Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived - Henry VIII wasn’t mad, he was a Tudor monarch.

• Henry VIII is an infamous monarch of British history. Most, if not all, kids will learn about him through the British education system at some point in time and will therefore be familiar with his particularly outrageous reputation. But whilst he was an awful guy, I don’t think he was mad - I think he was a product of the times.
• We’re discussing the Tudors here, that’s not recent history. Henry VIII reigned from 1509 until his death in 1547, characterising a very different period. This was a time where women held little to no status in society, where the monarch literally built a new Church to divorce his wife and where beheading the woman you’re married to was a standard practice.
• To say Henry VIII was mad, is to suggest he didn’t have full control or knowledge of what he was doing, and I don’t think that’s true. If he reigned today, then he would almost definitely be mad if not insane. But he ruled at a time when there were no rules, and the law did not treat everyone equally. He had ultimate power and controlled through fear and greed. He did some truly awful things and I don’t think it can be excused with the suggestion that he was ‘mad’.
• I am not doubting that Henry VIII was very physically impaired, and his health deteriorated rapidly towards the end of his life. Whilst some could argue this created symptoms and had effects which made him ‘mad’, I don’t think this was the case. He was just an awful man who did some horrible things with his power, and unfortunately because of the times, it was ok, and no one questioned his rule or way of doing things.