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3.1 Henry VIII
Henry VIII
Who was Henry VIII? Henry VIII became king of England in 1509. He was not meant to be king. He only became the heir to the throne when his older brother Arthur died. Henry was very handsome, and very clever. He could sing and dance well, spoke lots of languages, was a tennis champion and excellent at fighting on horseback. He loved hunting. He also went to church. He was well liked, but had a really bad temper if anyone said ‘no’ to him. It was best to keep on the good side of the king!
Heir: This is the child of a king or queen who will take over when the current king or queen dies.
Henry liked riding in the forests and hunting
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The king’s job was to keep his country strong and safe from invaders. To do this, Henry made sure there was a strong navy and he had the famous ship Mary Rose built. He had to keep everyone in the country safe. Henry needed to have a son who would be king when he died. And that was the problem. Henry had been married to Catherine of Aragon for many years, and they had no boys, only a girl called Mary. Catherine became too old to have any more babies.
Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon
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