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× Character Information
•CHARACTER ☆ Henry Tudor
•FANDOM ☆ The Tudors
•AGE ☆ Early To Mid Twenties
•SPECIES ☆ Human
•GENDER ☆ Male
•TIMELINE ☆ Season One - Episode Five
•PERSONALITY ☆
Henry, as a man, is extremely complex. Given his status in life this is no surprise. There were many different aspects that made up his personality, as well as many different influences from his life as well as during his years as the ruler of England.
His wit was often unmatched and he could speak well even under pressure. He was thought to be extremely talented and well-trained at an early age in the musical arts, playing many different instruments. He was kind to his friends and those who had earned his trust, and in the early years his trust and loyalty was easily earned. This would change as he grew older, and his personality changed. He was a loving brother towards his sister and also towards Katherine, as well as Anne.
But he had grown up as a spoilt child and was used to getting his way, often going so far as to throw a fit if he was told that his way could not be had. He was vain and narcissistic, always wanting to have the best, look the best, to be better than those who were around him. He was proud and this pride could, at times, stand in the way of the betterment of his country because he considered the measures he would have to take to achieve them as being beneath him. He was egotistical, solemnly believing himself to be above all others, often using his title as the King of England to prove this point. He craved attention and would go to great lengths to get it, be it from his wife, his current mistress, or from the people he employed as his servants and those who served in his council.
But he was also quite insecure and needed to be constantly told that what he was doing was right. He could brood readily and would become sullen for days if disappointed by something or if he did not get his way. For the first twenty years of his rule he was a benevolent, if not kind, ruler. He tried to do what was best for his country, tried to serve the people and surround himself with advisers and council members who would do the same. It was only in his later years that he became selfish, cruel, melodramatic and often malevolent. It was also in his later years that he began to become more devious and vindictive, although it seems that he feels a touch of vindictiveness against his first wife Katherine for fooling him into thinking that their marriage was indeed valid.
From the period I am taking him, however, he can be summed up in a few words: witty, talented, gregarious, but also vain, narcissistic and insecure. He can also be described as musical, poetical, elegant, charming and reasonable, but also whimsy and impulsive. He can be easily influenced by the whim of others, as long as they hold enough of his trust. He often acts without thinking, impulsive in his wants. When he wants something, he wants it at the moment and does not like to be told no. He is charming and can talk his way into or out of almost any situation, but he is still reasonable, willing to listen to one side or another and weigh out the options.
He is capable of love, and when he loves, he does love deeply. His love is easily won and just as easily lost. He loves in bursts, it seems, for short periods of time and only for as long as that person holds his interest. He is whimsy, following his wants. One of the most important things to know and understand about Henry is his obsession with creating a male heir. Without one, the Tudor line would come to an end; his country would be left in turmoil with no solid ruler. It's this obsession that often causes him to act impulsively and without thinking.
•HISTORY ☆
It's extremely important to remember two things. One, The Tudors is a series that's based on historical fact and the actual history is used more as a guideline. What I am going to give you is what actually happened in history. Two is that he's taken early enough in the series where most of the historical inaccuracies mostly surround ages and dates and not actual events.
King Henry VIII of England and Ireland was actually born Prince Harry, the second son and third child of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, on the twenty-eighth of June in the year 149, like all of the Tudor monarchs save for Henry VII, at Greenwich Palace. His two brothers, Arthur, Prince of Wales and Edmund, Duke of Somerset along with two of his sisters predeceased their father. Henry VIII was the only son who survived, along with his two sisters, Margaret Tudor and Mary Tudor, who both went on to become the Queen of Scotland and of France, respectively. (One note on how the series differs from actual history is that in it, the two sisters have been combined in a way. Margaret is the only sister that Henry has.) Henry VIII was apparently to be sent into the church, but the story can be assumed to only be a mere surmise and not fact, due to his theological accomplishments and from the secular post he was given as a young man, such as the viceroyalty of Ireland. He was the first English monarch to be educated under the influence of the Renaissance, and because of this he became an accomplished scholar, linguist, musician and athlete. When his brother Arthur died in 1502 and then his father in April of 1509, his succession to the throne was hailed with universal acclamation.
