How Henry VIII Spent His Final Hours Before Death

As Henry's weight increased, his health further deteriorated, and nothing seemed to help. Not even the most up-to-date medical procedures — you know, like the "letting of his blood in accordance with the waxing and waning of the moon," that kind of thing — helped. It's not like they didn't try, for goodness' sake.

Then came January 27, 1547. His day of reckoning. Everyone knew he was dying, but no one was willing to say the words out loud; it was considered treasonous to predict the death of a king. Nevertheless, it was clear the king was nearing death, and so Sir Anthony Denny had the unenviable task of suggesting that Henry might want to examine his royal conscience and make his peace with God. Henry spent time with his confessor and received Holy Communion.

Henry proclaimed that he believed that "Christ in all His mercy would 'pardon me from all my sins, yea, though they were greater than can be." As indeed they might have been. After all, wives and royal advisors weren't the only people Henry had executed during his reign. According to On the Tudor Trail, "estimates do vary widely," but some historians suggest as many as 72,000 people died under Henry's order during his nearly 40 years on the throne.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunB9mGpqa3Bfnby4eceepauxXau2qrWMrKeepqRitaq%2FjJ%2Bgp5mcYrWwwdGsZJudlqS%2FpnnDnpitoF8%3D