrying Anne, but did his best to stay alive and avoid saying so out loud. Henry knew that if he could get More to side with him, a lot of the opposition facing him by the Pope and other people would lessen. He did his best to convince More, and one evening he visited More at his home in Chelsea to try and talk him into it. They went up to the roof when the stars came out and Henry showed More his new astrolabe. Sometimes I think I can actually see them there, two esteemed men, peering up at the sky together.
posted by emily pound at 5:08 AM
3 Comments:
Thanks Jennie, I'm glad you enjoyed it. There are plenty of books out there if you're interested. I highly recommend "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" by Antonia Fraser.
What an interesting description. Things are always more interested when told by someone with a passion for them.
While I've never been much of a student of English history, anyone in the FA/BBW world has to be aware of the fat Henry VIII and his six wives.
Didn't Henry ultimately chop More's head off, which was the subject of the movie A Man for All Seasons?
Henry did chop More's head off, and it was the subject of an excellent movie called "A Man For All Season". Paul Winfield played More and he was fabulous. I believe he won the Oscar that year.
Another great Henry VIII movie is "Anne of the Thousand Days". It's worth watching just for the great Richard Burton, who played Henry. Genevieve Bujold plays Anne Boleyn, very ably. Apparently the two had an affair during the filming which didn't make Liz too happy. :-)
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