A new armour exhibition at the Tower of London shows just how fat King Henry VIII became.
Thanks partly to his feasting on huge banquets during his 38 year reign (1509-1547), Henry VIII ballooned in size over the years.
The monarch enjoyed banquets so much he extended the kitchen of Hampton Court Palace to fill 55 rooms!
Meals included spit-roasted meat, whole roasted peacock, whale meat, black pudding, spiced fruitcake and, of course, plenty of ale.
Armour made for the king when he was 23 revealed he had a 34.7" waist and a 41.7" chest.
But one of his last suits of armour showed the 48-year-old had become morbidly obese with a massive 51" waist and 54.5" chest.
His changing figure was calculated from a collection of close-fitting armour brought together to mark the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to the throne.
Nasa were so impressed by the overlapping design of Henry VIII's 1520 Tonlet Armour that they used it as a template for creating their first astronaut suits.
How Henry VIII dressed to kill despite his rapidly expanding waistline
By Claire Bates
01st April 2009
Daily Mail
'Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill' is at the Tower of London from April 3 2009 to January 17, 2010
We all know Henry VIII as a larger than life character from history, but a new armour exhibition has revealed just how plump he became.
Over his 38 year reign the Tudor king ballooned in size as he enjoyed feasting on sumptuous medieval banquets.
At just over 6ft the infamous monarch cut a commanding presence.
Field armour made for the stocky royal when he was 23 revealed he already had a 34.7" waist and a 41.7" chest.
But one of his last suits of armour showed the 48-year-old had become morbidly obese with a massive 51" waist and 54.5" chest.
By this point historians believe the king was suffering from both gout and syphilis.
One of Henry's earliest surviving suits of armour from 1515 (top) compared to one of his latest from 1540. The king's waistline swelled during his lifetime
His changing figure was calculated from a collection of close-fitting armour brought together to mark the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to the throne.
They give a far more accurate picture of his size than painting from the time, which were likely to flatter the portly king.
The famous Tudor was known for his voracious appetite and enjoyed banquets so much he extended the kitchen of Hampton Court Palace to fill 55 rooms.
Meals could include spit-roasted meat, whole roasted peacock, whale meat, black pudding, spiced fruitcake and plenty of ale.
Despite his increasing size, Henry must have had an impressive amount of strength to move let alone take part in tournaments in his armour. His suit made for the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 weighed a whopping 94lb.
The layered, skirt-style suit had to be prepared in only a few months for the tournament between the English and French courts, after the French changed the rules of the contest at the last minute.
Forefront of design: Nasa were so impressed by Henry VIII's Tonlet Armour that they used it as a template for creating their first astronaut suits
Henry competed in the joust, wrestling, archery and foot combat with varying degrees of success, and fought on foot with 'suche force that the fier sprang out of their armure.'
Nasa were so impressed by the overlapping design of the 1520 armour that they studied its construction while developing their first space suits in the 1960s.
Curators at the Tower of London exhibition said the suits didn't just reveal Henry's weakness for indulgent food, it also revealed his love of fashion and sport and his interest in modern warfare and technology.
'Henry was at the forefront of fashion and at the forefront of artistic decoration,' Thom Richardson at the Royal Armouries said.
'He was vain and incredibly wealthy, but he also wanted to present himself as a proper European monarch like Charles V or Maximilian ... and wanted the English army to be a proper Continental army.'
Enlarge
Enlarge
The exhibition includes a horned helmet (top) presented by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I to Henry VIII in 1514 and an experimental gun shield (bottom) from 1540. The Italian design combined a shield for protection and a gun for attacking enemies
English and Spanish ships clashed in the waters between England and France in 1588, 41 years after Henry's death.
The armour is on display at the central White Tower in the Tower of London. They include the elaborately decorated 'Silvered and Engraved' armour dating from 1515 and the Wilton armour, possibly the king's last suit of armour made in about 1544. An outlandish helmet given to Henry by Maximilian I in 1514 is another star attraction, and is the only surviving piece from the suit of armour.
Academics are still arguing about whether the rams horns and spectacles on the metal mask were added later to the piece.
The exhibition shows off the most spectacular armour and personal weapons belonging in Henry VIII. This is the Wilton Anime from 1544, which may have been Henry's last suit of armour
Henry was renowned for his love of sport and the exhibition also contains the earliest known soccer ball from the 16th century made of an inflatable pig's bladder covered in leather. Henry commissioned his own pair of soccer boots at a cost of four shillings, or £100 in today's prices.
