Henry VIII - Surviving Henry. Henry VIII and Katherine Parr. - free Suite101 course

Lesson 1: Setting the Tudor Stage.

Lesson 2: Loyal Heart: Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.

Lesson 3: Without Male Heir. Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

Lesson 4: Entirely Beloved. Henry VIII and Jane Seymour

Lesson 5: My Sister, My Wife. Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves.

Lesson 6: The Blushing Rose Without a Thorn. Henry VIII and Katherine Howard.

Lesson 7: Surviving Henry. Henry VIII and Katherine Parr.
- Henry's Health
- Katherine Parr: 'Your Majesty is my Master.'
- Henry's death

Lesson 8: The Legacy of Henry and his Wives.

Lesson 7: Surviving Henry. Henry VIII and Katherine Parr.

Married for the third time, Katherine was wise enough to survive her marriage to this royal spouse – but that doesn’t mean all went smoothly in time as Queen, and before she could marry the man she really loved.

Henry's Health

This segment aims to provide students with a brief, overall picture of Henry VIII’s health at the end of his reign.

Henry’s choice for Katherine Parr as his sixth wife may have been dictated by a strong need: a need for a helpmeet who could also act as a trusted nurse. Simply, by his fifty-second year and sixth marriage, Henry Tudor was a wreck of a man. Varicose ulcerations on both legs put a stopper on his active life, and made his life an utter misery, not forgetting the lives of all those around him. A tall man, enforced inactivity soon made him so overweight that ‘three of the biggest men that could be found could get inside his doublet,’ (3)

Henry’s ‘sore leg’ may have originated from a jousting accident in his thirties. (4) The King’s great passion for this knightly sport had resulted in at least two close calls with death. One terrible jousting accident happened in early 1536, in the closing months of his marriage to Anne Boleyn. Unhorsed by his opponent, both armoured horse and rider crashed to the ground, the horse rolling on Henry. The King lay unconscious for hours. Antonia Fraser says the fall ‘seriously impaired his general state,’ (5) and Weir mentions the theory that this accident may have caused brain damage, (6) changing his character in such a way that he was subject to savage mood swings later in his reign. (7) But for a man used to an active life, just the fact that he was inflicted with a complete change of lifestyle for the remaining years of his life, due to legs making him almost an invalid and the intermittent fevers that placed his life in crisis, may have been enough to make him moody and hard to live with.

So – what was wrong with his legs? Alison Weir sets forward in her book that Henry may have suffered from osteomyelitis – a bone infection from prior trauma that resulted in splinters of bone breaking away, and then working to the surface. The pain for this condition was agonising. (8) Both Fraser and Weir mention in their books the possibility that the King was a victim of scurvy. But Weir feels that there is enough evidence available that documents Henry’s enjoyment of fruit and vegetables. (9)

In recent times, the myth that Henry VIII had a form of syphilis, and his leg ulcer was a symptom of that, has been discounted. There is no evidence of his physicians giving Henry VIII the usual treatment (mercury) for this condition.(10)

Thus, for an active man, Henry’s last years were unpleasant and not at all easy. Often unwell, with his mobility restricted by his weight, the King often made use of devices to lift him and carry him from place to place. (11) Katherine Parr proved to be the best choice the King could have made for his sixth wife – she was caring and concerned, and mostly wise enough not to ‘remonstrate with him.’(12) 478 This ensured Katherine's place in history as Henry VIII's surviving wife.

Reference: The wives of Henry VIII, by Antonia Fraser. Although more than just one book will be referred to during this course, The wives of Henry VIII is the main reference 'text.' Written in a very readable manner, this book is a very sensitive account of the six women who became the consorts of Bluff King Hal. Antonia Fraser's research is always excellent.

Please note my edition (published in Australia) is called Henry VIII and his Wives

In Henry VIII, the King and the Court - a wonderfully researched book - Alison Weir brings alive Henry VIII in all his glory and his magnificent court, not fearing a bit of controversy along the way. This is a must read for people interested in the period.

Question: Do you think Henry's character may have changed due to brain damage?