Interesting Facts about Henry VIII free essay sample

The Tudors encompass one of the most exciting periods in English History. The dynasty of the Tudors include Kings and Queens such as King Henry VIII and his daughters. Interesting Facts about Henry VIII Looking for fast and interesting facts about King Henry VIII? Check out these fast, interesting, important and even little known facts about the famous King of England the Great King Henry VIII of England * Fact 1 King Henry VIII married six times. The names of his wives were Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Katherine Parr * Fact 2 The following rhyme details the order and how the marriages of each of the wives of King Henry VIII ended: Divorced, Beheaded, Died Divorced, Beheaded, Survived Fact 3 His father was the Lancastrian Henry Tudor who defeated the Yorkist King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22nd 1485 * Fact 4 His mother was Elizabeth of York, the Yorkist daughter of King Edward IV * Fact 5 He was a descendant of King Edward III through his son, John of Gaunt and the commoner Katherine Swynford * Fact 6 His motto was Coeur Loyal, meaning true heart which he illustrated on his clothes in the form of a heart symbol accompanied by the word loyal Fact 7 According to the English chronicler Raphael Holinshed the number of executions in his reign amounted to 72,000! * Fact 8 Two of his wives were beheaded, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. We will write a custom essay sample on Interesting Facts about Henry VIII or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Anne and Catherine were cousins * Fact 9 His fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was just 18 years old when she was beheaded * Fact 10 He had three children. His first Child was Mary Tudor who became Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary). His second Child was Elizabeth who became Queen Elizabeth I (the Virgin Queen) and his third Child was Edward who became King Edward VI * Fact 11 His daughter Mary prosecuted Protestants and was responsible for executing 300 people and has therefore been referred to as Bloody Mary ever since. Yet her father was responsible for 72,000 executions, including women, and never given such a nickname * Fact 12 In 1521 King Henry VIII received the title Defender of the Faith from the Catholic Pope Leo X for his opposition to Martin Luther and the Protestant reformation * Fact 13 By 1534 King Henry VIII broke with the Church in Rome and passed the Act of Supremacy making King Henry VIII the head of the newly established Church of England * Fact 14 He had at least two mistresses Bessie Blount and Mary Boleyn, the younger sister of Anne Boleyn * Fact 15 He was an extremely tall man and his height was six foot four inches tall * Fact 16 His early armour showed a waist measurement of waist of about 34 to 36 inches indicating a weight of about 180 to 200 pounds when he was a young man * Fact 17 The last set of armour owned by King Henry VIII showed a waist measurement of waist of about 58 to 60 inches which indicated a weight of about 300 to 320 pounds when he was an old man * Fact 18 King Henry VIII is most often associated with the traditional English song Greensleeves and some believe that he wrote the words and lyrics of Greensleeves for Anne Boleyn   during their turbulent courtship * Fact 19 The English navy increased under Henry VIII from just 5 ships at the beginning of his reign to about 60 ships and he created a great chain of coastal fortresses to defend England against the threat of invasion * Fact 20 His doctors were afraid to tell him that he was dying because the Treason Act forbade anyone from predicting the death of the king