Henry VIII

What do you mean by Anne Boleyn started "the religious revolution in the palace?"

Perhaps, syphilis was the reason Catherine was unable to carry to term or deliver a healthy infant. However, is it possible that Catherine, who was very small, had "an immature uterus?"

1510 delivers a stillborn daughter
1511 delivers a short-lived son named Henry
1513 delivers a premature son who died shortly after birth
1515 another stillborn son
1516 Princess Mary is born
1518 last pregnancy, another daughter, who lived briefly

During this time, Henry's mistress gave birth to a son.

Both Catherine and her first husband Arthur contracted the mysterious "sweating sickness." Arthur died of it but Catherine, despite being seriously ill, recovered.

From Wiki:

Sweating sickness, also known as the "English sweate" (Latin: sudor anglicus), was a mysterious and highly virulent disease that struck England, and later continental Europe, in a series of epidemics beginning in 1485. The last outbreak occurred in 1551, after which the disease apparently vanished. The onset of symptoms was dramatic and sudden, with death often occurring within hours. Its cause remains unknown. One suspect is a hantavirus.

His last wife Katherine Parr showed no signs of syphilis and gave birth to a child after Henry's death. His royal diet is well known and without doubt would have resulted in scurvy. The complaint gives all the symptoms expressed by Henry's doctors. He may well have had other medical conditions that destroyed his strong constitution but the evidence in my opinion points to scurvy as the underlying illness that plagued most of his life. It was only in the next century that it was discovered the lack of fruit and vegetables in ones diet resulted in scurvy. It weakened the immune system and was a common affliction for the nobility who scorned the eaten of vegetables. Its was the only source of vit c at a time when fruit was only available in the summer months. This regal necessity to eat nothing but meat in the winter months may account for many kings and queens showing signs of terrible mood swings. I did mention it before but Henry's health would noticeable improve in the summer months, when he would eat certain fruits and his intake of vit. c would be apparent.

Good stuff POM
Finished reading A Frasier's The VI wives of Henry VIII
back in May.

The history of man with the ability to exert total power over his subjects is a compelling subject. Would any one of us behave any differently? I doubt it. Total power corrupts totally. Then add the anguish of constant pain and discomfort and we have a formula for believing the devil is incarnate. Boiled alive, the choice you have? feet first or head first, the choice is yours..Terrible, horrific times and they believed in Christ and his message of mercy. I love my history it gives us so much insight into our most base of instincts.

Syphilus was the problem, and one of his children had the club teeth of a syphiletic... Elizabeth may have been sexual malformed as well..

We need to bury all royalities and their wannabees.

She was great all right... She let half the sailors who saved England from the Armada die of starvation because she did not have the money to pay them for their services... Let them all die, and God save the people..

That does not infer he had syphilis and this maybe is not sufficient to make inference on the kings sexual health.

You have made this claim before, I have tried to find reference to it..can you give me a link?

Is this a historic view or an opinion?

What do you mean by "club teeth"and which of his four known children had that ailment?

i found something called Hutchinson's teeth caused by congenital syphilis in which the teeth are small, widely spaced and have notched biting surfaces.

I am not a physician and I suspect that no one who has answered this thread is one either.

I posted several clips in which a medical doctor proclaims that syphilis was probably not a part of Henry's medical history because none of his doctors noted any syphilitic symptoms.

I am, however, willing to speculate that his doctors may have kept such a disease under wraps.

I think we here champion ailments that we know more about. I have read some pieces on Phineas Gage and a bit on concussions, so I think the jousting injuries plus late onset diabetes are the prime suspects.

There is a recent book, Shakespeare's lost Kingdom; The True History of Shakespeare and Elizabeth, by Charles Beauclerk.

beauclerk is a descendant of Edward de Vere and he insists that not only did his ancestor write as Wm. Shakespeare but that his ancestor was the son of the teenaged Princess Elizabeth as the result of her rape by Thomas Seymour, husband of Catherine Parr following the death of Henry VIII.

Catherine sheltered Henry's acknowledged children, Mary, Elizabeth and Edward as well as The Lady Jane Grey. She seems to have been a generous and loving women with a motherly heart. Catherine and Elizabeth loved each other but Catherine ordered Elizabeth abruptly out of her house. It is suspected she caught her husband and her ward doing something, whether it was just kissing or having sex, no one knows.

