Henry VIII was King of England from 1509 to 1547. He is probably most well-known for having six wives and for being very over-weight towards the end of his reign, but there’s much more to the man than that. Although we will look at particular parts of his reign and life in more detail in other articles, this post will focus on some of the key general facts and information associated with Henry VIII.
Henry VIII Fact File
Born: 28th June 1491 at Greenwich Palace. His father was Henry Tudor (Henry VII) and his mother was Elizabeth of York.
Died: 28th January 1547 at the Palace of Whitehall in London. Henry was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Reign: 21st April 1509 to 28th January 1547.
Facts About Henry VIII’s Early Life
- Henry received an excellent education from some of the best tutors in Europe.
- He was fluent in Latin and French and he could speak some Ancient Greek and Spanish.
- Henry’s mother, Elizabeth of York, died when he was eleven years old.
- Henry wasn’t expected to become King of England, but when his brother Arthur died in 1502 at the age of 15, Henry was next in line for the throne.
Other Facts About Henry VIII
- Henry enjoyed music and he could play the lute and the organ.
- He had a good singing voice and he could read and compose music.
- In his youth, Henry VIII was a keen sportsman. He loved jousting, hunting and playing real tennis.
- Henry was over 6 feet tall and was strong and athletic.
- In 1536, Henry was unhorsed in a jousting tournament. He was very badly hurt and it seems that the leg injury he sustained may have contributed to his obesity and mood swings that characterised the latter part of his reign.
- Henry VIII had six wives – Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. You can read more about them by clicking here.
- Henry VIII separated the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534, using the Act of Supremacy to declare himself the head of the Church of England. Click here to read more about the Break with Rome. (coming soon!)
Click here to see the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Henry VIII.
Visit the Primary Facts resources page for The Tudors.
i dont know if this is a spelling mistake but it says form and it should say from but iver all it was amazing
Thanks, Brucill – well spotted. I’ve fixed the mistake. Hope you found the post useful.
Thanks for all of them cool facts. You made my homework seem so much eisier and I bet I get a really good level π π
Well, thankyou for the facts on Henry VIII They were very usefull to me and Thomas. We hope more facts will be posted..anyway thankyou
Poppy
xxx
Thanks helped me alot
Thanks now I can do my homework about him in history
Heloo, My name is Tomas Thankyou for the facts it was very nice of you Henry was a very unusual man and did you know that his last words are supposed to be “Monks, Monks, Monks!” π Thankyou again Tomas
Hey my name is Georgia and i find these facts useful as i am writing a biography so it is so helpful thank you and he was a very unusual man like Tomas said
π
I like all these facts about henry
Thanks, Macey!
Thank you, very helpful for my homework. I like the way you have organised it and great for my teachers lesson! Thanks again.
i really liked it so thank u for telling me all them facts
Very Good Information. This Helps Me With My Studies. This Is BRILLIANT!!!!!! Thanks A Lot!!!!!
These facts are amazing! I got an A+ because I had to do some research on King Henry vii. Thank you!
No problem, Stan! Thanks for using Primary Facts.
This was awesome
Thanks it soooooooo helped me and got me ready for my assessment. Thanks i love this website. I know where to go for history help.
Thanks, Nicole! Glad we were able to help you with your assessment.
AWESOME
Helped me lots with my presentation
thanks James
Thanks for using Primary Facts, Tracinbolt. Glad we were able to help.
thanks helped me a lot
it helped me sooooooo much
thank u for the facts on henry viii
Thank you that was great for my homework:)
Agreeπ
Thank you for these facts they really helped me with my homework I got top marks
thanks really helped me and because of your information i got an A in my history report thanks once again keep up the information cheers
Thanks, Josh. Well done with your history report.
I have to do a term paper fact sheet. It sounds kind of cheesy but at least I can use a lot of the facts instead of using wiki when I have it due in 2 days. Thanks a lot. I am 17 and it’s helpful lol. I think I will be looking for many many facts on Henry VII and all of his life. Our theme for our Term Paper is Leadership and Legacy in History. Thanks!!
thanks it helped me in my exam
thanks for the facts they were amazing
thanks that helped me loads with my hw
this is an exellant site ive got an A* thx its was exellat
STACEY XX
Thanks dude for this wonderful fact fie. it was amazing and helped me sooooooooooo much. all i can say is thank you
thank you so much for this information you helped my brother to be inspired to learn about henry viii me and my mum could not thank you enough …thanks too you he had an amazing level on his henry vii research project …we could not thank you enough .:)
thank you this gave me a lot of help for my homeworck
Thank you so much. It helped me so much with my homework. I know where to get help for my history homework now, Primary Facts!
thanks it really helped with my homewok i would give you an A*
thanks so much you helped me with my school project!!!
it would be great if you added info on Henry VIIIs wives too.
THANK YOU!!!!!:) π π π π π π
Thanks for using Primary Facts, Amy! Check out this page for info on Henry’s wives.
thanks a lot it really helped me π
thankyou for the facts they helped alot. im in school so it really helps on this project. haha
Helps a lot just looking for the facts about Henry Viii for my history homework thanks again
This was Great! Helped on my report. Thanks:)
Thanks soooooo much . My teacher gave me an a+ thanks to you
The facts rilly helped with homework thanks :D:D:D
thank you these facts were really useful:)
it really helped me
thanks really useful for homework
this is really useful and it helped me with my homework cus I was stuck and didn’t know what to do so thanks
thanks for the info I’m doing tournament of minds and need lots of info on Henry VIII
this is great this made my homework way easier thanks
me too
This has made my homework so easy!!!
I GOT AN A + THANKS ALOT REALLY HELPED
thanx very much π
thank – you so much! made my assignment much easier!
thanks
you helped so much thank you
Thanks guys you have really helped me out a lot and thanks again.
Thank you so much for the facts ππππ
thx!
I got A on my history report thanks so much
Very useful for my history homework thanks
thanks that was amazing, it helped me with my homework and that makes me proud
Great article, it was really useful. Thanks!
Thank you for creating this article, it made my essay 10x easier.