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Is King Henry 8th A Man Or A Monster

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Is King Henry 8th A Man Or A Monster
Is King Henry 8th a man or a monster?
King Henry VIII is one of the most famous kings in British history. He was the second Tudor monarch, He was born on the 28th of June 1491 at Greenwich; he was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. He became the heir to the throne after his elder brother, Prince Arthur died. Henry ascended the throne on the 21st of April 1509, and died in January the 28th 1547; he ruled for a total of 37 years, 9 months and 7 days.
Henry is famously notorious for having 6 wives; Catherine of Aragon (his first and longest wife) and Anne of Cleves (his fourth wife) were divorced. Anne Boleyn (his second wife) and Catherine Howard (his fifth wife) were beheaded, Jane Seymour (his third wife but was recognised by Henry as his only true wife) died. Finally Catherine Parr (his last wife), who outlived Henry by 1 year and 7 months and 8 days. Also Henry was also famous for having an intense desire for a male heir to rule England after him.
However he is also recognised for the English Reformation, where he broke away from the Catholic Church and created the Church of England. Afterwards King Henry gave himself the title “Supreme Head of the Church of England”.
There are many different views about King Henry some are positive and portray Henry as a worthy King and a great human being, nevertheless some are negative and interpret Henry as a ruthless King and a selfish monster.
There are some arguments that Henry was a man because he was incredibly poetic and often wrote beautiful love letters. Henry wrote several letters in secret to several of his potential wives including Anne Boleyn. {1} Source 12 is a love letter to Anne and Henry writes “I and my heart put ourselves in your hands”. I believe this source to be reliable as it is written directly from Henry’s hand and would not have intended to be publicised.
According to Allen Ginsberg, a famous American poet, {2} “Poetry is one place where people can speak their original human


References: {1}, {4}, {6}, {7}, {9} - School sources {2}- http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/allenginsb393244.html {3}- Henry VIII – The quest for fame by John Guy {5}- http://www.rmg.co.uk/explore/sea-and-ships/facts/navies-and-warships/henry-viii-and-his-navy {8}- http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/history/tudors_stuarts/henry_viii/revision/2/
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