Who was Henry VIII of England?
The man behind the popular image
England had many Kings named Henry. It is fair to say that it was a popular name among the English royals. Though England did not have as many Henrys as France had Louis, still the Kingdom had a total of eight rulers who were named Henry.
Yet, when the phrase Henry, King of England, comes up, most people will probably think about Henry VIII, the last Henry.
This is no accident, as Henry VIII was a real larger-than-life figure whose infamous reputation is remembered even today.
Today Henry is remembered as the wife-murdering tyrant who cast aside four wives because they could not give him the male heir he desired, and even had two of them executed.
Besides changing wives quicker than other people changing their underwear, Henry is also famous for breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church when the Pope refused to sanction his divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
This image of the King is not entirely wrong, but what if I tell you that the story of Henry VIII is quite a bit more complicated than it seems at first glance, and the King was not just a fat wife-murdering tyrant?
