The Children of Henry VIII

Alison Weir is known for her ability in bringing the Tudors to life while using historical research in such away that brings the entire family to life. I highly recommend this book!Great research is the hallmark of the author's books, and this compendium of their lives is no exception. Interweaving the relationships and lives of his three children and his great niece, Lady Jane Grey, she brings these people to life.I was particularly fascinated to read about Edward's life. I'd never known much about him and always imagined he was just some lad convinced to do things by his advisors, but historically this doesn't seem to be the case. Despite his short life, he was seen by those around him as not only a staunch supporter of the Protestant cause, but almost rigidly and implacably severe, even cruel, in his treatment of everyone, even his own sisters, making Elizabeth kneel in front of him if she wished to speak with him. He had a sadistic streak shown clearly in his short life, and he may have been incredibly ruthless and cruel if he'd lived, making his father seem tame in comparison. He had no compunction about signing death warrants, even for his uncle Seymour, but did love his stepmother Catherine Parr, and sister Mary despite her love of dancing! He scorned allying himself with his cousin Jane Grey although in fierce Protestantism, they were well matchedLady Jane Grey, the Tudor cousin of the three siblings is always a mysterious figure, but if truth were told, she was a tragic figure -- a Protestant puppet who was beaten into submission by her fiercely ambitious mother and forced to become queen, forced into an unwelcome marriage with a foolish and cowardly boy, and then because of the stupidity of her father and their allies, who tried to force a rebellion against Mary (who would've been content to just keep Jane in the Tower), she lost her head. This left Mary clearly the heir.We all know about the attacks on Protestants by Queen Mary (including burning my ancestress at the stake for her beliefs!), Ms Weir shows us how Mary Tudor's alliances were twisted by the men who helped her rule, including her very nasty Spanish husband who even wanted to bring the Inquisition to the UK. Mary suffered from very ill health, migraines, problems with her periods, and a very real paranoia brought on by her terrible childhood at the hands of her father through Ann Boleyn's influence.Almost toothless at age 38, wracked by jealousy of Elizabeth, and already in the last stages of menopause at her marriage aged 38, she was unable to bear children, leading to a pseudo pregnancy and psychological problems. If her father had allowed her to be married at an early age, the purge of Protestant would never have happened, but unfortunately this was not to be. And yet, all of Elizabeth's travails and even persecution, at the hands of her father Henry VIII, the court, Edward, Jane, and Mary, only led her to become one of the most famous and powerful leaders in the history of the world.If the book suffers any fault, it is that enough is not said in the end about the always fascinating Elizabeth. However, this book is more about the interactions of this fascinating and ruthless family, and Elizabeth will always deserve a book of her own!

The Children of Henry VIII is the second book I have read by Weir, and she truly is fantastic. Understandingly the drama that surrounds the Tudor Family is interesting, but she takes a non-fiction history book and turns it into an exciting novel. It is a lengthy book that took nearly no time to read as the pages flew by. I do recommend reading The Six Wives of Henry VIII first, as it will give you the background to the children's lives as well as all the outside players involved with the royal family.When Henry VIII died his son Edward VI became king. Being too young to carry out the duties of ruling the country, a few different men in the council set out to be the advisor and the Lord President of the Council and effectively the ruler of England, until King Edward was old enough to make all of his own decisions. Although he began making some of his own rulings, this day of full rule would never come because King Edward died at the age of sixteen.Edward being protestant wrote a will on his death bed leaving the succession to Lady Jane Grey rather than his Roman Catholic sister Mary Tudor. Lady Jane came to power as a mere puppet at the hands of power hungry men. She said "The crown is not my right and pleaseth me not. The Lady Mary is the rightful heir." Regardless, she reigned for less than a month, before Mary marched in with an army of supporters to claim her right to the throne. Mary kept Lady Jane alive for some time, but eventually she did lose her life for her treasonous act. When giving up the crown she said "I much more willingly put them off than I put them on. Now I willingly relinquish the crown. May I not go home?"Mary took over with her kingdom in high spirits, but it didn't take long until her strong oppression of protestants started turning her subjects against her. Her unprecedented burning of protestants got her the name of "Bloody Mary", but she truly believed she was doing God's biding on earth to rid her kingdom of heretics. The burnings actually produced the opposite result than desired, the protestants held stronger to their convictions and more willingly became martyrs. Mary refused to accept this reality, but there was more bothering her than just this. Mary was not yet married, and she longed for children and most notably a male heir to her Catholic throne.After a few different proposed matches, Mary ends up with Philip II, the son of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Charles V was the nephew of Katherine of Aragon (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella), making Philip II although separated by a generation, Mary's cousin. Philip was significantly younger than Mary, but the marriage was arranged to bring power to the Holy Roman Empire and a new ally against France. Mary fell deeply in love with Philip, but he seemed rather indifferent to the arranged marriage, and spent lots of time away from her, distressing Mary incredibly.Mary never gave birth to a child, however she had at least two mistaken pregnancies where she thought she was pregnant even up until her 9th month. In the end her distress over not producing an heir, an absent husband, and the loss of Calias to the French manifested in further physical distress and she eventually died leaving the kingdom to her protestant sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth takes the throne and puts a stop to the religious persecutions and killings. The book ends here, but Alison Weir does have a book dedicated strictly to this Queen Elizabeth. This was another great read by Alison Weir, and it won't be my last.

The book was interesting but not what I expected. After reading 7 of her books, I was expecting historical fiction.

Alison Weir has to be one of my favourite Tudor historians and this book did not disappoint. So well researched, it examines the relationships between the three children of Henry VIII and Lady Jane Grey. Thoroughly recommended.

Great book that goes into more detail & it's good that Lady Jane Grey is included too - what a horrible life the poor girl had... full of interesting facts & how it was for them, one of the best books...The peasants are revolting...

Well written as usual but for me not as entertaining or interesting as 'The six wives of Henry VIII'. If you are however interested in a lot of detail about his heirs then this is a great book to read.

This book was brilliant, I couldn't put it down. Simply loved everything about them and the times. The clothes and jewels and how they lived at that time. Although I would not like to have lived in that era myself.

Another fascinating book by Alison Weir. I enjoyed this immensely, learning more about the infamous Tudour Siblings. A great book