vi a servi ce - Finavia

It was a reign that became a personal quest for fame
30 V I A HELSINKI
and power as obsessive as that of any 21st century ce-
lebrity or politician. Rarely within the British mon-
archy have events – in society, religion, foreign rela-
tions and politics – so radically affected future generations.
Above all, the English Reformation and the break with Rome
would change the face of England forever and Henry would
banish in a single generation all his traditional medieval
predecessors as a stroke. The result was a revolutionary im-
perial monarchy that would lead to Henry VIII becoming
arguably the most infamous king in history. But, it would
come at a severe price.
On 24th June 1509, the teenage Henry was crowned king
in front of the high altar at Westminster Abbey in London.
Just seventeen years old, his personality – sunny, romantic
and gregarious – was the opposite of his father’s and prom-
ised the new Tudor dynasty a fresh start. Henry though, was
HenrY’s soap opera: sIx
MarrIaGes, TWo WIves
dIvorCed and TWo BeHeaded,
produCed THree CHIldren
BY dIFFerenT MoTHers.
inheriting the crown with a heavy burden. His father, Henry
VII, had died in his bed and died rich after a reign of almost
24 years, but his dreams of an English monarchy that
ruled Scotland, Ireland and France and dominated Europe
too, had ended in frustration. The old king in his final years
was regarded by his public as a miser and a tyrant and ruled
his ‘empire’ like a private landlord, greedy for the ‘rent’. And
for those who knew their history, including his son, this was
not how a great ruler was supposed to behave.
Henry VIII, however, was not brought up to be king. That
future had been destined for his older brother Arthur, Prince
of Wales. Thus, as the second heir to the throne, Henry received
a seemingly modern upbringing and was nurtured at
Eltham Palace, Greenwich, by his mother Elizabeth and his
sisters who idolised the strong and confident boy.
Given the best education in Latin scholarship, Henry was
highly intellectual, precocious and oozed star quality during
his preteen years. Then it all changed. In 1502, when Henry
was 11, his brother Arthur died of tuberculosis, followed
soon after by his beloved mother. Now heir to the throne
and growing up fast, a huge source of conflict arose over his
passionate participation in extreme sports, something his
fiercely protective father was strongly against. These conflicting
values would last until 21 April 1509, when his father
died and Henry was crowned amidst wild scenes of popular
rejoicing. Thus fired up with the idealism of youth and
brought up on the legends of King Arthur and the heroic exploits
of his ancestor Henry V (and his famous victory at the
Battle of Agincourt), believing that a great king should also
be a great warrior, Henry determined to make them the role
models for his reign.
With a large inheritance and the first peaceful transition
of power since the end of the War of the Roses in 1485, Henry’s
court soon took on the feel of a magnificent party, with
endless rounds of tournaments, jousts and courtly splendours.
Soon all Europe was bedazzled by this vibrant young
king and the associated glamour and pageantry. His desire
was obvious – a ‘splendid monarchy’ – and for glory, the impending
conquest of France.
Just days after his 18th birthday and 13 days before he was
crowned, he married his brothers’ widow, the Spanish princess
Catherine of Aragon, six years his senior. While cementing
England’s alliance with Spain against France, Henry loved
the confident, powerful and beautiful Catherine, but as the
years passed and she failed to produce an heir – though his
victories in France had restored England’s heroism in battle
– his personal life became increasingly fraught.