- King of England from April 21, 1509 until his death.
- Established the Church of England on November 3, 1534 after Pope Leo X rejected his petitions to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, and widow of Henry's brother, Arthur. He argued for an annulment by claiming she and Arthur had consummated their union (which she always denied). The real reason was Henry's desperate quest for a legitimate male heir; of he and Catherine's 6 children, only their daughter Mary had survived infancy. After divorcing Catherine, he married Anne Boleyn. Ironically, he annulled the marriage before having Anne executed on bogus charges of adultery (their last 2 children, both sons, were stillborn). His third wife, Jane Seymour, died less than two weeks after giving birth to his longed-for heir, Edward. His fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, wisely agreed to an annulment (he couldn't bring himself to consummate the union). He had his fifth wife, Anne Boleyn's cousin, Catherine Howard, executed for adultery (this time, the evidence was overwhelming). His last wife, Catherine Parr, married Jane Seymour's brother four months after Henry's death.
- Father of Queen Elizabeth I, who has been played by Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, Miranda Richardson, Florence Eldridge, Irene Worth, Jean Simmons, Athene Seyler, Gwendolyn Jones, Yvette Pienne, Maria Koppenhöfer, Jenny Runacre, Judith Evelyn (on the radio), Lynn Fontanne (on the radio), Helen Menken (on the radio and on the stage), Benita Hume (on the radio), Eva Le Gallienne (on the radio), Diane D'Aquila (on the radio, on the stage, and on television), Siobhan Redmond (on the radio), Lalla Ward, Helen McCrory, Olga Lindo, Agnes Moorehead, Catherine Lacey, Gladys Ffolliott, Bette Davis, Judith Anderson (on the radio and on television), Catherine McCormack, Hattie Jacques, Patience Collier, Charlotte Cornwell, Imogen Slaughter, Karen Archer, Lily Cole, Emma Thompson, Julie Neubert, Tamara Hope, Margot Kidder, Cate Blanchett, Helen Mirren, Dorothy Black, Peggy Thorpe-Bates, Mecha Ortiz, Katya Douglas, Vivienne Bennett, Susan Engel, Jean Kent, Mildred Natwick, Maxine Audley, Glenda Jackson, Rachel Skarsten, Margot Robbie, Judi Dench, Gemma Jones, Quentin Crisp (in drag), Graham Chapman (in drag), and Flora Robson. Jackson and Mirren each won an Emmy; Anderson was nominated for an Emmy; Robbie was nominated for an Oscar; Dench won an Oscar.
- Father of Queen Mary I, who has been played by Jeanne Delvair, Gwen Ffrangcon Davies, Yvette Pienne, Ann Tyrrell, Sheila Allen, Françoise Christophe, Nicola Pagett, Inge Keller, Jane Lapotaire, Lara Belmont, Sarah Bolger, Bláthnaid McKeown, Constance Stride, Miranda French, Daisy Ashford, Lily Lesser, Anah Ruddin (on the radio), Glynis Johns, Marion Davies, Joanne Whalley, Kathy Burke, and Daphne Slater.
- Father of King Edward VI, who has been played by Desmond Tester, Warren Saire, Nicholas Lyndhurst, and Marguerite Clark.
- Played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Charlton Heston, Robert Shaw, Charles Laughton, Eric Bana, and Richard Burton. Laughton won an Oscar for his portrayal, and Burton was nominated for an Oscar.
- Henry Carey, Henry's rumored son by Anne Boleyn's sister, Mary, was the first patron of William Shakespeare's The Lord Chamberlain's Men. Played by Oscar Negus and Joseph Moore in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).
- "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am", about a man named Henry who marries a widow whose past seven husbands were also named Henry, was a riff on Henry VIII's marriages. Written by Fred Murray and R.P. Weston, it was Harry Champion's signature tune, and a hit for Joe Brown, Ross Bagdasarian (as Alvin and the Chipmunks), and Herman's Hermits. Weston and Bert Lee wrote "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm", about the ghost of Anne Boleyn seeking revenge on Henry for having her executed, was debuted by Stanley Holloway.
- Fathered many illegitimate children, but acknowledged only one, Henry FitzRoy, whom he created 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset. Played by Zak Jenciragic in The Tudors (2007) episode "Arise, My Lord".
- He passed the Buggery Act of 1533, which criminalized anal sex between men. This law existed for over 400 years and such activity was only legalized between consenting adults over the age of 21 in 1967.
- Was gifted Hampton Court Palace (Richmond upon Thames, London) in 1529 by its builder, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, in the vain hope of appeasing the king. It has been in the possession of the British Royal Family since. Antonio Verrio died there in 1707.
- He met his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, only days before their wedding and was disappointed by her appearance, finding her very plain. Their marriage was never consummated and was annulled six months later. Anne and Henry later became good friends, and he granted her a generous settlement and styled her "the King's Beloved Sister". Henry's minister Thomas Cromwell, who arranged the botched marriage, was later beheaded on Henry's order.
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