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- Anne of the Thousand Days
- Universal Pictures
Dumb Things We Believe About Henry VIII Thanks To Movies And TV
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- A Man For All Seasons
- Columbia Pictures
1He Was Immoderate And Raged All The Time
The Trope: Henry VIII was an immoderate tyrant who let his emotions control him.
Why Is It Inaccurate? At the start of his reign, Henry was heralded as a golden prince. In 1509, one of the king's secretaries even praised his wisdom and level-headedness:
What a passion he has for justice and honesty... Our king's heart is not set upon gold or jewels or mines of ore, but upon virtue, reputation, and eternal renown... a few days ago, when he said that he longed to be a more accomplished scholar, I remarked "We do not expect this of you; what we do expect is that you should foster and encourage those who are scholars." "Of course," he replied, "for without them we could scarcely exist." What better remark could be made by any king?
While this is just one interpretation of the king's early years in power, it nonetheless shows that Henry could be more than a raging tyrant.
Henry didn't remain a wise, golden prince forever, however. By the later years of his reign, most of his courtiers noticed a change in his behavior. Historian Suzannah Lipscomb dates a shift in Henry to around 1536:
From being the glorious young prince of his accession, Henry changed to become a man who was markedly dour, irritable, mistrustful and repressively brutal towards his enemies. This was matched by his physical degeneration, from a handsome, athletic youth, into an obese old man, plagued by ill-health. Even before he died, people were starting to call him by the dreaded epithet "tyrant."
Historians have different theories about what caused the change: Some insist it was a consequence of a traumatic brain injury, while others surmise it was from lead poisoning.
Notable Offenders: Wolf Hall; A Man for All Seasons
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- The Private Life Of Henry VIII
- United Artists
2He Was A Glutton
The Trope: The jovial Henry VIII loved nothing more than to gorge himself during merry feasts.
Why Is It Inaccurate? It is true that Henry ate quite a bit - historian Tracy Borman estimates that he "regularly consumed between 4,500 and 5,000 calories a day."
But his eating habits weren't really about immoderate, mindless consumption - they reflected his status. As Historic Royal Palaces notes, grand feasts "were a display of the monarch's power," and Henry spent lavishly on them. Historian Alison Weir agrees: "What a man ate [in the Tudor era] was an outward manifestation of his rank."
It's also worth noting that, although Henry consumed all of those calories, he would have burned many of them, as he stayed extremely active for much of his life by participating in activities like hunting, jousting, and dancing.
Notable Offenders: The Private Life of Henry VIII
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- The Other Boleyn Girl
- Sony Pictures Releasing
3Anne Boleyn Manipulated Him Into Marriage
The Trope: Anne Boleyn was a scheming seductress who single-handedly convinced Henry VIII to end his marriage, change the religious landscape of the kingdom, and marry her.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Writers and historians have vilified Boleyn since the time she was still alive. The myth of her as a scheming seductress may have a long history, but it's just that: a myth that oversimplifies a complicated period of English history and a complex, not-easy-to-define woman within it.
The idea that Boleyn manipulated Henry into marriage overlooks the aggressive role the king took in pursuing her - even though she repeatedly declined to become his lover. As historian Hayley Nolan has argued, scholars wrongly interpret Boleyn's apparent reluctance to get involved with Henry as a game of manipulation and seduction:
The historians who do acknowledge [her refusal of Henry's advances] say it was a calculated tactic and […] blackmail - the ultimate example of "when a girl says no, she really means yes." There are historians who are calling Henry's harassment love letters and claim that he sentenced the queen he loved to death. I'm sorry, but the manner in which a man kills a woman does not prove his love for her. If it can end in decapitation, it was never love.
Notable Offenders: Wolf Hall; The Other Boleyn Girl
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- Wolf Hall
- BBC Worldwide
4He Only Cared About Securing A Male Heir
The Trope: Henry VIII was obsessed with producing a male heir at the expense of everything else. It was the only thing that motivated him and shaped all of his relationships.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Securing a male heir really was one of Henry's chief concerns, especially in the 1520s and 1530s. It certainly shaped his marriage history and, by extension, the history of England.
