KING HENRY VIII of England and Ireland, the third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was born on the 28th of June 1491 and, like all the Tudor monarchs except Henry VII, at Greenwich Palace. His two brothers, Prince Arthur and Edmund, Duke of Somerset, and two of his sisters died before their father, so Henry VIII was the only son, and Margaret Tudor, afterwards Queen of Scotland, and Mary Tudor, afterwards Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk, were the only daughters who survived. He got married to his brother's widow Catherine of Aragon in the first few months after he became the King. Henry VIII was not in love with Catherine of Aragon: he only got married due to the pressure of Catherine's father Ferdinand. At first, the young king had little interest in politics, but after a couple of years, Henry VIII got actively involved in everything that was related to his reign. (taken from http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/tudor.htm)
