The Child King Henry VII got married in 1509, 1533, 1536,...

The Child King Henry VII got married in 1509, 1533, 1536, 1540 (twice), and 1543 - why? Henry VIII is one of the few English monarchs recognizable even in America, for his antics are legendary on both sides of the Atlantic. He is as notorious for killing important people as he is for getting married six times and his break with Rome. Indeed, Henrys reign would make a good comic book, for he was always off on some new half-baked project, be it invading France or plotting a crusade. His whole life was marked by impulsiveness and his OK, that was fun, whats next? attitude. He never outgrew many childlike character traits, at times stubborn and the next moment almost a gullible pushover. This childish disposition is the key to why he†¦show more content†¦A Spanish envoy named Fuensalida even remarked that Henry was so sheltered that he might have been a young girl (Scarisbrick 6). The result of such an insulated youth and lack of kingly training is predictable. Henry grew older, but he never grew up. Even in 1540, by which time Henry was advanced in age, the French ambassador Marillac wrote of him that he suffered from lightness and inconstancy which has perverted the rights of religion, marriage, faith and promise, as softened wax can be altered to any form (Douglas 394). One might not expect the ambassador from France, Henrys now-and-again archenemy, to be neutral in his assessment, but Henrys actions also reveal his immaturity. During the first half of his reign the king was more interested in partying than politics. The Venetian diplomat P. Pasqualigo described a visit to Henrys court in 1515: We at length reached the king, who was under a canopy of cloth of gold, embroidered at Florence, the most costly thing I ever witnessed†¦Very close around his neck he had a gold collar, from which there hung a round cut diamond, the size of the biggest walnut I ever saw, and to this was suspended a most beautiful and very large round pearl†¦ After dinner, his majesty and many others armed themselves cap-à  -pie, and he chose us to see him joust, running upwards of thirty courses, in one of which he capsized his opponent (who is the finest jouster in the whole kingdom), horse and all†¦ (Douglas