Have We Got King Henry VIII All Wrong? Famous Womaniser Was a 'Vulnerable, Insecure and Loyal' King, Says Expert

As the good friend who sent this said, 'Whatever she is taking I would like some...'. I agree! I wonder how 'loyal' the five wives he divorced &/or beheaded thought he was? Or his devoted servant, St Sir Thomas More, as he placed his head on the block?

From the Daily Mail

• New book suggests autocratic monarch was not as fearsome as suggested
• Historian Tracy Borman has found letters from those who served Henry VIII
• Evidence shows Henry VIII looked kindly on his jester and  'lavished care' on him
• He bequeathed a generous legacy to Thomas Cawarden, his master of revels  
• Borman: 'He doesn't deserve the caricature we've come to know and despise' 

He has been known for centuries as one of England's most fearsome monarchs, a single-minded autocrat, who had no qualms about divorcing two of his wives and beheading another two.

But Henry VIII also had a side that was 'vulnerable, insecure and loyal', according to a new book about the infamous Tudor monarch.  

Using documents from those who served the king, including his servants, barbers, physicians and jesters, leading historian Tracy Borman has uncovered a wealth of evidence suggesting that Henry VIII was far from the boorish tyrant history has made him out to be.

Speaking to Dalya Alberge for The Observer, Borman, who is joint chief curator for Historic Royal Palaces, said: 'A study of Henry through the eyes of the men, rather than the wives, has never been done before and offers a genuinely new perspective.'

For example, among the household accounts and letters found in the National Archives, British Library and private collections, Borman discovered that Henry looked kindly on his jester, Will Somer, who likely had learning difficulties and gifted him with clothing.

Borman, whose research features in her new book, Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him, explained: 'Household accounts show he was appointed a 'keeper' to look after him, and Henry lavished unstinting care and attention upon him for the rest of his life.'

Henry, who had six wives, was also found to have bequeathed a generous legacy to Thomas Cawarden, his master of revels, while other letters from courtiers disclose that the king grew close to his physician, William Butts.

This friendship was much to the courtiers' chagrin, as Butts was known to hold radical views on religion and may well have influenced Henry's views on splitting from the Catholic church. 

Borman concludes that while Henry was still in many ways deserving of being called autocratic and fearsome, he 'just doesn't deserve the caricature we've come to know and despise'.

Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him: The Secret History Behind The Tudor Throne by Tracy Borman, is published next month by Hodder & Stoughton.