King Henry VIII

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (born 1491, ruled 1509-1547). The second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York was one of England's strongest and least popular monarchs. He was born at Greenwich on June 28, 1491. The first English ruler to be educated under the influence of the Renaissance, he was a gifted scholar, linguist, composer, and musician. As a youth he was gay and handsome, skilled in all manner of athletic games, but in later life …

…to marry her fourth husband. During Henry's reign the union of England and Wales was completed (1536). Ireland was made a kingdom (1541), and Henry became king of Ireland. His wars with Scotland and France remained indecisive in spite of some shallow victories. Although he himself opposed the Reformation, his creation of a national church marked the real beginning of the English Reformation. He died on Jan. 28, 1547, and was buried in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.