“I’m Henry the Eighth I am” is likely a song that every single English person has heard, during some school production or other. There’s another song- well, rhyme- which is associated with the man too- “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced beheaded, survived.” But other than that, and the very brief lesson on Tudors in primary school, what do we really know about Henry? He is, after all, up there with Queen Victoria, and William the Conqueror on the list of renowned English monarchs- but why? Sure, he started to change the religion of England, but was that necessarily a good thing? And is that enough to counter all his mistakes, regarding foreign policy, finance, and the Tudor dynasty itself?
Gaining the throne in 1509, following the death of his father Henry VII, it only took two short years for Henry VIII to make his first bad decision. He signed a treaty with Spain, agreeing to invade France with their support- unfortunately, Spain did not honour the agreement, using England’s invasion as a distraction for France, and allowing them to gain some land in France’s southern territories. Of course, whilst this is a mistake, in support of Henry, it was an understandable one. He wished to gain land and glory in France; how was he supposed to realised Spain wouldn’t support him. Whilst he can be excused for that first blunder, ten years later… the exact same thing happened. Henry wanted to fight France, Spain offered support, and then when England invaded, they did not come to their aid. Frankly, the King should have seen this coming, but he was so blinded by desperation for glory, he completely overlooked the similarities. And then it happened once more, in the later years of his reign.
Henry was not exactly the model of a financially conscious King, either. He certainly inherited a significantly full royal bank from his father- but that was short lived. Whilst the Crown’s income remained constant, Henry spent most of the savings on war, his grounds and court, and glamorous events like the 1520 Field of the Cloth of Gold. This excessive spending, due to a lack of military success, was not repaid, leaving Henry in near financial ruin by the end of his reign.
Finally, Henry’s dynasty. This could be considered one of the man’s few successes; after all, he did get one more than the usual ‘heir and spare’ required. However, looking a little closer at the children Henry left, we begin to question his judgement. Firstly, we have Mary; the oldest. But she’s a Catholic; if her brother died without any heirs (which he did), then another Catholic would sit on the English throne, undoing all the work Henry had done. Secondly, there was Elizabeth- a perfect protestant. However, when on the throne, she refused to marry, meaning that the Tudor legacy would not continue any further. Again, not exactly a success. And then the youngest, and only boy; Edward. He was crowned age nine, was incredibly sickly, and died within six years of his rule. It appears that Henry didn’t do as good a job as we once thought.
Despite the perception of Henry VIII as an incredibly charming and charismatic man, he certainly had his faults as a ruler. His inability to continue a dynasty, his lack of control over finance, and especially his lack of military perception act as proof that even those who we think are great, are as flawed as the rest of us. Still, Henry certainly did change this country, which makes the man that he once was worth remembering.
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