Renaissance and Reformation. King Henry VIII Research Paper

Renaissance and Reformation. King Henry VIII - Research Paper Example The Tudors were elements of the house of Lancaster which had clashed with the House of York, another noble group, in the epoch of the national war in England called the War of the Roses. A Lancastrian insurgence had grown against Yorkist King Richard III. Henry Tudor overcame King Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field and took the throne of England. The marriage contracted by King Henry the seventh was thus very significant as it united the York and Lancaster sections and in fact caused the War of the Roses to cease . Henry VIII was the second boy born to his parents, the first being Arthur and his sisters were Margaret and Mary Tudor. He adored his mother the Queen who was a loyal and obedient woman, an exemplary female who closely portrayed the virtues that the society of that period expected its womenfolk to espouse. In childhood, Henry VIII was greatly pampered and spoiled. Kings in his time were believed to be anointed entities that rarely could make a mistake and even if they did, their mistakes would be used by the Deity to cause an advantage to the nation in some manner. His mother and grandmother apparently believed this notion to the fullest. His father was another matter. King Henry VII favored Prince Arthur, Henry’s older brother. He was the one to inherit the throne and so he was given more consideration. Prince Arthur was bestowed with royal responsibilities while Henry was left to develop his own preferences. Both brothers were strictly monitored and their friends were carefully chosen. His relationship with his father strained both Henry VIII and the King, though more so the younger man. Henry VII seemed aware of the reality of his son’s disposition and especially after the death of his first son, feared the popularity of his second son2. It even seems that he sensed in Henry VIII a drive for power and a festering ruthlessness in hiding. The Six Wives At the age of two, Arthur had been affianced to Katharine of Aragon. This was a common practice at that time and especially as concerns princes and princesses who were used repeatedly by ambitious parents to foster alliances and pacts with foreign countries that would see their powers increase. Henry’s position as the irrelevant child lasted until a few months after his tenth birthday. Arthur, his elder brother, died at his castle in Ludlow. Within a year, his mother had also passed away along with her newborn because of an infection that she had contracted as she recovered from her confinement. The loss of his mother, brother, and baby sister affected his father more than it did Henry VIII. Another tragedy that took place was Arthur’s death. The older Prince had been married to the Spanish Catalina de Aragon on 14th November, 1501. A bond of matrimony between the House of Tudor and the Spanish throne would ensure more respect for both rulers and strengthen their positions. Prince Henry had guided his sister in law and future spouse up the steps of the St. Paul’s Cathedral to say her vows and would later introduce her