Henry: Virtuous Prince Book

Published to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to the throne and an excellent companion piece to the documentary series currently being screened on Channel 4, David Starkey's "Henry: Virtuous Prince" is a captivating biography that provides a long overdue radical reappraisal of the life of Henry VIII, arguably the most enduring icon of the British monarchy. Certainly larger than life in every sense, history has remembered Henry VIII as England's most absolute monarch but, as Starkey is keen to point out, Henry was not born to rule. Prior to the death of his elder brother Arthur, Henry enjoyed a cosseted, loving upbringing in the household of his mother Elizabeth Beaufort. Henry grew up to be a charming Renaissance man with exception musical, intellectual and athletic talent whose coronation seemed to offer England a far more glorious reign than that they had endured under Henry VII. However, Henry VIII's early promise was soon transformed into a quest for fame as obsessive of that of any modern reality TV wannabe. His search for glory and yearning for a male heir drove Henry into dangerous territory and England as whole into tremendous upheaval, culminating in the most influential reign in the history of the monarchy. David Starkey's "Henry: Virtuous Prince" is a fascinating and accessible biography of Henry VIII as well as an excellent study of the wider political and social picture that existed in England during Henry's reign. Henry: Virtuous Prince is the riveting story of an idealistic prince who sought glory and a return to the age of chivalry but whose quest for immortality would ultimately turn him into a tyrant.

Henry : Paperback : HarperCollins Publishers : 9780007247721 : 0007247729 : 04 Oct 2011 : Bestselling royal historian David Starkey's captivating biography is a radical re-evaluation of Henry VIII, the British monarchy's most enduring icon.