Henry VIII (Character)

Henry VIII
In the beginning of Henry VIII he is rather weak. Henry is easily influenced by the self-serving Cardinal Wosley and is prompted to strip one of his closest advisors (Buckingham) of his title, sending him to jail. Additionally, Wosley convinces Henry to divorce his wife Katharine, in favor of the daughter of the King of France, because the King of France can give the Cardinal a powerful and prestigious position for a position in the government. Later in the play Henry finds out Wosley has been deceiving him and consequently Henry strips Wosley of his position and marries Anne Bullen, a woman that he meets at a diner party. Henry then begins to take a more active role in his monarchy. Henry vehemently defends Cranmer from the corrupt Lords in the Court, giving Cranmer his ring and intervening in Cranmer's trial to save him from demise. Later, Henry gives birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, indicating that this is his greatest accomplishment.

Historical: Henry VIII, King of England (1491-1547)
Henry gained the throne in 1509, upon the death of his father Henry VII. Henry's reign is quite different from Shakespeare's depiction, likely because he is the father to Elizabeth (the presiding monarch while Shakespeare wrote many of his plays). Left out from Henry VIII are the wastes of money that Henry affected upon England, due to his many inconclusive wars and other extravagant expenditures of money. Additionally, Henry was somewhat of a tyrant, as he often assumed his subjects to be guilty, before they were tried. Furthermore, Henry was cruel to his seven wives, he was probably the mastermind behind his divorce of Katharine and, as is omitted from Henry VIII, he had his wife Anne executed for not giving birth to a male heir.