Compelling account of the first 35 years of a magnificent and ruthless monarch.
Henry became the unexpected heir to the precarious Tudor throne in 1502, after his elder brother Arthur died. He also inherited both his brother's wardrobe and his wife, the Spanish princess Katherine of Aragon. He became king in April 1509 with many personality traits inherited from his father - the love of magnificence, the rituals of kingship, the excitement of hunting and gambling and the construction of grand new palaces.
After those early glory days of feasting, fun and frolic, the continuing lack of a male Tudor heir runs like a thin line of poison through Henry's reign. After he fell in love with Anne Boleyn, he gambled everything on her providing him with a son and heir. From that day forward everything changed.
Based on contemporary accounts, Young Henry provides a compelling vision of the splendours, intrigues and tragedies of the royal court, presided over by the ruthless and insecure Henry VIII. With his customary scholarship and narrative verve, Robert Hutchinson provides fresh insights into what drove England's most famous monarch, and how this happy, playful Renaissance prince was transformed into the tyrant of his later years.
- ISBN10 0753827719
- ISBN13 9780753827710
- Publish Date 5 January 2012 (first published 7 April 2011)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Orion Publishing Co
- Imprint Weidenfeld & Nicolson
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 384
- Language English