He had been betrothed to his brother's widow, Katherine of Aragon, and in spite of the many protests that had been made to register against the marriage along with the doubts expressed by the Pope along with Archbishop Warham as to its validity; the marriage was made formal within the first few months of his reign. The step was taken in large part due to the pressure that Katherine's father, Ferdinand of Castiel, brought upon Henry's council: he regarded England as little more than a tool resting in his hands and Katherine was to be his resident ambassador. The young king at first began to take little interest in the politics of running a kingdom and for the first couple of years the affairs of his rule were managed by Richard Foxe and Warham. After this Cardinal Wolsey became the supreme leader while Henry himself immersed himself in the pursuit of lighter entertainment and other amusements.
His keenest interests, however, were in learning, as well as in the navy, and his inborn pride easily led him to support the idea born between Wolsey and Ferdinand for war-like designs on France. He followed English armies across the Channel in 1513, and then personally took part in the successful sieges of Therouanne and Tournay and the battle of Guinegate, which finally led to the peace of 1514. Ferdinand, however, soon deserted the English alliance and, amid the consequent bitterness and irritation, Henry took against everything Spanish. There began to be talk of a divorce between Henry and Katherine in 1514, due more to the fact that they had yet to have any living children, let alone any male heirs, than for any other real reason. But the renewed antagonism between England and France that followed the accession of Francis I in 1515 led to a new treaty being formed between Ferdinand and England, along with the birth of Lady Mary in 1516 and the fact that one living child meant that there could very well be more, thus leading to the question of divorce being put off.
Ferdinand, however, died in that year, as did the emperor Maximilian in 1519. Their joint grandson Charles V succeeded the both of them in all of their realms and dignities in spite of Henry's barely serious candidature for the empire. And thus a lifelong rivalry broke out between him and the French king, something that Wolsey used to make England arbiter between them. Both monarchs sought out the favor of England in 1520: Francis at the Field of Cloth of Gold and Charles V much more quietly at Kent. At the conference at Calasis in 1521 the English influence reached its zenith, but the chosen alliance with Charles destroyed the balance that that influence depended on. Francis was overwhelmed and in his defeat at Pavia in 1525 made the emperor supreme. Feeble efforts to challenge his power in Italy provoked the sack of Rome in 1527 and the peace of Cambrai in 1529 was made without any conference with Wolsey or any reference to England's interests.
Meanwhile, however, the king’s interest in politics had been developing and growing and he would not stand for anyone to be superior in whatever arena he chose to shine in. He began to take on a more critical attitude towards the policies of Wolsey, both foreign and domestic. This also began to give truth to the whispered rumors against the cardinal and his ecclesiastical rule. Parliament had long since been kept at arm’s length, lest it attack the church, but Wolsey's expensive foreign policy rendered recourse to parliamentary subsidies indispensable. When it met in 1523, in refused Wolsey's demands and forced loans were the end result of the cardinal’s increased unpopularity. His ultimate failure, however, came in the fact that he failed to obtain a divorce for Henry from Queen Katherine.
The king’s high hopes of receiving a male heir have been thus far been disappointing and in 1526 it was fairly certain that there could be no male heir to the throne of England as long as Katherine remained his wife. There was Mary, yes, but no queen regent had yet ruled England. In fact, Margaret Beaufort had been passed over in favor of her son in 1485 and there was a very popular opinion that women were to be excluded from the throne. No living candidate could have truly secured the succession without the recurrence of a bloody civil war. This, coupled with the unexplained and unusually high mortality rate of their children thus far, revived the theological scruples which had once existed about the marriage. The breach with Charles V in 1527 provoked a renewed desire for the design of 1514. All of these considerations were only magnified by Henry VIII's passion for Anne Boleyn, though she certainly was not the main cause of the divorce.
That the succession was in fact the main point proved to be a fact in that Henry's efforts were all directed at securing a wife and not simply a mistress. Wolsey managed to persuade him that a divorce could be easily obtained from Rome, as had been the case in Louis XII of France and Margaret of Scotland. For a short time, Clement VII was inclined to concede the demand, and Cardinal Campeggio in 1528 was given ample powers. But the prospect that there would be a French successor in Italy which had encouraged the pope proved to be delusive and in 1529 he had to submit to the yoke of Charles V. This involved a rejection of Henry's suit, not because Charles cared anything for his aunt, but because a divorce would mean disinheriting Charles' cousin Mary, and perhaps the eventual succession of the son of a French princess to the English throne.
This is around the point I will be bringing him in at. Again, it's difficult to exactly line up historical events with the series but I've written a bit past what's contained in the actual episode just to cover.
