King Henry the VIII Artifacts!

"King Henry VIII," artist unknown

          I know that this subject may be a bit late to post on, but recently I remembered that I happen to have a couple of interesting King Henry VIII artifacts of my own from my trip to England this past spring.  The first is an oil painting from the National Portrait Gallery in London.  Just from looking at the portrait, you can tell that Henry definitely had a rich taste for clothing and other accessories.  He believed that clothing was a symbol of social class ranking, and strongly believed that since he was royalty, that he should have the latest in Italian and French fashions.  The greedy king imported furs, velvet, and gemstones from around the world, and, since he hated to wear anything twice, gave away several pieces of his wardrobe to lucky members of his court.  

      

          My second artifact is King Henry's armor, which can be found on display in the Tower of London.  I read on Jacob's post from last week that Henry was painted with proportions much different than he actually had, but being able to see his armor in person was mind-blowing; the picture doesn't do it justice at all.  This man was huge.  The armor pictured above is from his later years in life, and studies have concluded that this guy had a 52in waist and 53in chest, which is severe obesity in today's standards.  Going from his once 32in waist and 39in chest, I'd say he became just about as round as he was tall. 

Sources: 

http://www.royalarmouries.org/visit-us/leeds/leeds-galleries/tournament-gallery/henry-viii/henry-viii-portrait

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1134222/King-size-Henry-VIIIs-armour-reveals-52in-girth--paid-terrible-price.html