In today’s Claire Chats I discuss the royal progress undertaken by King Henry VIII and his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.
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Henry VIII’s 1541 Royal Progress Video
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Henry VIII Quiz 2
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23 June 1509 – Coronation procession of King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon
On Saturday 23rd June, Henry VIII and his wife Catherine of Aragon left the Tower of London and made their way through the streets of London to Westminster on their coronation procession.
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Henry VIII and the Carthusian Monks
Between May 1535 and August 1540 eighteen monks from the Carthusian order were put to death for the same crime, for refusing to accept King Henry VIII as the Supreme Head of the Church.
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A Tomb fit for a King – Benedetto’s candelabra for Henry VIII
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was patron to the Florentine scuptor Benedetto da Rovezzano (1474-1552) and commissioned him to make a lavish Renaissance style tomb for him. The project comprised a beautiful black marble sarcophagus and four bronze angels, each measuring around a metre in height, which are now known as Wolsey’s Angels.
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Expert Talk – Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII and the Fall of Anne Boleyn
In this month’s second expert talk, Claire Ridgway looks at the fall of Anne Boleyn in 1536 and examines the roles of Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII in those bloody events. Did Thomas Cromwell plot all by himself or was he simply his master’s servant? Was Henry VIII ultimately responsible? Why did Anne Boleyn have to die?
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Henry VIII
Henry VIII was born on 28 June 1491 at Greenwich Palace. He was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, but became heir to the throne when his brother Arthur died in 1502. He inherited the throne on the death of his father in April 1509, when he was just 17 years old, and he was crowned on 24 June 1509 in a joint coronation with his new bride Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his brother.
His reign was seen as the start of a new era, after his father’s harsh regime, and Henry was very much a Renaissance prince at the start, with his charm, good looks, intelligence, love of sport and desire to fight bribery and corruption. However, he has gone down in history as a larger than life, hulk of a man who had six wives and who executed two of them, and who, according to one contemporary source, executed 72,000 during his reign. His reign is famous for the break with Rome which happened as a result of Henry VIII’s “Great Matter”, his quest for an annulment of his marriage to his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Catherine had been unable to provide Henry with a living son and Henry had come to view the marriage as contrary to God’s laws, since Catherine was his brother’s widow. He had also fallen in love with Anne Boleyn. The Pope refused to grant Henry an annulment, but Henry took matters into his own hands after reading that kings and princes were only answerable to God. The marriage was annulled in 1533, Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn and the Reformation Parliament of 1529-1536 passed the main pieces of legislation which led to the break with Rome and the English Reformation.
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Tudor Costume Video – What men wore at Henry VIII’s court
Following on from last week’s Claire Chat’s video on Tudor women’s costume, today I’m looking at what men wore at Henry VIII’s court.
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Derek Wilson – The Six Thomases of Henry VIII’s Reign
Historian Derek Wilson has just informed me that he’s doing a series of articles on the six Thomases of Henry VIII’s reign over on his blog. Here are some clickable links for you:
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Tudor costume video – What women wore at Henry VIII’s court
In this week’s Claire Chats, I look at what women at Henry VIII’s court wore and what layers their outfits were made up of. I do hope you enjoy the talk and slides.
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Video – Henry VIII: Tyrant Part 2
In today’s Claire Chats video I continue my look at Henry VIII the tyrant by considering the different theories regarding his “tyranny”, whether there was a personality change and, if so, why.
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Video – Henry VIII: Tyrant Part 1
In today’s Claire Chats I look at whether Henry VIII was a tyrant and compare him to Machiavelli’s idea of what a monarch/leader should be.
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Video – Henry VIII: Renaissance Prince
In this week’s Claire chats I talk about Henry’s upbringing, contemporary descriptions of him at his accession, his love of music and how he seemed to be the ideal Renaissance prince and king.
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Video – Henry VIII the Jouster
In today’s Claire Chats video I look at Henry VIII the jouster and the records that tell of how he excelled at the sport, and also accounts of his accidents.
