Henry VIII

HENRY VIII

When the body of Henry VII was laid to rest in the chapel at Westminster Abbey which he himself had built , the crown devolved naturally and peacefully upon his seventeen-year old son , Henry , who , after the death of his brother Arthur in 1502 , had been the heir apparent . The young prince certainly stepped into a rich heritage , for the cautious policy of his father had left him a kingdom far more united and self-confident than it had been for many a day . Moreover , the young Henry was fully qualified to

make the most of his inheritance . Henry was Young , clever handsome and debonair , and was already a great favorite with his people He appeared to be the ideal of the Renaissance prince . The age delighted in learning and the king was a gifted scholar who could discuss the theories of Thomas Aquinas with the most accomplished of his theologians . He was delighted with sport and was of such magnificent physique and athletic skill that few could beat him in any sport they cared to choose . It delighted in the arts and the king was an accomplished poet and musician who could write both words and music of a lyric and then sing it to his own accompaniment on the virginals . It was also a religious age , but there was as devout as the king , or so punctilious in the performance of his religious duties . It was over a brilliant court that Henry presided , but was as brilliant as the king himself . The reign of Henry VII may have been somber and austere but when young Harry ascended the throne the lights went up , the music began to play and 'jest and youthful jollity ' became the of the day

With such gifts and such an inheritance we should not be surprised to find that Henry was also a determined egoist . Into whatever sphere of life he entered he expected to have his own way . And he generally succeeded in getting it , though not , at first , by naked tyranny but by extreme astuteness and by the gift of persuading people that what he was doing was for their own good . Henry had a conscience , and in a curious way he respected the conscientious scruples of his people yet his own conscience was wonderfully elastic and could generally be found to support his own interests . His power of self-justification was superb He sacked Wolsey and persuaded people that he was saving them from a public enemy he robbed the monasteries under pretence of getting rid of a vicious institution he broke off his marriage with Katharine of Aragon on the grounds that he had done wrong to God in having ever married her . And so on . In all his work Henry was constantly appealing to the interests of his subjects -- their patriotism , their prosperity their consciences , their desire for and progress after the Wars of the Roses . And people were prepared to put up with a...