Theses challenged papal authority, Henry managed to pull himself away from hunting in order to support the church in Rome by writing Defense of the Seven Sacraments (Assertio septem sacramentorum) in 1521. This 30,000-word text became a best-seller.

To thank Henry — who was the first English king to write and publish a book — the Pope named him “Defender of the Faith.” Though Henry later broke with the Catholic Church, he never relinquished this title.

He wasn't great with the ladies

Not only did Henry rule a kingdom, but he was also tall (over six feet), in good shape (thanks to his love of hunting and jousting) and had beautiful reddish-gold hair.

On top of that, he was an accomplished musician who sang and played instruments such as the recorder andthe lute. In addition, he composed and arranged music himself (his work includes "Pastimes with Good Company," but, contrary to rumor, he wasn’t the man behind "Greensleeves").

However, all this didn’t make Henry a smashing success with the opposite sex. As Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch of Oxford University told The Telegraph in 2015, "His sexual shenanigans were not all that great by the standards of most monarchs of the time. He had six wives but having six wives is proof that you’re not really good with ladies — not the other way around."

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He was a hypochondriac

Though Henry was a healthy young man, he was still paranoid about getting sick and dying. Given the times, there were plenty of illnesses for him to worry about, but two particular