June 28th

On this day in 1491 the future King Henry VIII of England was born.

The damage that this appalling man did to so many people is well recorded. His attempts to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon, led to the English Reformation. Catherine steadfastly refused a divorce and probably continued to hold him in high regard despite his behaviour.

He only inherited the crown because of the early death of his older brother which is possibly why he seems to have been obsessed with the succession, in what came to be known at court as 'The King's Great Matter'. This led him to take in all, six wives, two of whom were beheaded for adultery. He died after a reign of thirty eight years a grossly obese and isolated man, but he had achieved his heart’s desire – his sole...

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