Henry VIII: A European Court in England

by David Starkey

Offering a reconstruction of Henry's Palace at Greenwich, this book also provides an evocation of the splendour and richness of incident of his reign. It was at Greenwich that Henry was born in 1491, spent two-thirds of his life and married the first of his six wives, Catherine of Aragon. Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry and his tragic second wife, Anne Boleyn, was born and christened there, his marriage with Anne of Cleves failed there and he visited the Royal Palace just three weeks before his death at Whitehall in 1547. The book provides a reassessment of Henry as a true prince of the Renaissance, presiding over a court which made London a major European cultural centre. The text is interwoven with specialist essays on such topics as armour, medals and the education of Anne Boleyn. The author's previous books include "The Struggle for The Lives and Letters of the Great Tudor Dynasties".

Genres: History, Tudor Period, Nonfiction, Biography

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

David Starkey is one of Britain's foremost historians, renowned for his commanding expertise on the Tudor period and the English monarchy. A Cambridge scholar, he established his academic reputation with rigorous work on the Tudor court, particularly Henry VIII's privy chamber and the role of faction in politics. His major works include Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII, Elizabeth: Apprenticeship, and Monarchy: From the Middle Ages to Modernity.

A gifted communicator, Starkey became a familiar television presence through documentaries including David Starkey's Monarchy and Henry VIII: Mind of a Tyrant. His style is unapologetically forthright, combining scholarly rigour with bold interpretive claims that challenge received wisdom. He was appointed CBE in 2007 for services to history.