•CHARACTER ☆ Henry Tudor
•FANDOM ☆ The Tudors
•AGE ☆ Early To Mid Twenties
•SPECIES ☆ Human
•GENDER ☆ Male
•TIMELINE ☆ Season One - Episode Five
•PERSONALITY ☆
Henry, as a man, is extremely complex. Given his status in life this is no surprise. There were many different aspects that made up his personality, as well as many different influences from his life as well as during his years as the ruler of England.
His wit was often unmatched and he could speak well even under pressure. He was thought to be extremely talented and well-trained at an early age in the musical arts, playing many different instruments. He was kind to his friends and those who had earned his trust, and in the early years his trust and loyalty was easily earned. This would change as he grew older, and his personality changed. He was a loving brother towards his sister and also towards Katherine, as well as Anne.
But he had grown up as a spoilt child and was used to getting his way, often going so far as to throw a fit if he was told that his way could not be had. He was vain and narcissistic, always wanting to have the best, look the best, to be better than those who were around him. He was proud and this pride could, at times, stand in the way of the betterment of his country because he considered the measures he would have to take to achieve them as being beneath him. He was egotistical, solemnly believing himself to be above all others, often using his title as the King of England to prove this point. He craved attention and would go to great lengths to get it, be it from his wife, his current mistress, or from the people he employed as his servants and those who served in his council.
But he was also quite insecure and needed to be constantly told that what he was doing was right. He could brood readily and would become sullen for days if disappointed by something or if he did not get his way. For the first twenty years of his rule he was a benevolent, if not kind, ruler. He tried to do what was best for his country, tried to serve the people and surround himself with advisers and council members who would do the same. It was only in his later years that he became selfish, cruel, melodramatic and often malevolent. It was also in his later years that he began to become more devious and vindictive, although it seems that he feels a touch of vindictiveness against his first wife Katherine for fooling him into thinking that their marriage was indeed valid.
From the period I am taking him, however, he can be summed up in a few words: witty, talented, gregarious, but also vain, narcissistic and insecure. He can also be described as musical, poetical, elegant, charming and reasonable, but also whimsy and impulsive. He can be easily influenced by the whim of others, as long as they hold enough of his trust. He often acts without thinking, impulsive in his wants. When he wants something, he wants it at the moment and does not like to be told no. He is charming and can talk his way into or out of almost any situation, but he is still reasonable, willing to listen to one side or another and weigh out the options.
He is capable of love, and when he loves, he does love deeply. His love is easily won and just as easily lost. He loves in bursts, it seems, for short periods of time and only for as long as that person holds his interest. He is whimsy, following his wants. One of the most important things to know and understand about Henry is his obsession with creating a male heir. Without one, the Tudor line would come to an end; his country would be left in turmoil with no solid ruler. It's this obsession that often causes him to act impulsively and without thinking.
•HISTORY ☆
It's extremely important to remember two things. One, The Tudors is a series that's based on historical fact and the actual history is used more as a guideline. What I am going to give you is what actually happened in history. Two is that he's taken early enough in the series where most of the historical inaccuracies mostly surround ages and dates and not actual events.
King Henry VIII of England and Ireland was actually born Prince Harry, the second son and third child of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, on the twenty-eighth of June in the year 149, like all of the Tudor monarchs save for Henry VII, at Greenwich Palace. His two brothers, Arthur, Prince of Wales and Edmund, Duke of Somerset along with two of his sisters predeceased their father. Henry VIII was the only son who survived, along with his two sisters, Margaret Tudor and Mary Tudor, who both went on to become the Queen of Scotland and of France, respectively. (One note on how the series differs from actual history is that in it, the two sisters have been combined in a way. Margaret is the only sister that Henry has.) Henry VIII was apparently to be sent into the church, but the story can be assumed to only be a mere surmise and not fact, due to his theological accomplishments and from the secular post he was given as a young man, such as the viceroyalty of Ireland. He was the first English monarch to be educated under the influence of the Renaissance, and because of this he became an accomplished scholar, linguist, musician and athlete. When his brother Arthur died in 1502 and then his father in April of 1509, his succession to the throne was hailed with universal acclamation.
