The Tudors

CHAPTER1-HenryVIII

Henry VIII ruled England for 36 years, presiding over sweeping changes that brought his nation into the Protestant Reformation. He married six wives for political alliance ,marital bliss and a healthy male heir. His desire to annul his first marriage without papal approval led to the creation of a separate Church of England.

Henry was born in Greenwitch, England on June 28, 1491 ,the second son of Henry VII ,the first English king from the House of Tudor. While his older brother Arthur was being prepared for the throne, Henry was steered toward a church career, with a broad education in theology, music, languages, poetry and sports . He became king only because of Arthur's premature passing.Indeed, by virtue of his death Arthur might well have become one of the most influential figures of English history you've never heard of.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ARTHUR

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WHO WAS ARTHUR PRINCE OF WALES ?

Born in Winchester Castel in September 1486, nine months after his parents marriage. Arthur was the eldest of King Henry VII's four surviving children with Elizabeth York. Arthur was engaged to Catherine of Aragon the youngest daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, in order to create an alliance between England and Spain. After their wedding, Arthur and Catherine set up their household in Ludlow Castel, on the Welsh border. They lived there together for several months before, in the spring of 1502 both were taken ill with a well known malady of the time ''sweeting sickness'. Arthur died of it on April 2, 1502 after a mere five months of marriage .

THE ENGLISH SWEAT

Also known as "sweating sickness" and simply "the sweats", the so-called "English Sweat" which claimed Arthur, Price of Wales's life has remained a medical mystery for centuries.

WHY WAS ARTHUR SO IMPORTANT ?

Henry VII spent much of his reign planning out how to maintain the Tudor dynasty's hold on the throne, a goal in which Arthur played a pivotal role.

Not a wildly popular king, Henry VII did not win the throne until he was in his late 20s, having spent much of his life in France in an effort to protect him from Yorkish forces during the War of the Roses. His claim to the throne was also debated, coming down through his mother's side of the family. Nonetheless, by his late 20s, Henry VII had found himself the most visible of the potential heirs on the Lancastrian side of the War of the Roses and after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, he ascended to the throne.

With the crown in place ,Henry VII hoped to seal his hold over England by uniting his house with that of his enemies from the war, the House of York. To do so, he married Elizabeth of York, the eldest child of King Edward IV.

As the heir of both the House of Tudor and the House of York, Arthur was a keystone in Henry VII's plan to maintain peace in the kingdom and prevent rival factions from rising against his claim to the throne. Upon Arthur's death, that mantle fell to Henry VII and Elizabeth's only remaining son, the future King Henry VIII.

HOW DID ARTHUR'S DEATH CHANGE HISTORY ?

Henry VIII's rule had a dramatic and long-lasting impact on European History, in large part because of his years-long quest to create a male Tudor heir to follow him on the throne. He began by marrying Catherine of Aragon, Arthur's window, a marriage which was only allowed by the Catholic church when Catherine testified that she had never had sexual contact with Arthur.