Henry VIII was born on 28 June 1491, he was the second son of the three children born to King Henry VII. He had an older brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales, and older sister, Margaret. When he was three he was created Duke of York. Since he was born the second son he was of little importance to the succession and his father planned for him to enter the church. Unfortunately that all changed in 1502 when Arthur passed away. Henry was then created the Prince of Wales. His time as Prince of Wales was different from his brother's time as Prince of Wales. This is because his father King Henry VII was afraid that Henry would also pass away like his other three sons, Arthur, Edmund, and Edward. Henry VIII was kept close to the King and not sent to Wales to rule out of fear. The next year would not be any better for the royal family. Henry's mother died while giving birth to a new sister, who passed away that day as well. The death of his mother affected Henry greatly. Henry VIII became king on 22 April 1509 after his father had died. Henry VIII celebrated his coronation on 24 June 1509, four days before he turned 18.
After the death of his father, King Henry VIII decided to marry his long-timed betrothed, Catherine of Aragon, who was his brother's widow, and six years his senior. After a few miscarriages and a male son that only lived a few weeks, Catherine gave birth to a daughter, in 1516, that would live past infancy and who would become queen, Mary. Unfortunately, the Queen would never give birth to another child that would live past infancy. During this time Henry did have a son, with his mistress, Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount in 1525. The son was named Henry Fitzroy to acknowledge him as a royal bastard. This son would be created the Duke of Richmond, which was seen as a step to legitimatize him to allow him to take the throne. The fact that the Queen had not given him a son and heir weighed heavily on Henry's mind, his idea was to get divorced. This idea became more prominent in his mind in 1525 when he became enamored with Anne Boleyn.
This song, Greensleeves, was supposedly written by King Henry VII for Anne Boleyn. It was most likely written after Henry died.
King Henry VIII worked for seven years to divorce his wife and marry his love, Anne Boleyn, in hopes that she would be able to provide him the don and the heir he had been wanting. After Henry had Anne created the Marquess of Pembroke, and having gained the title Anne gave herself to Henry. She, shortly after, found herself pregnant. This caused Henry to rush through a divorce in the English courts. Unfortunately for Henry and Anne, the child who was born was a daughter, Elizabeth, who would become Queen. Anne later would have other miscarriage but never give birth to a living child. Henry grew tired of these failures and began to look for another wife. After the death of his first wife, Katherine, in 1536 he decided to get rid of Anne. He accused Anne of witchcraft and having affairs with several men, which in the Queen was treason. Henry had a trial to persecute Anne of her crimes. She was found guilty and sentenced to death. She was beheaded in 1536 and less than two weeks later King Henry VIII was married again.
King Henry VIII married Jane Seymour after the execution of his second wife. Jane became pregnant and gave birth to the son that Henry had been so desirous of. Jane, though, did not survive the birth. The death of this wife actually affected Henry because he viewed her as his true wife. Henry did remarry in 1540 to Anne of Cleves. This marriage did not last Henry and Anne did not get along and both agreed to an annulment in 1540. Henry then married Katherine Howard, a cousin of Anne Boleyn, in 1540 as well. His marriage to her also did not last. She was probably 15 when they were married whereas Henry was 49. She had an affair with a fellow courtier and like her cousin was put on trial and was executed in 1542. Henry then married for the last time in 1543 to Catherine Parr. King Henry VIII was married happily for the last time and he passed away on 28 January 1547.