Beauclerk does not stop there and his ridiculous book would not hold up examination by the history or literature department of any American university. However, his claim that Liz I had at least four children is ridiculous.

Why would a woman from what is in the running as having been history's most dysfunctional family run the risk of childbirth, considering the pregnancy records of her mother, step mothers and Catherine of Aragon?

How could a woman as much at the center of English history as Liz I was hide multiple pregnancies? I might be willing to say there could have been a Thomas Seymour bun in Elizabeth's oven but . . . let's get real.

Which brings me back to her father: could he have hidden syphilis?

From Wiki:

English losses stood at 50-100 dead and 400 wounded, and none of their ships had been sunk. But after the victory, typhus, dysentery and hunger killed many sailors and troops (estimated at 6,000–8,000) as they were discharged without pay: a demoralising dispute occasioned by the government's fiscal shortfalls left many of the English defenders unpaid for months, which was in contrast to the assistance given by the Spanish government to its surviving men.
Although the English fleet was unable to prevent the regrouping of the Armada at the Battle of Gravelines, requiring it to remain on duty even as thousands of its sailors died, the outcome vindicated the strategy adopted, resulting in a revolution in naval warfare with the promotion of gunnery, which until then had played a supporting role to the tasks of ramming and boarding. The battle of Gravelines is regarded by specialists in military history as reflecting a lasting shift in the naval balance in favour of the English, in part because of the gap in naval technology and armament it confirmed between the two nations,[23] which continued into the next century. In the words of Geoffrey Parker, by 1588 'the capital ships of the Elizabethan navy constituted the most powerful battlefleet afloat anywhere in the world.'[24] However after its defeat in the Armada campaign the Spanish Navy also underwent a major organisational reform that helped it to maintain control over its own home waters and ocean routes well into the next century.
In England, the boost to national pride lasted for years, and Elizabeth's legend persisted and grew long after her death. The repulse of Spanish naval might gave heart to the Protestant cause across Europe, and the belief that God was behind the Protestant cause was shown by the striking of commemorative medals that bore the inscription, He blew with His winds, and they were scattered. There were also more lighthearted medals struck, such as the one with the play on Julius Caesar's words: Venit, Vidit, Fugit (he came, he saw, he fled). The victory was acclaimed by the English as their greatest since Agincourt.[citation needed]
However, an attempt to press home the English advantage failed the following year, when a comparable English fleet sailed for Portugal and the Azores in 1589. The Norris–Drake Expedition or English Armada limped home after failing to co-ordinate its strategy effectively with the Portuguese.
High seas buccaneering and the supply of troops to Philip II's enemies in the Netherlands and France continued, but brought few tangible rewards for England.[25] The Anglo-Spanish War dragged on to a stalemate that left Spanish power in Europe and the Americas undeniably dominant.

As to Liz I's alleged "sexual malformation," here is something from the web site set up to promote the tv series on The Tudors in which the question is asked whether Liz was an hermaphrodite.

Responder #2 suggests that had Liz a penis, Henry would have proclaimed her a boy or used the malformation of his daughter against Anne when the pair became estranged.

http://tudorswiki.sho.com/thread/3152229/Was+Elizabeth+a+hermaphrodite%3F

BTW, I have heard that actress Jamie Lee Curtis was born an hermaphrodite.

Beauclerk claims this is a portrait of Liz I pregnant:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gheeraerts_Unknown_Woman.jpg

There are many diseases transmitted from mother to son that omits daughters. Also syphillis was common and Henry is supposed to have had many whores during his time as well as wives and mistresses.

I dont think size of the woman is a factor in an imatture uterus. It is usually the result of a seperate disease. Having a large penis and having sex with a small woman during pregnancy can cause miscarriage.

An immature uterus is linked to certain hormonal problems. What I was suggesting is her small size might also have had its origin in hormonal problems.

During pregnancy, the baby is protected by amniotic fluid and the mucus plug in the vagina. intercourse is not harmful to the baby unless the partner has an STD. However, oral sex that may involve blowing into the vagina could possibly harm the fetus by creating an air embolism.