Henry VIII

How can you remember what happened to all six of Henry's famous wives? "Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived." Their names were:

Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Kathryn Howard Katherine Parr

His motto was Coeur Loyal, meaning true heart which he illustrated on his clothes in the form of a heart symbol accompanied by the word 'loyal'...

An avid sportsman and gambler, Henry loved to hunt and played dice, tables and cards and gambled frequently. But despite these appetites, Henry outlawed betting when he realized his soldiers spent so much time on it.

Though his lifestyle on earth was nothing short of luxurious, the famous monarch went to his grave heavily in debt. This becomes less shocking after hearing of the 50 palaces he owned a record even for the royal family. He also possessed the largest tapestry collection ever documented and some 6,500 handguns. Henry VIII spent 32.5 million (about 35.6 billion today) attempting to capture the tiny French town of Tournai in 1513.

He had three children. His first Child was Mary Tudor who became Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary). His second Child was Elizabeth who became Queen Elizabeth I (the Virgin Queen). His third Child was Edward who became King Edward VI

His daughter Mary prosecuted Protestants and was responsible for executing 300 people and has therefore been referred to as Bloody Mary ever since.

Yet her father was responsible for 72,000 executions, including women, and never given such a nickname

It is said that Henry had a remarkable memory and could remember the names of every servant employed in all the royal households, there would have been hundreds!

Henry VIII was a best-selling author. His book, Defense of the Seven Sacraments, which supported the Catholic Church and attacked Martin Luther, went through twenty editions in Europe. He was also awarded the title of Fidei Defensor ("Defender of the Faith") in 1521 by Pope Leo X for his work. The title is ironic given the king's excommunication 13 years later over his marriage to Anne Boleyn and his role in instigating the English Protestant Reformation.

Henry VIII was a composer of music. In his musical collection, he owned 78 flutes, 78 recorders, five bagpipe sets and a harpsichord. The English folk song "Greensleeves" was at one point attributed to the monarch, who was said to have written it as a love ballad for his future Queen, Anne Boleyn, although his authorship has been generally discredited by recent scholarship. He did, however write "Helas Madame" and "Pastimes with Good Company,"