King Henry VIII, was the second Monarch of Tudor dynasty. He was King of England from 21 April, 1509 until his death by 28 January 1547. King Henry was famous for two main reasons – one for separating Church of England from Roman Catholic Church; and second reason, he was most notoriously famous for, was his Six Wives and their fate bestowed by King Henry. Earlier posts were dedicated to Six Wives of King Henry VIII. Today, we are giving King Henry a chance to put forward his version of story.
I am King Henry VIII, The King of England. Actually, I was the King, now I have heard there is a Queen ruling My England. :O
I was born to Henry VII of England, and Elizabeth of York, on 28th June, 1491. I was second in line to the throne, having my elder brother Arthur, but Arthur demise changed the equation and I became the King, after my father King Henry VII, died in 22nd April, 1509. I don’t want to gloat much but I was the best King, England has ever seen…. 😎
You may or may not have anything else to do, but I have some important business to attend to (have to play execution with my graveyard friends), so I will directly come to point. I am disgusted by the way, my Six Queens have described me, in earlier posts. So, here I am clearing everything, once and for all… although I know there is no such need, because I am a King. 😛
- Catherine of Aragon, my first wife. I married her out of pity, she was my brother’s widow, and was 6 years elder to me. Actually, it was easier for me to marry her and keep the political alliance intact, and also, she was pretty. ❤ I loved her. It was a happy marriage. We loved each other. She was a perfect wife, and a perfect Queen. Coming to think of it, I still love and respect her. I would not have married anyone else, if I would have been an ordinary person, not a King. A king needs heir. A male child. This was the only problem with my marriage to Catherine. She didn’t gave me a male child. Now, when I think of it, my two daughters Mary and Elizabeth have proved a better monarch than my son Edward. Alas, at that time, Mary was not sufficient for me. I wanted to have a son, and I decided to marry second time. One other factor, I fall in love with someone else – Anne Boleyn. Now, tell me, was it my fault that a king must have a prince a heir, which Catherine didn’t gave me. I left her, only because of that. It’s not my fault, you see. Even if it was my fault, well, I was The King, and a King can do no wrong. 😉
- Anne Boleyn, my second wife, and my second love too. I loved Catherine, but when I first laid my eyes on this graceful, elegant dancer in my court, my jaw dropped. My God, she was beautiful. Who could not be smitten by her raw beauty? I was. Most importantly she knows how to flirt and keep her man on toes? I was blown away. I proposed and she put condition. She wanted to be Queen, and I wanted to be her King. I divorced Catherine, although it took almost 6-7 years, but it did happened finally. Only problem, she failed just like her predecessor, in giving me a male heir. Also, she used to interfere a lot in my kingly affairs. How could I tolerate that? I wanted to get rid of her. My courtiers helped me in maligning her and later in executing her for high treason. 😦 I feel bad about this now, but a king has to do, what he has to do. Also, I was in love again, with my, to be third wife. So, Anne has to go, no matter what. 😐
- Jane, dear Jane…. Oh My Jane. Love of my life. I loved you Jane and still do. Jane was my third wife, and only one who gave me what I was longing for from decades – a male heir, Edward, my son. She was as plain as her name, but she was pretty enough for me to fall in love with her. She was an ideal wife. She was quiet, never interfered in my affairs. Never even objected when I courted other ladies. Above all, gave birth to my only son, Edward. Pity, she died soon after that. Some say, that I didn’t take care of her. What the hell am I supposed to do? She was a Queen, had all the maids, servants to help her. Why the hell, she would have needed me? I was the King. A King don’t have time to take care of his wife. He has to take care of his realm, you know. If she died within days of giving birth to my son, than it must have been her poor genes, not my carelessness. 😎
- Anne of Cleves, my fourth wife. She was my one and only arranged marriage bride. Clearly, arrange marriage was not for me. I didn’t even had the privilege of seeing her in person before signing up marriage contract, can you believe that? 😡 but, believe me when I say, that she was nothing like her portrait that Holbein made of her. She was plain. Didn’t knew to play music, or to sing, knew no card games, not even knew how to flirt…. 😮 Moreover, she didn’t liked me either. For her, I was this ill, smelly, old man. I was not the handsome young King, anymore. How could I bear that? I despised her. I was feeling suffocated in that marriage, didn’t even consummated my marriage. How could I? 😡 I asked her for divorce, and she readily agreed to it. Guess, she was also eager to move out of this marriage. It was a happy ending for both of us. So, happy, that I declare her my Sister, and gave her all the money and status to fulfill all her needs. She was the only wife of mine, who stayed happy. 😀
- Catherine Howard, my rose without thorns, my fifth wife. She was everything that any old man wish for in a woman. She was young, almost 17, when I fall in love with her. I immediately married her. She was sexy, young and a novice girl. Yes, a girl she was, not a Queen. That was my mistake. Everything should have been alright, if I would just have treated her like a girl, and used her, rather than making her Queen of England. She was young and wild, not to be tamed, and she did just what girls of her age do – fall in love over and over. She was the Queen, still she couldn’t resist the charm of young love, and fall for my young groom, Thomas Culpeper. She cheated on a King. How could anyone in the world survive this? She didn’t. I executed her. She deserved it. I still remember the way she came running towards me, screaming from the top of her lungs for forgiveness, but she had cheated on me, how could I ever forgave her? Never. Not as a husband, never as a King. 😡
- Catherine Parr, my sixth and final wife. I got married to her, nor because it was love, neither it was arranged, but rather because I needed a wife like her. She was twice widowed, without any kids, but a caring soul. She was half of my age, but still she was a lady of grace, not a silly girl, like Catherine Howard. She was gentle and polite. She was like a nurse to me. She nursed me well and nurture my kids too. She also handled my realm as a regent in my absence. She was just perfect for me at that time. But, foolishness seems to be the trait of all the girls I married. This one too, took the liberty with her life, by debating me in religious matters. It was necessary to show her place to this woman, and thus I issued warrant against her. She would have gone the same way her predecessors went, if she hadn’t came to her senses and apologized for her unwisdom. I was not only her husband but her King too, she had to treat me like a God and not debate with me. Foolish girl. She survived my wrath. 😐
Those were my six wives, I could have married more… I would have loved to, but my illness prevented me. I was a man longing for love and solace. I found it somewhat in Jane, but like each time, my happiness were always short lived. I was always alone. A lone King. Although I married six times, but I was never satisfied in love. I may have loved my wives or maybe it was just an illusion, I wonder. If given a chance, I think, I would prefer to be a loving husband, than to be an insecure and tyrant King.
My Journey So Far.... 