During his time as King of England, Henry VIII was responsible for a considerable number of significant achievements. The amount of work that he put in could lead one to believe that he did not have any spare time for gambling, but as we shall see in a moment, this is not the case at all, and we will soon see how mistaken our assumptions were.

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, when King Henry VIII ascended to the throne of England, the pastime of gambling was only beginning to gain widespread acceptance. King Henry VIII, often regarded as England’s most notorious gambler, had a passion for gambling in all of its incarnations, from wagering on athletic events to competing with his pals in dice and card games.

The Beginning Years

On June 28th, 1491, King Henry VIII was born to King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, who would later become Queen Elizabeth of York. He spent his childhood at the palace together with his two sisters, Mary and Margaret, as well as his brother, King Arthur of Whales, who later became King of Whales. Henry VIII’s older brother Arthur, who was the rightful successor to the throne, had always cast a shadow over his reign as King of England.

Even though he wasn’t going to be King, Henry’s obligations began very early in life when he was named Constable of Dover Castle at the age of two, and at the age of three he was made Earl Marshal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Even though he wasn’t going to be King, Henry’s duties began extremely early in life.

In addition to his newly acquired titles, Henry received the absolute finest education possible from highly qualified experts and educators in their respective fields.
In a short amount of time, he was able to speak Latin and French fluently, in addition to excelling in mathematics and astronomy.

Arthur, his younger brother, passed away when he was 15 years old, and the reason for his passing has never been determined. Arthur had planned to marry Catherine of Aragon previous to his death; however, in order to maintain good relations with Spain, King Henry VIII accepted her hand in marriage and eventually became the new successor to his father’s kingdom. Catherine of Aragon was the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Catherine of Aragon.

The family was left in a state of disarray as Henry’s mother also passed away around the same time as his brother, which was about the same time that Henry’s brother died.
Henry VII took out his frustration on Henry by repeatedly telling him that he would never be the genuine successor to the throne. The king was in no position to raise his children on his own, so he took his fury out on Henry.

Rule the realm as king.

When Henry took over as King, he overturned many of his father’s policies and killed the majority of his faithful staff. This allowed the public to get insight into Henry’s perspective of his father. He was known for making hasty judgments, having an aggressive attitude, and having a strong drive for change, all of which he maintained throughout his whole life.

During the almost four decades that King Henry VIII ruled England, he was able to achieve a great deal that was beneficial to the kingdom as a whole. He also reorganized England’s government and the rules governing taxes, as well as incorporating Wales into England’s system of local governance. He is credited with founding the Church of England.

In addition to that, he was the driving force behind the construction of a large number of universities, forts, and other palaces. He was instrumental in Ireland’s establishment of their kingdom and led to a shift in England’s perception of the significance of their parliament.

In order for Henry to get a divorce from Catherine of Aragon and marry Jane Seymour, he established himself as the head of the Church of England and severed ties with the Roman Catholic Church. During the course of his reign, King Henry VIII wed a total of six different women. If any of his wives were unable to bear him a son, he either divorced them or had them executed.
In the year 1537, he gave birth to his first legitimate son with Jane Seymour. This child would eventually become King Edward VI of England.