12. Henry VIII, immortalized for his many wives, was ruthless in ordering the deaths of any threat to the stability of his authority or claim to the throne
Henry VIII reigned from 1509 until his death in 1547 as the second Tudor monarch of England and, following the Crown of Ireland Act in 1542, the first English King of Ireland. Regarded as “the father of the Royal Navy“, Henry invested considerably to enlarge its size from only a few ships to more than fifty. Concurrently, Henry was responsible for initiating the English Reformation, resulting in a schism with the Roman Catholic Church and the creation of the Church of England. Most famously, however, Henry is known for his six marriages and his harsh treatment of those who displeased him.
Two of these wives, the second, Anne Boleyn, and fifth, Catherine Howard – both eighth cousins of Henry, were executed on the orders of their husband after having been charged and convicted of adultery. In addition to his wives, however, Henry was responsible for several other familial deaths. Among these include, but are not limited to, Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, who was executed in 1521 after being suspected of treasonous activities, as well as Edmund de la Pole, who, in 1513, was executed to eliminate a potential challenge to Henry’s own claim; both were the king’s cousins.
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