Henry VIII and the men in his life

Historian Tracy Borman revealed a different side to Henry VIII, in her talk about the men who made him, who are often overshadowed by tales of his six wives. Our most married monarch was a more complex, sympathetic – and even vulnerable ­ character than is often portrayed.

Having led a relatively free life as the 'spare' to his brother the heir, he suddenly found himself on the throne at 17 when the first-born son Arthur died, shortly after marrying Catherine of Aragon, who then married Henry VIII.

The young king surrounded himself with like-minded men, many of whom had been loyal to him as a prince. One was Charles Brandon, who loved the same pastimes as Henry - jousting, hunting, drinking, gambling and women. He incurred Henry's ire on marrying the king's sister Mary, but was forgiven. There then followed several influential Thomases – Wolsey, the son of a butcher who rose from a low-ranking churchman to be the king's closest advisor – his fate was sealed when he disagreed with Henry's plan to marry Anne Boleyn. Cromwell, son of a blacksmith who proved himself to be a lawyer of enormous ability but ended up on the block; More, who knew Henry for 30 years and became Lord Chancellor and lost his head over the Reformation, and Cranmer – Archbishop of Canterbury. All wielded great influence, and in the periods that Henry trusted them, he displayed affection and tenderness, showing that he was far from being a one-dimensional monster. When he invited Hans Holbein to be his official court painter, another 'man who made him', he was able to guarantee that his public image never suffered from age or infirmity; possibly one of the earliest PR exercises in an age when the king had divine powers.

Tracy Borman's book contains stories of many more men in the king's life: Henry VIII and the men who made him: the secret history Behind the Tudor Throne.