But it wasn't the only thing on his mind. For example, he maintained wars on the continent and in the British Isles. Moreover, Henry spent the last decade of his reign with a male heir, his much-indulged Prince Edward.
Although Henry's principal desire may have been to have a male heir, he would have understood that his daughters Mary and Elizabeth weren't useless. After all, alliances could be built through marriages between royal households. To that end, Henry entertained securing alliances with places like France and Bavaria through his daughters' marriages. He never followed through, however.
By the time Henry passed in 1547, his daughters also had a place in the line of succession, thanks to the intervention of their final stepmother Catherine Parr.
Notable Offenders: The Other Boleyn Girl; Wolf Hall; A Man for All Seasons
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- Anne Of The Thousand Days
- Universal Pictures
5He Didn't Get Along With Catherine Of Aragon
The Trope: Henry VIII couldn't stand his first wife Catherine of Aragon - she was a thorn in his side.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Henry and Catherine not only got along; they genuinely cared for each other. He likely decided to take Catherine - his brother's widow - as his bride for political and romantic reasons.
Catherine wasn't a passive queen, sequestered in her chambers - she was also a worthy partner whom Henry could count on. She served as a capable regent during his absences and even led troops into battle.
Films and TV shows that center on Henry's relationship with Anne Boleyn and his subsequent wives overlook or misrepresent his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, as they fixate on a period when he was no longer happy in his marriage.
Notable Offenders: Wolf Hall; Anne of the Thousand Days; The Other Boleyn Girl
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- Wolf Hall
- BBC Worldwide
6He Was Incapable Of Maintaining Non-Romantic Relationships With Women
The Trope: A woman's only use to Henry VIII was as a wife - he couldn't have a relationship with a woman that didn't involve love or marriage.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Henry's marriage to his fourth wife Anne of Cleves ended in divorce. Although Henry didn't deny her grace and dignity, he claimed they just weren't suited to one another.
Although their marriage didn't work out, Henry and Anne nonetheless maintained friendly relations after their separation. Henry gave Anne her own palace, invited her to court, and even referred to her as his "sister."
Notable Offenders: The Other Boleyn Girl; Wolf Hall
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- The Simpsons
- Fox
7His Large Size Was His Defining Feature
The Trope: Henry VIII was always large and jovial.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Henry maintained an athletic build for most of his adulthood. When he was in his early 20s, for example, his waist was around 35 inches. However, by the 1540s, he had grown to around 400 pounds. The transformation of his physical form arose from a variety of factors, including injuries and health issues that prevented him from maintaining the level of activity he had once enjoyed.
The fixation on Henry VIII's weight likely stems from a fat-phobic culture that views heavier folks negatively. According to historian Christopher Forth:
[...] Henry was sometimes known as the "English Nero," an epithet that rolled his tyrannical reputation into the negative connotations attached to his size and appetites.
Notable Offenders: The Private Life of Henry VIII; The Simpsons; The Sword and the Rose
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- Carry On Henry
- Rank Organisation
8Henry's Preferred Method Of Execution Was Beheading
The Trope: If ever there was a king most associated with the phrase, "Off with their head!" it was Henry VIII. Whenever he passed a fatal sentence, the execution method was always beheading.
Why Is It Inaccurate? It's true that some of Henry's highest-profile victims lost their heads beneath an executioner's blade: Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Thomas Cromwell, and Sir Thomas More.
Henry may have been a prolific executioner, but he wasn't a one-trick pony. Although estimates vary as to exactly how many people were executed during his reign - some say it could have been upwards of 70,000, while others contend it was less than that - his policies and edicts ended many, many lives in a variety of ways.