He had been betrothed to his brother's widow, Katherine of Aragon, and in spite of the many protests that had been made to register against the marriage along with the doubts expressed by the Pope along with Archbishop Warham as to its validity; the marriage was made formal within the first few months of his reign. The step was taken in large part due to the pressure that Katherine's father, Ferdinand of Castiel, brought upon Henry's council: he regarded England as little more than a tool resting in his hands and Katherine was to be his resident ambassador. The young king at first began to take little interest in the politics of running a kingdom and for the first couple of years the affairs of his rule were managed by Richard Foxe and Warham. After this Cardinal Wolsey became the supreme leader while Henry himself immersed himself in the pursuit of lighter entertainment and other amusements.
His keenest interests, however, were in learning, as well as in the navy, and his inborn pride easily led him to support the idea born between Wolsey and Ferdinand for war-like designs on France. He followed English armies across the Channel in 1513, and then personally took part in the successful sieges of Therouanne and Tournay and the battle of Guinegate, which finally led to the peace of 1514. Ferdinand, however, soon deserted the English alliance and, amid the consequent bitterness and irritation, Henry took against everything Spanish. There began to be talk of a divorce between Henry and Katherine in 1514, due more to the fact that they had yet to have any living children, let alone any male heirs, than for any other real reason. But the renewed antagonism between England and France that followed the accession of Francis I in 1515 led to a new treaty being formed between Ferdinand and England, along with the birth of Lady Mary in 1516 and the fact that one living child meant that there could very well be more, thus leading to the question of divorce being put off.
Ferdinand, however, died in that year, as did the emperor Maximilian in 1519. Their joint grandson Charles V succeeded the both of them in all of their realms and dignities in spite of Henry's barely serious candidature for the empire. And thus a lifelong rivalry broke out between him and the French king, something that Wolsey used to make England arbiter between them. Both monarchs sought out the favor of England in 1520: Francis at the Field of Cloth of Gold and Charles V much more quietly at Kent. At the conference at Calasis in 1521 the English influence reached its zenith, but the chosen alliance with Charles destroyed the balance that that influence depended on. Francis was overwhelmed and in his defeat at Pavia in 1525 made the emperor supreme. Feeble efforts to challenge his power in Italy provoked the sack of Rome in 1527 and the peace of Cambrai in 1529 was made without any conference with Wolsey or any reference to England's interests.
Meanwhile, however, the king’s interest in politics had been developing and growing and he would not stand for anyone to be superior in whatever arena he chose to shine in. He began to take on a more critical attitude towards the policies of Wolsey, both foreign and domestic. This also began to give truth to the whispered rumors against the cardinal and his ecclesiastical rule. Parliament had long since been kept at arm’s length, lest it attack the church, but Wolsey's expensive foreign policy rendered recourse to parliamentary subsidies indispensable. When it met in 1523, in refused Wolsey's demands and forced loans were the end result of the cardinal’s increased unpopularity. His ultimate failure, however, came in the fact that he failed to obtain a divorce for Henry from Queen Katherine.
The king’s high hopes of receiving a male heir have been thus far been disappointing and in 1526 it was fairly certain that there could be no male heir to the throne of England as long as Katherine remained his wife. There was Mary, yes, but no queen regent had yet ruled England. In fact, Margaret Beaufort had been passed over in favor of her son in 1485 and there was a very popular opinion that women were to be excluded from the throne. No living candidate could have truly secured the succession without the recurrence of a bloody civil war. This, coupled with the unexplained and unusually high mortality rate of their children thus far, revived the theological scruples which had once existed about the marriage. The breach with Charles V in 1527 provoked a renewed desire for the design of 1514. All of these considerations were only magnified by Henry VIII's passion for Anne Boleyn, though she certainly was not the main cause of the divorce.
That the succession was in fact the main point proved to be a fact in that Henry's efforts were all directed at securing a wife and not simply a mistress. Wolsey managed to persuade him that a divorce could be easily obtained from Rome, as had been the case in Louis XII of France and Margaret of Scotland. For a short time, Clement VII was inclined to concede the demand, and Cardinal Campeggio in 1528 was given ample powers. But the prospect that there would be a French successor in Italy which had encouraged the pope proved to be delusive and in 1529 he had to submit to the yoke of Charles V. This involved a rejection of Henry's suit, not because Charles cared anything for his aunt, but because a divorce would mean disinheriting Charles' cousin Mary, and perhaps the eventual succession of the son of a French princess to the English throne.
This is around the point I will be bringing him in at. Again, it's difficult to exactly line up historical events with the series but I've written a bit past what's contained in the actual episode just to cover.