I think it is quite clear that Henry VIII was personally affronted with his daughter’s actions and enraged that not only would she defy him but she would side with her mother. It may be true that Henry had tears in his eyes when he spoke of his daughter’s defiance to the French ambassador who subsequently replied that Mary had nonetheless been granted an excellent upbringing (p. 81). But these were not tears for his daughter. For Henry, it was he who was the injured party here. It is quite clear that he was astonished by his daughter’s actions; angered and hurt. Though I do not suggest for one minute that we share his outlook, it was, nonetheless, his approach.
Here is another review of the latest controversial book about Anne by G.W. Bernard. Share
5 comments:
I recently watched a TV program titled, When Rich Kids Kill, about how being brought up wealthy and priviledged can in some cases create a narcissistic, self-absorbed person with a sense of entitlement. I think that is what happened to Henry VIII.
Something certainly happened to him. I have never been able to figure him out....
His father was very worred about Henry coming to the throne after Arthur died. Henry Tudor hoped to work with his younger son, who had indeed been rather spoiled, to prepare him for rule.
Henry VII died too soon to implement the training of his young prince.
I am, at some point, going to have to post a full-length review of Professor Bernard's book ... Bernard's thesis about Anne being guilty is built on such astonishingly flimsy and incomplete evidence (he ignores what doesn't fit and fails to explain why the Crown fabricated false charges if there were already real ones to go for) and he has an unfortunate tendency to ignore what doesn't fit his hypothesis. SOME of his arguments on her religion, however, are worth considering. However, the guilty as charged thesis is nothing to do with Anne but Bernard's insistence that Henry VIII was totally in control of his own government and couldn't have been "duped" into executing an innocent wife. At one point, bizarrely, it is also suggested by Bernard that it's surely impossible to believe that Henry VIII would have been complicit in such an appalling miscarriage of justice. Really?
I agree with Stephanie's point about it being very interested that Henry VII seemed to be actively worried about Henry's suitability to inherit the throne in the wake of Prince Arthur's death. Some historians have suggested that this may have been because of the physical and mental similarities between young Henry and his maternal grandmother, the self-indulgent King Edward IV - but, whatever Henry VII, feared, he was evidently right to do so. This whole idea of what was wrong with Henry VIII mentally/emotionally/morally and his father's fears on the subject are the central planks of Derek Wilson's recent book "A Brief History of Henry VIII: Reformer & Tyrant."
Gareth, I am looking forward to your review of the book in question. Yes, Henry certainly took after the Plantagenet side of the family, especially Edward IV.
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