Henry VIII at Windsor Castle
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Henry VIII became king in April 1509 at the age of 17 and ruled for 37 years until his death in 1547. The story of Henry VIII continues to generate widespread interest today. Often portrayed as a tyrant, he is best known for his six marriages, the execution of two wives, and breaking from papal authority to become Supreme Head of the Church of England.
Henry VIII’s royal residence
Windsor Castle, one of the most iconic royal residences in England, played a significant role in the life of Henry VIII. The king frequently visited the Castle and enjoyed hunting and hawking in the surrounding parks and forests.
The Henry VIII Gate
Henry made a significant contribution to the Castle by reconstructing the principal archway around 1511, today known as ‘the Henry VIII Gate’. It is known for its carved panel displaying Henry’s coat of arms and the pomegranate of Granada, the emblem of his first wife, Katherine of Aragon.
The Treaty of Windsor
Windsor Castle hosted one of the great state occasions of Tudor England. To improve relations with the Spanish king and Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V (Katherine of Aragon’s nephew), Henry VIII entertained the Emperor in June 1522 with hunting and feasting at the Castle. The visit concluded with the Treaty of Windsor, in which the monarchs agreed to a joint war against France and the marriage of Charles V to Henry’s eldest child, Princess Mary (the future Queen Mary I). The Treaty was broken in 1525.
The Pilgrimage of Grace
During the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 a huge uprising in the north of England against Henry’s religious reforms, particularly the dissolution of the monasteries, the king used Windsor as a secure base in the south from which to manage his military forces. The Castle was stockpiled with arms and ammunition.
St George's Chapel
This magnificent Gothic chapel was completed during Henry’s reign in 1528 and became the spiritual heart of the Castle.
The Chapel is open for visitors on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and for worshippers only on Sundays.
The Order of the Garter
The Chapel is the spiritual home to the Order of the Garter. Founded in 1348, it is the oldest surviving order of chivalry and flourished under the Tudors. Henry was made a Knight of the Garter by his father Henry VII in 1495. He loved the pomp of the Garter ceremonies held in the Chapel, which he wrote ‘appears in the greatest Lustre at Wyndesor’.
As monarch, he became Sovereign of the Order and appointed several of his courtiers as Knights of the Garter, among them, Sir Henry Guildford. He was one of Henry’s closest friends and portrayed by Hans Holbein the Younger wearing his Garter collar. The portrait is on display in the Queen’s Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.
The Royal Closet, situated in the upper mezzanine level of the Chapel, was originally built as Edward IV’s (Henry’s grandfather) chantry chapel. It was later adapted by Henry into a pew at the beginning of his reign to enable his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, to view the Garter services from above the quire.
The burial place of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour, Henry’s third wife, died just 12 days after giving birth to Henry’s only legitimate son, the future King Edward VI, in 1537. She was buried in St George’s Chapel. Henry chose the Chapel, alongside his favourite wife, as his own burial place. But on his death in January 1547 the magnificent marble and bronze tomb he had planned remained unfinished.
Henry’s son, Edward VI, attempted to complete it, asking in his will for ‘The King my father’s tomb to be made upp’. It wasn’t until 1567, that the tomb would be moved from the store at Westminster (where the Italian sculptor Benedetto da Rovezzano had been working on it during Henry’s reign) at the request of his daughter, Elizabeth I.
She ordered that the grandiose structure be erected on a large plinth in The Lady Chapel (later rebuilt as the Albert Memorial Chapel), which then became known as the ‘Tomb House of King Henry VIII’.
During the English Civil War in the 1640s, Windsor Castle was captured by Parliamentarian forces and most of the bronze from Henry’s effigy was stripped, melted down and sold. Some parts of the tomb survive today. The marble tomb chest was used for the monument to Admiral Lord Nelson in St Paul’s Cathedral. Four great bronze candlesticks are in St Bravo’s Cathedral, Ghent, while two 20th-century copies can be seen on either side of the high altar in St George’s Chapel.
Although the magnificent tomb Henry envisaged was never completed, in the centre of the quire there is a ledger stone marking his burial place. The chamber was discovered during restoration works in 1837 during the reign of King William IV.
Henry VIII's armour
The Castle is now home to a magnificent armour which belonged to Henry VIII. Known as a garniture, it includes several interchangeable pieces designed to make it adaptable for different uses, such as sporting tournaments and battle.
You can see the armour up close in the Lantern Lobby on your visit to Windsor Castle.
