Week 4

I'd thought I'd heard of King Henry VIII before, but only because of the catchy song, which it turns out has nothing to do with the monarch himself.  Instead of being the 8th husband of "the widow next door," Henry VIII was married six times and beheaded two of his own wives for treason.  In order to divorce his first wife (who was actually his late brother's wife before), and marry Anne Boleyn, he brought about an entire religous reformation, where the English church separated itself from Rome.  The head of the Church of England became Henry, even though earlier he had been opposed to Lutheranism and supported the pope.  During his youth, Henry was physically active but due to an accident in his adulthood and declining emotional state, he gained a ton of weight and is remembered mostly as being obese.  He executed 70,000 people during his reign, and was known for his bad temper.  Even through all that, Henry is remembered for improving England in its navy, government, and religious reform.  He wasn't a good person necessarily, but is still considered and imposing and great king.