Young Henry: The Rise of Henry VIII

by RobertHutchinson (Author), RobertHutchinson (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2012

  $3.25

  Compelling account of the first 35 years of a magnificent and ruthless monarch.

  Henry became the unexpected heir to the precarious Tudor throne in 1502, after his elder brother Arthur died. He also inherited both his brother's wardrobe and his wife, the Spanish princess Katherine of Aragon. He became king in April 1509 with many personality traits inherited from his father - the love of magnificence, the rituals of kingship, the excitement of hunting and gambling and the construction of grand new palaces.

  After those early glory days of feasting, fun and frolic, the continuing lack of a male Tudor heir runs like a thin line of poison through Henry's reign. After he fell in love with Anne Boleyn, he gambled everything on her providing him with a son and heir. From that day forward everything changed.

  Based on contemporary accounts, Young Henry provides a compelling vision of the splendours, intrigues and tragedies of the royal court, presided over by the ruthless and insecure Henry VIII. With his customary scholarship and narrative verve, Robert Hutchinson provides fresh insights into what drove England's most famous monarch, and how this happy, playful Renaissance prince was transformed into the tyrant of his later years.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2011

  $3.25

  Henry VIII always had problems with women. Born on 28 June 1491, he lived in the shadow of his elder brother Arthur and his dour and autocratic father, Henry VII. Elizabeth of York, Henry's mother, died when he was twelve and thereafter he lived under the thumb of his formidable grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, who beneath a pious exterior was the arch-conspirator of the last days of the Wars of the Roses. Everything changed when Arthur died of tuberculosis at Ludlow Castle in 1502, less than six months after his marriage to the Spanish princess, Catherine of Aragon. Henry VII died in April 1509 when his sole heir was nine weeks away from his eighteenth birthday. His grandmother acted as regent until his birthday and he married his brother's widow, Catherine on 11 June, two weeks before their joint coronation. Henry quickly swept away the musty cobwebs of his father's court. He loved magnificence, merriment and the hunting field, and could fire an arrow further than most of his professional archers. Henry could dance everyone off their feet and could drink most men under the table. But Henry became frustrated and angry at his lack of sons by Catherine and his attention began to wander. Some time in 1526 he fell passionately in love with Anne Boleyn. At the age of 35, the time for youthful frolic had ended. To achieve his heart's overpowering desire, the executions had now to begin. Young Henry provides readers with an unique and compelling vision of the splendours and tragedies of the royal court, presided over by a magnificent and ruthless monarch.

• New

  Paperback
  2012

  $13.21

  Compelling account of the first 35 years of a magnificent and ruthless monarch.

  Henry became the unexpected heir to the precarious Tudor throne in 1502, after his elder brother Arthur died. He also inherited both his brother's wardrobe and his wife, the Spanish princess Katherine of Aragon. He became king in April 1509 with many personality traits inherited from his father - the love of magnificence, the rituals of kingship, the excitement of hunting and gambling and the construction of grand new palaces.

  After those early glory days of feasting, fun and frolic, the continuing lack of a male Tudor heir runs like a thin line of poison through Henry's reign. After he fell in love with Anne Boleyn, he gambled everything on her providing him with a son and heir. From that day forward everything changed.

  Based on contemporary accounts, Young Henry provides a compelling vision of the splendours, intrigues and tragedies of the royal court, presided over by the ruthless and insecure Henry VIII. With his customary scholarship and narrative verve, Robert Hutchinson provides fresh insights into what drove England's most famous monarch, and how this happy, playful Renaissance prince was transformed into the tyrant of his later years.