Henry VIII - waste of space?

[ImJustMadAboutSaffron]

"Apart from his immaturity over religion and which way he really swung, and the total waste of lives, time and money fighting France which achieved sod all - just for starters - anyone got a good word to say for the guy?"

These are not my words neither is the subject heading, I saw it on Facebook. But was he a waste of space? I do have one good word to say for him though I'm not going to start discussing religion.

[LondonWolf]

I think he was a complete psycho, only he got others to do the killing for him.

[Sandra1984]

Anyone who beheads his wife is a psycho.

[thebellagio]

Considering the way people react to the royals now, I’d love to see some sort of tv show that explored how the kings subjects reacted to his divorces and his beheadings. Haha

[TheLightSideOfTheMoon]

Anne? Is that you?

[TheHound86]

He played a huge part in establishing the Royal Navy and also regulating the practice of medicine. Under his rule physicians began to be issued with licenses and unlicensed physicians could be punished.

[Pixiedust1234]

Every human is a waste of space. You, me, them.

[yummyscummymummy01]

Depends, if you value the Church of England then you've got him to thank for it. I'm not religious myself but I suppose that's his biggest achievement.

Actually scratch that maybe I'd say Elizabeth.

[MozzarellaMonster]

Ive always found him kind of fascinating, fair to say he was not a good bloke but I always been drawn to find out details about his life and those of his wives.
Waste of space is somewhat simplified, he caused some havoc though to be fair that I'm sure the country at the time could have done without.

[KimWexlersPonyTail]

From what I have read he was a very cultured young man until the jousting accident left him in a coma. It is said the head injury caused a personality change. Its amazing that he actually survived it. Also may have had advanced syphilis(sp) which sends you mad.

[CathyorClaire]

Anyone who can persuade his lackeys that Groom Of The Stool is a prestigious gig has to have something in the way of people skills

Anyway. While we may think a constitutional monarchy has its downsides he's proof an absolute monarchy sucks monkey balls.

[CathyorClaire]

Also may have had advanced syphilis(sp) which sends you mad.

I think most historians don't subscribe to this theory now.

[YennefersDress]

His behaviour clearly became monstrous but I think he was in effect a product of the very unstable times he was living in. His father won the crown on the battlefield putting an end to the Wars of the Roses and he was well aware of the instability that preceded his father's reign. I think he became paranoid, he was certainly paranoid about anyone left with a Plantagenet claim (poor Margaret Pole)!

His awful treatment of his wives came from the obsession of having a male heir, it's what he thought was necessary for the security and stability of his own reign and future dynasty. Doesn't excuse it but perhaps gives context to it. If Catherine of Aragon had given birth to healthy sons, there wouldn't have been five subsequent wives.

[ImJustMadAboutSaffron]

@TheLightSideOfTheMoon

Anne? Is that you?

No it's Cathy H 😹😹

[nomoreflyingfucks]

Well if the Pope hadn't been such a psycho, then to be fair Henners probably wouldn't have needed to form his own religion!
You really, really can't look at the 16C through 21C eyes!
Richard I was also a bit of a twat, he would have been happy to sell London, he loathed this island and used it to fill his coffers so he and his mate Philip could go gadding off to the Middle East to make war on the Saracens, all with the blessing of the Pope.
Going back to Henners, you also need to be aware of what those naughty monks where up to! It wasn't just the Pope making life difficult, but the Catholic Church was keeping an awful lot of money for themselves, not sharing with the poor of their parish and not being exactly honest with the treasury either! Fascinating stuff! Throughout the middle ages and into Tudor and up to a point Stuart times church and state were so interlinked, that the idea of absolute monarchy was just that, an idea rather than fact!
You also have to remember excommunication was a very serious issue, not just for the king but for the safety of the realm, so Henry got round this by effectively telling the Pope and his Cardinals to stick their heads were the sun don't shine! And tadah no excommunication... he may have been thoroughly unpleasant, but he was very far from inept when it came to politics.

[ladygindiva]

He sounds like he was an utter c**t.

[Celticandco]

I think

[Prayitsok]

Well he did break from the Catholic church and create the church of England. Not that he did it in the best way or for the best reason (so he could get divorced). But then again, a lot of us are grateful for being able to get a divorce so maybe we have henry viii to thank! 😂

[JenJones5]

@Sandra1984

Anyone who beheads his wife is a psycho.

That’s a bit judgemental, isn’t it?

[Sandra1984]

@JenJones5

That’s a bit judgemental, isn’t it?

Yes, I’m having a very judgemental day today 🤣😂🤣

[onlylarkin]

I decided to go searching and found this random article about things he accomplished.

Sad that the horrible shit he did by the end is what he is best known for. Really sad for his wives, relatives and friends.

www.historyhit.com/henry-viii-greatest-achievements/

[Serenster]

It’s arguable that his reign had one of the biggest impacts on English, later British history, I guess, through the break with Rome?

Other candidates - Elizabeth 1 defeating the Armada (not so much to with her personally though!). Henry V dying of dysentery at 25 and so not inheriting the French crown as planned when the French King died was a pretty big turning point…

They didn’t need to be nice people, it was kind of the opposite of the job description then!

[Topseyt123]

I always think of him as a complete arsehole.

[JenJones5]

@Topseyt123

I always think of him as a complete arsehole.

Me too, but that’s really mainly because he committed the twin sins of being ginger and fat.

Always standing with his legs apart gets him a pass for either one of those, but not both.

To be honest a beheading may seem like a kindness if the alternative was being mounted by a land-whale with no soul on a regular basis.

[Sandra1984]

@Topseyt123

I always think of him as a complete arsehole.

The brain damage and huge back pain he suffered after the accident, the syphilis, the fact his body was covered with painful pus ridden ulcers leaving him on a wheel chair, having the “doctors” apply leeches to “cure him”, obese, apparently he smelled so bad nobody wanted to be near him etc… this doesn’t sound like a happy camper, let alone someone who should have been running a country.

[ComplexNeeds]

@JenJones5 fuck off with the ginger comments!