Talk:Henry VIII

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Henry VIII article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the subject of the article.

Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic. New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help. Assume good faith Be polite and avoid personal attacks Be welcoming to newcomers Seek dispute resolution if needed Article policies Neutral point of view No original research Verifiability

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Archives (index): 1, 2Auto-archiving period: 4 months

	Henry VIII is a former featured article. Please see the links under Article milestones below for its original nomination page (for older articles, check the nomination archive) and why it was removed.
	This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on January 3, 2005.
Article milestones Date Process Result August 18, 2004 Featured article candidate Promoted February 7, 2007 Featured article review Demoted April 15, 2013 Good article nominee Listed February 18, 2025 Good article reassessment Delisted Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on June 24, 2004, July 11, 2004, July 11, 2005, July 12, 2006, April 21, 2009, April 21, 2010, April 21, 2011, April 21, 2013, April 21, 2016, April 21, 2018, April 21, 2022, and January 24, 2024. Current status: Former featured article

This article is written in British English, which has its own spelling conventions (colour, travelled, centre, defence, artefact, analyse) and some terms may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

This  level-4 vital article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

Biography: Musicians / Military / Peerage and Baronetage / Politics and Government / Royalty and Nobility / Core Biography portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation. Associated task forces: /  This article is supported by WikiProject Musicians. This article is supported by the military biography work group (assessed as Low-importance). This article is supported by WikiProject Peerage and Baronetage (assessed as Top-importance). This article is supported by the politics and government work group (assessed as Top-importance). This article is supported by WikiProject Royalty and Nobility (assessed as Top-importance). This article is listed on the project's core biographies page. Military history: Biography / British / European / Early Modern This article is within the scope of the Military history WikiProject. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks. To use this banner, please see the full instructions. This article has been checked against the following criteria for B-class status: Referencing and citation: criterion not met Coverage and accuracy: criterion met Structure: criterion met Grammar and style: criterion met Supporting materials: criterion met Associated task forces: /  Military biography task force British military history task force European military history task force Early Modern warfare task force (c. 1500 – c. 1800) Anglicanism Top‑importance Henry VIII is part of WikiProject Anglicanism, an attempt to better organize information in articles related to Anglicanism and the Anglican Communion. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion. Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. England Top‑importance England portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject England, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of England on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. Christianity: Anglicanism High‑importance Christianity portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Christianity, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Christianity on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale. This article is supported by WikiProject Anglicanism (assessed as High-importance). English Royalty Top‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject English Royalty. For more information, visit the project page. Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. Classical music Classical music portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Classical music, which aims to improve, expand, copy edit, and maintain all articles related to classical music, that are not covered by other classical music related projects. Please read the guidelines for writing and maintaining articles. To participate, you can edit this article or visit the project page for more details.

On 23 June 2020, it was proposed that this article be moved from Henry VIII of England to Henry VIII. The result of the discussion was Moved.

Wiki Ed

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 11 January 2022 and 6 May 2022. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Hdgoble (article contribs).

GA Reassessment

Henry VIII

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

---

Article (edit | visual edit | history) · Article talk (edit | history) · Watch • Watch article reassessment page • Most recent review

Result: Delisted. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 21:01, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There is uncited prose in the article, particularily in the "Succession" and "Style and arms" sections. I think redundant and off-topic text has crept into the article, and I think a copyedit would be useful to tighten up the prose and remove excess text. Particularly, I think the "Execution of Anne Boleyn" section focuses too much on Boleyn and much of this text can be moved to her article, with the section placing more emphasis on Henry's actions. Z1720 (talk) 23:11, 26 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I think I'll be able to fix the uncited issues. Can you identify the other text you think should be trimmed or removed? --Chronicler Frank (talk) 21:41, 9 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Chronicler Frank: I think a subject matter expert can go through the article and remove extra detail from the article, or try to state ideas more succinctly. Here's some specific places that I think can be trimmed or cut:

• "Wives, mistresses, and children: What is the purpose of this blockquote? I think it can be removed as unencyclopedic and too focused on his personality, instead of what the section is about.
• "Government": Lots of talk about Cromwell and Wolsey, perhaps this would be better in a spun out article about Henry's government.
• The block quote in "Historiography": why does a person writing in the 1950s get a whole paragraph, instead of having their research summarised in the article?

While I would do this myself, often my ideas of where to trim are met with complaints that I cut too many important details. If others are interested, I am happy to do this work. Z1720 (talk) 23:39, 9 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I'm quite inclined to agree on spinning out some government stuff (into what would surely be a quite interesting article in its own right) and using a more concise summary style. Generalissima (talk) (it/she) 05:49, 11 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Chronicler Frank: Are you still interested in working on this article? Z1720 (talk) 13:58, 20 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Z1720: Yes, I am still looking for citations. Chronicler Frank (talk) 08:43, 22 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Chronicler Frank any updates? All Tomorrows No Yesterdays (Ughhh.... What did I do wrong this time?) 13:13, 14 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

• Delist No significant edits to address citation concerns. Z1720 (talk) 01:37, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

"Henry 8" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Henry 8 has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 August 20 § Henry 8 until a consensus is reached. ArthananWarcraft (talk) 12:16, 20 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 13 September 2025

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

change the phrasing "use of medical devices" (in regards to his weight and poor health later in life) to "requiring the use of a hoist to mount his horse." I believe the original sentence is slightly misleading. The entire section lacks specifics, and fails to mention that Henry was bedbound only in the last years of his life, although requiring the use of medical aid prior to his later years. I have several sources on hand that would enhance the section's viability. Thank you for considering my request. - Rachel E.S.D. Rdrisco (talk) 15:28, 13 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: The article describes the use of mechanical devices, not medical. The reference suggests that he was carried around in a chair.--AntientNestor (talk) 16:23, 13 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Should Henry VIII's Medical Reforms and Creation of Parklands be included?

The latter may not be as important but the former impacts British people to this day. It should be included as without mentioning some of the positive aspects of his reign, readers may get a biased view of his reign. Mayukh Mitra 123 (talk) 03:41, 20 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Please add the category Politicide perpetrators as he ordered various political opponents including Thomas Cromwell executed. 107.115.151.111 (talk) 18:58, 19 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: Cromwell was not an enemy, he a was a loyal supporter.--AntientNestor (talk) 20:40, 19 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]