Often, the manner of execution reflected the crime as well as the prisoner. Heretics were often burned alive, for example, while rebels who participated in the Pilgrimage of Grace were hanged.
Notable Offenders: Wolf Hall; Anne of the Thousand Days; A Man for All Seasons; Carry On Henry
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- Anne Of The Thousand Days
- Universal Pictures
9He Always Sported A Beard
The Trope: Henry VIII always had a beard - it was one of the things that visually defined him.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Henry spent the first 28 years or so of his life without facial hair. He didn't start maintaining a beard until 1519 or 1520, when he grew one ahead of a meeting with the King of France.
When Henry first sported a beard, he was still married to his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Apparently, she was not a fan of her husband's new facial hair, but ultimately realized it was a battle she wasn't going to win.
Henry didn't consistently sport a beard, and went through periods of growing and shaving his facial hair.
Notable Offenders: The Private Life of Henry VIII; Anne of the Thousand Days
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- The Tudors
- Showtime
10He Had Dark Hair
The Trope: Henry VIII has a crown of dark hair.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Henry didn't have dark hair. It was actually red or auburn. His red locks were apparently a Tudor family trait that he passed on to his daughter Elizabeth.
Given how well-documented his hair color is, it's curious that pop culture repeatedly misrepresents it. Some notable exceptions: both Wolf Hall and The Spanish Princess correctly depict Henry with reddish hair.
Notable Offenders: The Tudors; The Other Boleyn Girl; Anne of the Thousand Days
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- Wolf Hall
- BBC Worldwide
11No One Would Dare Challenge Him
The Trope: Henry VIII's power was absolute, and everyone stumbled around trying to appease him and give in to his demands.
Why Is It Inaccurate? It's true that Henry became less and less tolerant as he aged, and he liked to get his way. But that doesn't mean that courtiers always walked on eggshells around him and never challenged his authority. Sir Thomas More resisted the English Reformation, for example, though it would cost him his life.
As a sportsman, Henry also liked to stay active. Even in these games, he didn't expect to win all the time. He famously lost to the king of France in a wrestling match and frequently was bested by his courtiers in jousting tournaments - he didn't want his competitors to simply let him win. One jousting match almost took his life.
Notable Offenders: The Other Boleyn Girl; Wolf Hall
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- The Other Boleyn Girl
- Sony Pictures Releasing
12He Spent More Time Pursuing Affairs Of The Heart Than Affairs Of State
The Trope: Henry VIII was constantly in pursuit of the right wife - and didn't do much of anything else.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Henry's romantic life may overshadow the rest of his reign in the popular imagination, but it would be wrong to assume that's all his kingship was about - especially because his private relationships were fundamentally political.
Henry's kingship was indeed entangled with the politics of marriage. He launched a war with Scotland - which brought about high taxes - in a bid to force the child-queen into marriage with his son Edward. Henry's English Reformation - which changed the religious landscape of England - also echoed into the subsequent centuries, even as it was spurred on by his desire to marry Anne Boleyn.
Notable Offenders: The Private Life of Henry VIII; The Other Boleyn Girl; The Tudors
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- Carry On Henry
- Rank Organisation
13He Chose A Life Of Pleasure Over A Life Of The Mind
The Trope: Henry VIII was a good-natured ladies' man who didn't have time for books or intellectual pursuits.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Henry took his love life seriously, but he took his intellectual life seriously, too. He projected the image of a learned Renaissance prince who was educated and well-versed in everything from theology to the arts. Henry even authored a religious text that critiqued Martin Luther and Protestantism, an act that earned him the title "Defender of the Faith." The king also was an amateur composer.
Henry likely bonded with his sixth and final wife Catherine Parr over their shared love of intellectual pursuits. Catherine was a respected theologian credited with being "the first English queen to write and publish her own books," according to Historic Royal Palaces.
Notable Offenders: A Man for All Seasons; The Private Life of Henry VIII; The Other Boleyn Girl; Carry On Henry
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