To think that Henry VIII was an abusive physco

[Iwanttoslowdown]

And should be taught in school as such.

One of mine is being taught about this tosser in Secondary school history and I was appalled that it was treated with such blasé that he literally was an abuser.

So I had to retell the story not as someone to be revered or remembered well, but that this abuser killed some of his wives including the mother of his daughter Elizabeth I, had serial mistresses, gorged his way through Court like some oversized pimple set to burst and generally Gould not be taught as a good person.

Of course Henry VIII was an abusive twat, as were a lot of important figures throughout history. He was particularly vile though and yes, I think emphasis should be placed on that when teaching about him. He was an arsewipe.

Unfortunately, he was a key part of this country's history that has led to where we are today.

I think its rather arrogant to sit here in the 21stC and dismiss what they did and the acts of extreme bravery they took part in from our relatively privileged position, which they helped win for us all

I'm not dismissing what they did at all. I use my vote every time because I know what some women went through to ensure I have it; but I don't call booby trapping pillar boxes, smashing windows and setting fire to property 'bravery,' whether that's arrogant or not. I'll reserve that for the women who worked in munitions factory and nursed on the front line, knowing every day could be their last.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain

Having read about it. I wasn't there at the time.

Yeah, yeah! We believe you!

Old, @SinnerBoy but not THAT old. I wouldn't have gone within a mile of the old goat, either.

You seem eminently sensible!

I learnt it in the 70s as well. My learning of it was nothing like that. It was factual with no ‘agenda’.

An AIBU about Henry the eighth has to be the most mumsnet thing ever.

When he tells you who he is...

😂

AND a PP has already popped in to scold us all for discussing him, because "he's not one of your modern day husbands" - it's perfect innit.

I envy you @BellePeppa

Our Shakespeare was bowdlerised, & I don't recall any female authors other than Austen & Bronte. Probably because they were compulsory curriculum.

We were also taught that e.g. the East India Company was pretty much a social enterprise which the 'recipient' countries were fortunate to encounter.

Oh! & the only thing we learned about British involvement in the slave trade was Wilberforce. Hurrah for the liberators!! 😢

This, btw, was a school ranked as one of the top grammars in england.
Shocking, innit.
At least they taught me how to learn ... college was quite a surprise.

😂 So many red flags!

Our Shakespeare was bowdlerised

As was Chaucer - a little row of dots where all the salacious stuff had been taken out. A level English was pretty eye opening in that respect. Although as one teacher pointed out, all the really filthy stuff was so obscure the bowdlerisers didn't get the meaning and left it in.

You are very naughty😀

KettrickenSmiled Sorry. Should have added a spoiler alert

To paraphrase Mandy Rice Davies
"They would say that wouldn't they."

It is part of our history. Schools teach the facts and those are the facts. I doubt any teacher is implying that it is OK to lop your spouse's head off after they annoy you.

@Blocked
"..The whole sorry mess that was Ireland." as written by @loislovesstewie

I think what she meant was, because of the Norman invasion by the Welsh Norman, Strongbow and later by Henry11 and his descendants and the confiscation of lands and the awful treatment of the natives, the Penal Laws against the Catholic population and the impact these had on land ownership and division, the Plantations of settlers, the horror of various famines in Ireland ( and food being exported to Britain at the time of the 1845 Great Famine ), Ireland was a sorry mess.

I think children in the UK don't learn much about Irish history and the impact of British colonialism on the country.

Thanks @BeanieTeen , that’s an interesting take.

History is written by the victors. Lots on him but he was a king who laid the foundations of the Tudors and everything after. Hindsight after 500 yrs is good. Lucy Worsley prob love him.

Some of these posts are quite funny, it’s like you’re talking about a serial killer. He was a very athletic, popular and handsome young man. His father was considered tight fisted but when he came to the throne he created a more ‘fun’ court. His problem was that he was influenced by the people around him, once a negative thought was placed in his head he became obsessed. The jousting accident caused him years of illness and further clouded his judgment. Henry did indeed turn into a tyrannical bully but he was not always like that.

Let's hope your children's school teaches them how to punctuate.

That was Henry VII. Lucy Worsley would love to dress up as Henry VIII - in fact she probably already has.

You're very welcome.

So just like many other aristocratic men down through history, then.
He wasn’t uniquely monstrous. Men with titles were entitled to sleep around and keep an official mistress or two as well. They were entitled to bump off their wives or banish them to a nunnery or lock them in a castle and let them starve to death or die of disease. Abuse was considered correction. It’s blasé because it was common, it’s why he didn’t kill any actual foreign princesses too because it would have started a war. He only had wives who were also English subjects executed.

It would be wrong to treat him like an aberration, he was very much a man of the times. Times which were horrendous for women.

Some of these posts are quite funny, it’s like you’re talking about a serial killer.

You are so funny. He WAS a serial killer.
You surely haven't forgotten all the beheadings, & burnings, or the random executions of people who he decided were now inconvenient, no longer useful, or annoying?

Saying he was easily influenced doesn't get him off!

Henry did indeed turn into a tyrannical bully but he was not always like that.

Harold Shipman killed hundreds of patients - but he wasn't always like that.