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King Henry VII, His father
Henry was born in Greenwich, England, on June 28, 1491, the second son of Henry VII, the first English ruler from the House of Tudor.
He was the third child and second son. Of the young Henry's six (or seven) siblings, only three – his brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, and sisters Margaret and Mary – survived infancy.
It is known that he received a first-rate education from leading tutors. He became fluent in Latin and French and learned at least some Italian.
Elizabeth of York, His mother
While his older brother Arthur was being prepared for the throne, Henry was steered toward a church career, with a broad education in theology, music, languages, poetry and sports.
An observer described him as: 'he speaks good French, Latin and Spanish; is very religious; heard three masses daily when he hunted ... He is extremely fond of hunting, and never takes that diversion without tiring eight or ten horses ... He is also fond of tennis.'
Henry's scholarly interests included writing both books and music, and he was a lavish patron of the arts.
He was an accomplished player of many instruments and a composer. Greensleeves, the popular melody frequently attributed to him is, however, almost certainly not one of his compositions.
As the author of a best-selling book (it went through some 20 editions in England and Europe) attacking Martin Luther and supporting the Roman Catholic church. In 1521 Henry was given the title 'Defender of the Faith' by the Pope.
Henry’s brother and heir apparent Arthur had been betrothed since age 2 to Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of the Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella. In November of 1501, the teenage couple were married.
In 1502, however, Arthur died at the age of 15, possibly of sweating sickness, just 20 weeks after his marriage to Catherine. Arthur's death thrust all his duties upon his younger brother.
The 10-year-old Henry became the new Duke of Cornwall, and the new Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in February 1504.
Henry VII gave his second son few responsibilities even after the death of Arthur. Young Henry was strictly supervised and did not appear in public. As a result, he ascended the throne "untrained in the exacting art of kingship".
His brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales
Henry VII died on 21 April 1509, and the 17-year-old Henry succeeded him as king.
Soon after his father's burial on 10 May, Henry suddenly declared that he would indeed marry Catherine. The new king maintained that it had been his father's dying wish that he marry Catherine.
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