concerns were the sweating sickness (a common and often deadly ailment) and the plague.

During outbreaks, Henry tried to minimize his risk of infection by steering clear of those who might’ve been exposed to disease. When a severe wave of the sweating sickness hit in 1517-18, Henry left London for nearly a year. At one point during the outbreak, the king refused to see ambassadors (however, his isolation was limited because he needed servants to take care of him).

Henry was so committed to self-preservation that when his paramour Anne Boleyn caught the sweating sickness in 1528, he stayed away until the illness had passed (though he did send a physician to check on her).

READ MORE: How Henry VIII’s Failing Health Affected His Life and Reign

He had a lot ofhealth problems later in life

Precautions against the plague and the sweating sickness helped keep Henry safe from those diseases, but he wasn’t able to protect himself entirely against ill health.

As he grew older, particularly once he entered middle age, Henry put on a massive amount of weight. Suits of armor showed that his waistline, which had measured 32 inches in 1512, grew to 54 inches; Henry weighed nearly 400 pounds when he died in 1547. In his later years, the king also suffered from painful ulcers on his legs and had trouble standing and walking.

In fact, given Henry’s health problems, his last wife, Catherine Parr, was often like a nurse to him. Still, she survived her husband with her neck intact, so, all in all, things could’ve turned