Summary
Bestselling royal historian David Starkey's captivating biography is a radical re-evaluation of Henry VIII, the British monarchy's most enduring icon.
Larger than life in every sense, Henry VIII was Britain's most absolute monarch - but he was not born to rule. In this brilliantly readable history, David Starkey follows the promising young prince - a Renaissance man of exceptional musical and athletic talent - as he is thrust into the limelight after the death of his elder brother. His subsequent quest for fame was as obsessive as that of any modern celebrity, and his yearning for a male heir drove him into dangerous territory.
The culmination of a lifetime's research, David Starkey's biography is an unforgettable portrait of the man behind the controversies, the prince turned tyrant who continues to tower over history.
David Starkey is Honorary Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, and the author of many books including 'Elizabeth', 'Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII' and 'Monarchy: England and Her Rulers from the Tudors to the Windsors'. He is a winner of the WH Smith Prize and the Norton Medlicott Medal for Services to History, presented by Britain's Historical Association. He is a well-known television and radio personality and was made a CBE in 2007. He lives in London.
