Henry VIII was born in 1491, and he was the third child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. 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. Because Arthur died quite unexpectedly at the young age of 15 of sweating sickness, Henry became the king at the early age of 10 in 1503. After he became the king, was betrothed to his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of the Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella. Much of Henry’s bad reputation comes from his eventful marital life. In need of a male heir, he annulled the marriage with Catherine of Aragon in order to marry the ambitious noblewoman Anne Boleyn