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Quiz – Henry VIII’s advisers and friends
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Video – Henry VIII’s Love Letters to Anne Boleyn – The Sweating Sickness Letter
In today’s Claire Chats video I talk about the contrast between the letter Henry VIII wrote to Anne Boleyn in June 1528, when he’d just found out that she’d come down with sweating sickness, and his other letters to her. I show photographs of those letters so you can see the difference Sandra Vasoli talked about in her recent talk.
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Did Chapuys call Henry VIII a tyrant?
Thanks to a question from Tudor Society member Sharon I have been digging into what Eustace Chapuys, the imperial ambassador, said about Henry VIII’s serious jousting accident in January 1536: “[…] Thinks he might ask of fortune for what greater misfortune he is reserved, like the other tyrant who escaped from the fall of the house, in which all the rest were smothered, and soon after died.”
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Henry VIII’s horticultural manual to go on display at Buckingham Palace
The world’s first gardening manual, which once belonged to Henry VIII, is going on display at Buckingham Palace in March 2015.
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Quiz – Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn in Film and on TV
A quiz about actors and actresses who have played Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn on TV and on the big screen.
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Live Chat Reminder – Sandra Vasoli on Henry VIII’s Love Letters to Anne Boleyn
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Video – The Annulment of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon’s Marriage
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Expert Talk: Sandra Vasoli on the Love Letters of Henry VIII
The expert speaker for January is Sandi Vasoli, author of “Je Anne Boleyn”. Sandi speaks of her visit to the Vatican Archives to see the original letters which Henry VIII wrote to Anne Boleyn while they were courting.
This talk goes into her visit, the experience of actually holding the letters, and what she could tell about Henry’s state of mind by the way the letters were written. It’s a fascinating talk!
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Henry VIII’s Six Wives Quiz
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Henry VIII Quiz
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Gareth Russell Talk – The Households of Henry VIII’s Queens
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Leanda de Lisle’s review of Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII’s Most Faithful Servant by Tracy Borman
Leanda de Lisle’s review of “Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII’s Most Faithful Servant” by Tracy Borman.
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Henry VIII Books
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Henry VIII Primary Sources
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The Scandalous Life of Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton – Murder, Intrigue and Royal Favour
Murder, political betrayal, royal intrigue… The life of Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, had it all. He was a survivor in a dangerous world, navigating the courts of Elizabeth I and James I, escaping imprisonment five times, and playing a shadowy role in one of the most scandalous murder cases of the 17th century.
But who was he? And how did he go from being a suspected traitor to one of the most powerful men in England? Stick around as we uncover the secrets of this Tudor earl—his rise, his rivalries, and his connection to a deadly conspiracy…
Birthday boy Henry Howard was born into one of England’s most prestigious families on 24th February 1540. But that didn’t mean his life was destined to be easy… because his family was already marked by treason.
His father? None other than Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey—the poet and courtier executed by Henry VIII in 1547 for alleged treason. His brother? Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk—executed by Elizabeth I for plotting to marry Mary, Queen of Scots. With this kind of family history, you’d think Henry would learn to stay away from treasonous schemes… but you’d be wrong.
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Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland, his magic ring and his murderous plotting
On this day in Tudor history, 10th February 1564, Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland, died—but not before leaving behind a legacy of scandal, treason, and… magic?
In 1536, at just 11 years old, Henry Neville, who was the eldest son of Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland, and Catherine Stafford, and the grandson of the executed Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was taken hostage during the Pilgrimage of Grace, a major Tudor rebellion. His captors used him as a bargaining chip to force his father’s compliance—quite the dramatic start to his life!
By 1546, Neville had racked up huge gambling debts and was desperate for a way out. So what did he do? He purchased a magical ring that supposedly summoned angels to help clear his debts! Spoiler alert: it didn’t work, and he landed in Fleet Prison.
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