Henry VIII, King of England

A time of extreme religious unrest, a most magnificent and dangerous court, and strong ideas about the need for a perfect heir: all this may have been enough to transform an intelligent, compassionate and generous young king into such a bloody monster that he was eventually called the "English Nero." Henry VIII is most remembered for his six marriages, two of which ended with beheadings. He divorced his first wife, earning excommunication from the Church who wouldn't recognize the annulment of his marriage; he subsequently severed all ties with the Pope and had himself declared Supreme Head of the Church of England, before moving on to have his new wife executed. He thus went through four more marriages, while applying radical changes to the English Constitution which greatly expanded royal power. Discover the tumultuous story of one of England's most gruesome kings, a man of fascinating contradictions with an iron fist, in this lively and documented audiobook.