Why Did King Henry Viii Die

Michelle Bernal

RE 351 English Reformation

Expository Essay

Henry VIII Did King Henry VIII’s descent from a heroic and gifted ruler into a tyrannical and paranoid despot display the debilitating effect of power and wealth had upon a man, or was there a deeper issue at hand that simply went unrecognized? To explore this theory, one needs to delve a bit deeper into the historical accounts, and attempt to separate the real Henry VIII from the myth, so we can later explore the medical and psychological theories that attempt to diagnose England’s most enigmatic king, who continues to capture our curiosity more than 500 years after his reign. To attempt to understand Henry later years, we must first take a quick look at his recorded younger years

He lay completely unconscious for over two hours, after having been knocked off his horse by his opponent. Additional details were recorded, stating that the armored horse that he had been astride actually fell on top of him. His two hour period of unresponsiveness led many to fear he had been killed. The event was so traumatic for Anne Boleyn, his current wife, that she declared the sheer stress of it caused her to miscarry several days later. Depending on the exact severity, personality shifts due to damage of the frontal lobe could be quite plausible. Other symptoms of moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries that Henry may have displayed can include brief or drawn out loss of consciousness, cognitive issues that may inhibit judgment and reasoning, problem-solving, changes in behavior such as outbursts that may be physical or verbal, issues maintaining self-control, and emotional issues such as anger, mood swings, irritability, and lack of

Fortunately, We have the unique ability to actually see this metamorphosis from a young, virile man, whose suits of armor, displayed in the Tower of London, boasted at 39 inch chest and a 32 inch waist line, morph into the monstrously expansive waist size measuring a whopping 52 inches. His morbid obesity reached such a point as to where he could not ambulate without assistance. He began to be carried by a sedan chair known as a ‘tramme,’ and also utilized a somewhat primitive lift to ascend and descend different floors. He was suffering from heart failure, morbid obesity, and massively edematous lower limbs which results of his chronic venous disease. He passed away at the age of 55 on the 28th of January, 1547. He remains one of England's most beloved, mercurial, and fascinating monarchs of all