European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 5, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                He Var Castle in Kent England is where Henry Viii wooed Anne Boleyn one of his six wives. File English make Henry Viii s 500th birthday big even by Jenny Vogt Cox news service r beheading i to of his six wives rejecting Iho Pope and destroying sat red shrines and monasteries secured King i Tenry Viii an ignoble place in English history. I his summer which Marks the 500th anniversary of i Lenry a birth the portly English Monarch is being remembered As Well for building England into a major naval Power and preparing the Way for the elizabethan period of National strength. For the most part Henry Viii was widely admired by his subjects throughout his 38-year reign. His enthusiastic participation in jousting was regarded As proof he was one of them and his uncommonly handsome looks a at least in his youth a and acquisition of great wealth were seen As testament to the budding glory of England Quot tie was t the worst being but he was t the Best either Quot summed up Ohn Maher a warder at the Tower of London s Royal armouries. The birthday of Henry Viii is being celebrated in festivities All Over England. Indeed it is difficult to find a Tudor Castle or for link Alion i Lenry did t have some connection with. Horn the second son of Henry Vii and Elizabeth of York Henry Tudor initially had no Hopes of being King. When his older brother Arthur died in 1 502, however i Lenry became heir to the throne anti succeeded his father there1 in i 500. Henry is Best remembered for having six wives Lor his gluttony anti for forming his own Church of England after rejecting papal authority because the Pope ret used to Grant Henry s request Lor an annulment. Less Well known is that 1 Lenry Viii accumulated More wealth a albeit much of it stolen from monasteries a and did More building than any other English King in history including acquisition of More than 2,000 Tine. Tapestries. He began his reign with Only a dozen palaces Hul would have 55 by his death in i 547, one of the Best collections of Memorabilia trom i Lenry Viii s time is at the National maritime museum in the London suburb of Greenwich. It is near the former site of Placentia Palace where Henry was born on june 28, 1401, and where he married two of his wives a Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves. The Palace at portrait of Henry Viii painted by Hans Holbein. File Greenwich was one of his favorite palaces because of its dose proximity to his ships including the great Harry the first four master to be launched in England. The exhibit captures Henry s ostentatious lifestyle and place in european history re creating rooms of Placentia Palace and displaying some of Henry s belongings. Included Are paintings illuminated manuscripts treaties exchanged with european leaders household inventories jewelry portrait miniatures and Armor that paint a portrait of Henry As an accomplished sportsman musician dancer theologian linguist and intellect. But Henry s bedchamber at Placentia was the scene of his greatest humiliation his failure to consummate his marriage to the Plain looking Anne of Cleves his fourth wife. A doctor s record which detailed Henry s inability a or unwillingness a to perform sexually is on Public display for the first Lime in this exhibition clashing with Henry s image As a Lusty Womanizer. Forever in search of a male heir to carry on the Tudor line Henry would divorce Anne of Cleves and Catherine of Aragon and behead wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard both of whom he charged with adultery. Catherine Parr survived Henry and Jane Seymour died shortly after giving birth finally to Henry a heir Prince Edward in 1 537. One of the highlights of any Henry Viii trip is the nearby Tower of London where Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were executed Anne by double edged sword a no Catherine by a. The somewhat secluded scaffold site used Only to execute women is marked by a chopping Block and a plaque and both Queens bodies Are buried in the floor of the adjacent Chapel Royal of St. Peter Advincula the 1105 Church Henry restored during his reign. A visit to White Tower the dominant building in the. Tower of London compound hints at How Henry lived during the Early years of his reign when the Tower was his chief London residence. Although it is now strictly a museum of the Royal armouries its thick Stone Walls High ceilings and rough fireplaces reveal Stark living conditions. Still Henry s banquets there were reputed to last up to eight flours. Visiting nearby Hampton court Palace will reveal one of Henry s favorite rooms anywhere the great Hall with its magnificent Hammer beam roof. The spacious room which was dominated in Henry s time by a great Central fireplace is among a few elaborate additions still visible today that he made to Hampton court after he was Given the Palace by a grudging Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. More interesting perhaps than even his great Hall Are the elaborate kitchens Henry had added to Hampton court to accommodate his burgeoning 800-person court. A self guided audio tour takes visitors through the extensive kitchens detailing interesting facts such As How Henry spent More than 3,000 pounds a year to keep his wine cellars stocked. A scale Model of the kitchens As they were in 1542 re creates the elaborate preparations taken for a Midsummer s feast. Although Hampton court was one of his favorite residences Henry would quickly abandon it in favor of his smaller country residences when the bubonic plague was raging in the London area. Among palaces he visited on such occasions was the picturesque Leeds Castle in Maidstone Kent county about an hour Southeast of London and a worthy addition to any Henry Viii tour. Set on three islands on a Small Lake Leeds Castle is most people s vision of a fairy tale Castle with its Nottingham like Park setting and its King arthurian architecture. Not far from Leeds is Deal Castle one of the Many coastal fortifications Henry had built to prevent invasion and Hever Castle Anne Boleyn s childhood Home which Henry bestowed on Anne of Cleves after Anne Boleyn s execution As Henry aged he lost much of his Youthful Good looks to overindulgence although at 6 feel tall he continued to be a commanding presence throughout his life. He was bothered in later years by ulcerated legs which resulted from a jousting injury and he nearly died from a resulting blood clot when the ulcers healed Over. The ulcers were henceforth kept open by his doctors. When the 56-year-old Monarch died in his vast new Palace of Whitehall in 1 547, his country was largely self governing the Royal Navy was Strong and England was at peace. The controversial King had earned his place in history. 24 stripes Magazine septembers 1991 and