Henry Tudor – son of Henry VII – was born 28 June 1491. Our Sir Thomas Wyatt was born in 1503.
In 1509 Henry VII died and his son was crowned Henry VIII. Our Henry Wyatt was the new king’s guardian as well as an advisor; his son Thomas became Henry’s friend – even through the Anne Boleyn debacle. It’s hard to imagine how Thomas felt when his childhood friends Anne and George Boleyn were beheaded, along with others of his creative friends.
Henry was openly brutal. He had no one to answer to; he was the head of the Church of England. He had his own damned church, Rome could kiss his ass.
Our Sir Thomas had the unpleasant task of representing the wishes of Henry VIII with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor – nephew of poor dead Catherine of Aragon. I believe Henry killed her too – not with a Frenchman’s sword, but with emotional violence, by moving her to unhealthy places and denying her access to her beloved daughter. With Catherine out of the way, Henry shamelessly pursued an alliance with Spain.
Henry was manipulative, Charles was evasive and Thomas was caught in the middle. After time spent, he begged to be allowed to come home to Allington; but Henry wasn’t a man who cared about anyone but himself. Thomas finally retired to Allington, but was called back on a mission for the king. That’s how he died, leaving poems unwritten and his sister’s son (by Henry VIII??) “unraised.” (He was raising Lady Margaret Lee’s son at the time of his death.)
What happened to Henry? What turned him into a monster? I can’t get enough of the possible answers. Here’s another interesting article on the subject:
“As a young man, he was fit and healthy. But by the time of his death, the King weighed close to 400 pounds. He had leg ulcers, muscle weakness, and, according to some accounts, a significant personality shift in middle age towards more paranoia, anxiety, depression and mental deterioration. Among other theories, experts have proposed that Henry suffered from Type II diabetes, syphilis, an endocrine problem called Cushing’s syndrome, or myxedema, which is a byproduct of hypothyroidism.”
Sir Thomas Wyatt the Poet 