Henry VIII: The King and His Court

by Alison Weir

  In the seventeenth century, however, when the long and brilliant reign of the Tudors was over, the verdict of historians on Henry VIII was harsher. Sir Walter Raleigh wrote of him: “If all the pictures and patterns of a merciless prince were lost in the world, they might all again be painted to the life out of the story of this King.” Since then, Henry VIII has become a caricature of his former self, with the real man being submerged beneath the popular image of the bloated, self-willed monster who changed wives and chopped off heads with gleeful alacrity.

  Thanks to a wealth of modern research, however, the genuine Henry has been allowed to emerge once more, imperious and autocratic as ever, magnificent in his person, yet all too human in the minutae of his daily life. After more than 450 years, his charisma still has the power to intrigue us, and whatever judgement we may make of him, we may well agree with Francesco Chieregato that he excelled all who ever wore a crown.

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