As a young man, King Henry VIII was a handsome sporting star. Doctors in the National Archives revealed praise for his fine physique. An entry which can be found in the archives states, "His Majesty is the most handsomest potentate I have ever set eyes on. Above the usual height with an extremely fine calf to his leg and a round face, so beautiful, it would become a pretty woman."
How King Henry was Admired by Many
It is obvious from the above statement that the king was admired by many. We can get an idea of his vital statistics from the armour he wore which was custom made for him. By the measurements of the king's armour we know that he was over six foot tall, even though the average height of a Tudor man was five foot and six inches.
King Henry VIII was well-known for his good legs during the Tudor times. A man's beauty amongst other things was measured by the shape of his legs, and calves were a strong symbol of Tudor manhood. Henry used these assets to the greatest effect and believed that the image of the king set a tone for the whole nation. The Tudors were extremely image conscious.
King Henry liked to show off his manhood by competing in regular sports displays such as archery, wrestling and joust. The king truly believed that he was a total match for the best in his kingdom; in fact he was convinced that he was the best.
Jousting was perfect for Henry as it showed off his strength along with England's power. However, participating in this dangerous sport did put him at great risk. Subsequently he suffered two serious injuries.
First Jousting Accident
In 1524, the king suffered a head injury after his first jousting accident when he forgot to put the visor down on his helmet. When people shouted at him to put his visor down he mistakenly thought that they were just cheering him on.
Being oblivious to the danger he was in he carried on and charged his opponent and the lance hit him just above the right eye. This opponent was believed to have been the Duke of Suffolk. He was lucky not to have lost his eye or been killed. It was from then he began to suffer from migraines and severe headaches for the rest of his life.
Second Jousting Accident
This second and most serious jousting accident became a cruel turning point in King Henry VIII's life when he suffered a major head injury. On the 24th January in 1536, he was thrown from his horse at Greenwich Palace. The king, then aged forty four was dressed in full armour, as was the horse which fell on top of him. King Henry was knocked unconscious for two hours and it was thought that the king may have been killed.
It is thought that during the accident, a joint in his armour broke and cut him deeply in the leg. However, the wound healed without any real trouble. This was rare for these times as there were no antibiotics or knowledge of the need to keep the wound clean.
When Anne Boleyn, his second wife, first heard of this devastating news she miscarried the couple's unborn child. This child was male and would have been the next heir to the throne. This affected Henry so badly that he turned against her and told her that they would not have any more male children. Less than six months later, Anne Boleyn was executed and King Henry had married his third wife Jane Seymour.
The Ailing Health and Death of King Henry VIII
Although he recovered from these injuries, his jousting career was finished and from then he suffered from serious leg problems for the rest of his life. His doctors had recorded that his legs were badly ulcerated and he was unable to walk. His eyesight had also started to deteriorate and he already had great problems with paranoia and depression.
A few months after the accident the wound started to open up in to other ulcers. This was often followed by a pattern of healing and then re-opening for the rest of the king's life. Medical treatment of these times was barbaric which included cutting the wounds to let out the bad odours. This treatment was performed on King Henry regularly.
Because of the primitive medical knowledge during the Tudor times, his leg ulcer was likely to have been caused by an untreated infection or cyst that had not been treated for a long time. This was often blamed for the suspected gangrene in Henry's feet and lower legs.
However, it may never really be known what actually caused King Henry's leg problems. Historians have pointed to the fact of an injury to the bone which then developed into chronic osteomyelitis. The only treatment available for the king during these times was to amputate his leg. As it was highly likely that King Henry suffered from diabetes, he would have been more susceptible to this.
It is also believed that he suffered an undetected brain injury. This had a great negative impact on his personality. He changed from a handsome sporting man to a depressed paranoid tyrant. His turnover of wives increased after this jousting accident. He also started to overeat and gained a lot of weight.
King Henry's problems continued to get much worse. His legs became more ulcerated and he became clinically obese. By the measurements of his armour, his waist grew from an ideal thirty two inches to a huge fifty two inches. His chest expanded from thirty nine inches to fifty two inches, and by the time of his death he was likely to have weighed some twenty eight stone.
Read about the unhealthy food that King Henry VIII ate.
Sources:
National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey.
Inside the Body of Henry VIII, History Channel, 2009.
Tracey White - A photojournalist and history writer who specialises in UK/ Scottish history and travel especially of the Tudor era.
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