Henry VIII

King of England from April 21, 1509 until his death.

Was gifted Hampton Court Palace (Richmond upon Thames, London) in 1529 by its builder, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, in the vain hope of appeasing the king. It has been in the possession of the British Royal Family since. Antonio Verrio died there in 1707.

He passed the Buggery Act of 1533, which criminalized anal sex between men. This law existed for over 400 years and such activity was only legalized between consenting adults over the age of 21 in 1967.

Established the Church of England on November 3, 1534 after Pope Leo X rejected his petitions to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, and widow of Henry's brother, Arthur. He argued for an annulment by claiming she and Arthur had consummated their union (which she always denied). The real reason was Henry's desperate quest for a legitimate male heir; of he and Catherine's 6 children, only their daughter Mary had survived infancy. After divorcing Catherine, he married Anne Boleyn. Ironically, he annulled the marriage before having Anne executed on bogus charges of adultery (their last 2 children, both sons, were stillborn). His third wife, Jane Seymour, died less than two weeks after giving birth to his longed-for heir, Edward. His fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, wisely agreed to an annulment (he couldn't bring himself to consummate the union). He had his fifth wife, Anne Boleyn's cousin, Catherine Howard, executed for adultery (this time, the evidence was overwhelming). His last wife, Catherine Parr, married Jane Seymour's brother four months after Henry's death.

Fathered many illegitimate children, but acknowledged only one, Henry FitzRoy, whom he created 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset. Played by Zak Jenciragic in The Tudors (2007) episode "Arise, My Lord".

Henry Carey, Henry's rumored son by Anne Boleyn's sister, Mary, was the first patron of William Shakespeare's The Lord Chamberlain's Men. Played by Oscar Negus and Joseph Moore in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).