King Henry VIII
Motto: " Dieu et Mon Droit" (God & My Right - traditional motto of English Kings)*
Born June 28, 1491 - Died January 28, 1547 Crowned June 24, 1509
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Though some say that youth rules me, I trust in age to tarry. God and my right, and my duty, From them shall I never vary, Though some say that youth rules me. - a poem written by Henry VIII When we compare the present life of men on Earth with their time of which we have no knowledge; it seems to me like the swift flight of a single sparrow through a banqueting hall on a winters day. After a few moments of comfort, he vanishes from sight into the wintry world from which he came. Even so, man appears on Earth for a little while but of what went before this life or what will follow, we know nothing. ~ King Henry's voice is heard in the opening sequence of the last episode from season 4 (this is a quote from a latin work by Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum -Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book II, Chapter 13 written in 731 Ad)
" ...undoubtedly the rarest man that ever lived in his time... " ~ from The Pilgrim: A dialogue on the Life and Actions of King Henry the Eighth (1547) by William Thomas - a zealous protestant
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CHARACTER CONNECTIONSFamily members: Father: Henry VII, King of England Mother: Elizabeth of York Brother: Arthur Tudor Sister: Margaret Tudor Sister: Mary Tudor Sister: Elizabeth Tudor (died as a young child) Sister: Katherine Tudor (died as a young child) Brother: Edmund Tudor (died as a young child) Friends: Sir Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk Sir Henry Norris Sir John Seymour Sir Thomas More Sir Francis Bryan Enemies: Changed with the times: Francis I of France alternated between being a friend and enemy as did Charles V | Children: by Katherine of Aragon - Princess Mary- born February 1516 by Elizabeth Blount - Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond & Somerset - born June 1519 by Anne Boleyn - Princess Elizabeth - born September 1533 by Jane Seymour - Prince Edward - born October 1537 Many rumoured illegitimates but only one (Henry Fitzroy) acknowledged. |
Click this link : Mistresses - for more detailed info on each mistress - Anne Stafford, Lady Hastings 1510 (named Anna Buckingham in the series) - Jane Popyngcort 1514 - possibly basis for fictional character Lady Jane Howard played by Slaine Kelly -Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount 1514 -1519 - first acknowledged mistress -"Mistress Parker" who could have been either Arabella Parker, the wife of a city merchant, or Margery Parker, who had been part of Princess Mary´s household since 1516 -Mary Boleyn c. 1521 - 1524/5 (the other acknowledged mistress) - Joan Dingley (Dobson) 1520s - who had a daughter Ethelreda (Audrey) Tudor. - Agnes Blewitt early 1520s her son, Richard Edwardes was born sometime between October 1523 to 1525 was claimed to be Henry's, Agnes was allowed to display the Tudor rose on her coat of arms - Mary Berkeley 1525-1527 - had two sons <a class="external" href="http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Bios/ThomasStukely.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Thomas Stucley">Thomas Stucley</a> and <a class="external" href="http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Bios/JohnPerrot.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John Perrot</a> both of whom were rumoured to be illegitimate children of Henry. -Elizabeth Amadas, 1520's, daughter of Hugh Brice, courtier & wife of Robert Amadas, the richest goldsmith in England. - possibly Elizabeth Bryan,sometime before 1528, - Lady Mary Shelton Feb - Aug 1535 (Anne's 1st cousin) - possibly confused with Margaret Shelton. * Madge Sheldon in the series - In the late 1530's a man named William Webbe reported the king abducting his "mistress" (wife) - played by Katie McGrath in the series | Marriage(s): 1st: Katherine of Aragon Queen Consort June 11th, 1509 - January 7th, 1533 - DIVORCED (annulled) - died 1536 (aged 51) 2nd: Anne Boleyn Queen Consort January 25th, 1533 - May 19th, 1536 - BEHEADED on Tower Green accused of adultery/treason despite the marriage being annulled. (aged 29/35) 3rd: Jane Seymour Queen Consort May 30th, 1536 - October 24th, 1537 - DIED soon after childbirth (aged 28/29) 4th: Anne of Cleves Queen Consort January 6th - July 9th, 1540 annulled - DIVORCED - died 1557 (aged 42) 5th: Katherine Howard Queen Consort July 28th, 1540 - February 13th, 1542 - BEHEADED on Tower Green like her cousin Anne (possibly aged not quite 18yrs) 6th: Catherine Parr Queen Consort July 12th 1543 - 1547 - SURVIVED Henry who died January 28th, 1547. After his death, she married Lord Thomas Seymour & died after childbirth in August 1548 (aged 36 yrs) |
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For more on Henry VIII - click links below |
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Season 3 | |
Jonathan Rhys Meyers aged 30 playing Henry VIII in Season 2 | |
Season 1 | Henry VIII c. 1525/6 aged approx 35 Miniature by Lucas Horenbout |
Videos
<embed allowfullscreen="true" height="344" src="http://widget.wetpaintserv.us/wiki/thetudorswiki/widget/youtubevideo/ceb13e99fd97f896fb6d5b18a9d0412e9e90366f" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" wmode="transparent"/> Arguably, Jonathan Rhys Meyers finest performance as the King and a man who mourns the loss of his wife |
<embed height="255" src="http://widget.wetpaintserv.us/wiki/thetudorswiki/page/King+Henry+VIII/widget/youtubevideo/1931354875" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="315" wmode="transparent"/> Promo for Season 1 with clips of interviews from the cast & writer about Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII | <embed height="253" src="http://widget.wetpaintserv.us/wiki/thetudorswiki/page/King+Henry+VIII/widget/youtubevideo/1815758414" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="302" wmode="transparent"/> We all know about the Fat Old Henry VIII, what about the Young Henry VIII (A showtime promo video for Season 1) |
<embed height="254" src="http://widget.wetpaintserv.us/wiki/thetudorswiki/page/King+Henry+VIII/widget/youtubevideo/64e155ffe4418f422d06bca8db986ddbf97f43b3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="332" wmode="transparent"/> Promo for Season 2 with clips from the cast & writer | <embed height="254" src="http://widget.wetpaintserv.us/wiki/thetudorswiki/page/King+Henry+VIII/widget/youtubevideo/6f756f5317a0919fc515e419e1351b6868c0ce9c" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="332" wmode="transparent"/> Promo - Making a king : Bypassing the typical costume drama for a more scandalous take on the times |
<embed height="254" src="http://widget.wetpaintserv.us/wiki/thetudorswiki/page/King+Henry+VIII/widget/youtubevideo/004d65808f9e5555631ec7de0dd2e0e91db4d4c1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="327" wmode="transparent"/> Jonathan Rhys Meyers talks at length about his character's life & loves | <embed height="254" src="http://widget.wetpaintserv.us/wiki/thetudorswiki/page/King+Henry+VIII/widget/youtubevideo/9bbb4181aa2146160dcbd68ae6b0b697538e1139" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="332" wmode="transparent"/> |
For more on Henry VIII - click links below |