The king was surprisingly athletic throughout his life. In 1525, he nearly met a sticky end in pursuit of a hawk, he tried to pole vault over a ditch and landed head first in muddy water, only to be rescued by a footman.
His jousting career finally ended when at 44 he 'fell so heavily that everyone thought it was a miracle he was not killed.'
The Tudor king was equally occupied with building England's defences, spending the modern equivalent of £1billion in developing new weapons and arming and equipping his forces.
'He was a great moderniser and a patron of technological change,' Mr Richardson said.
'Because of the British gunnery at the battle with the Spanish Armada we won, so you could say that because of his interest in technology we're not speaking Spanish today.'
Among the innovations he embraced were gun shields that were probably used on Henry's warships and multi-barrelled canons.
dailymail.co.uk
Thanks partly to his feasting on huge banquets during his 38 year reign (1509-1547), Henry VIII ballooned in size over the years.
The monarch enjoyed banquets so much he extended the kitchen of Hampton Court Palace to fill 55 rooms!
Meals included spit-roasted meat, whole roasted peacock, whale meat, black pudding, spiced fruitcake and, of course, plenty of ale.
Armour made for the king when he was 23 revealed he had a 34.7" waist and a 41.7" chest.
But one of his last suits of armour showed the 48-year-old had become morbidly obese with a massive 51" waist and 54.5" chest.
His changing figure was calculated from a collection of close-fitting armour brought together to mark the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to the throne.
Nasa were so impressed by the overlapping design of Henry VIII's 1520 Tonlet Armour that they used it as a template for creating their first astronaut suits.
How Henry VIII dressed to kill despite his rapidly expanding waistline
By Claire Bates
01st April 2009
Daily Mail
'Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill' is at the Tower of London from April 3 2009 to January 17, 2010
We all know Henry VIII as a larger than life character from history, but a new armour exhibition has revealed just how plump he became.
Over his 38 year reign the Tudor king ballooned in size as he enjoyed feasting on sumptuous medieval banquets.
At just over 6ft the infamous monarch cut a commanding presence.
Field armour made for the stocky royal when he was 23 revealed he already had a 34.7" waist and a 41.7" chest.
But one of his last suits of armour showed the 48-year-old had become morbidly obese with a massive 51" waist and 54.5" chest.
By this point historians believe the king was suffering from both gout and syphilis.
One of Henry's earliest surviving suits of armour from 1515 (top) compared to one of his latest from 1540. The king's waistline swelled during his lifetime
His changing figure was calculated from a collection of close-fitting armour brought together to mark the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to the throne.
They give a far more accurate picture of his size than painting from the time, which were likely to flatter the portly king.
The famous Tudor was known for his voracious appetite and enjoyed banquets so much he extended the kitchen of Hampton Court Palace to fill 55 rooms.
Meals could include spit-roasted meat, whole roasted peacock, whale meat, black pudding, spiced fruitcake and plenty of ale.
Despite his increasing size, Henry must have had an impressive amount of strength to move let alone take part in tournaments in his armour. His suit made for the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 weighed a whopping 94lb.
The layered, skirt-style suit had to be prepared in only a few months for the tournament between the English and French courts, after the French changed the rules of the contest at the last minute.
Forefront of design: Nasa were so impressed by Henry VIII's Tonlet Armour that they used it as a template for creating their first astronaut suits
Henry competed in the joust, wrestling, archery and foot combat with varying degrees of success, and fought on foot with 'suche force that the fier sprang out of their armure.'
Nasa were so impressed by the overlapping design of the 1520 armour that they studied its construction while developing their first space suits in the 1960s.
Curators at the Tower of London exhibition said the suits didn't just reveal Henry's weakness for indulgent food, it also revealed his love of fashion and sport and his interest in modern warfare and technology.
'Henry was at the forefront of fashion and at the forefront of artistic decoration,' Thom Richardson at the Royal Armouries said.
'He was vain and incredibly wealthy, but he also wanted to present himself as a proper European monarch like Charles V or Maximilian ... and wanted the English army to be a proper Continental army.'
Enlarge
Enlarge
The exhibition includes a horned helmet (top) presented by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I to Henry VIII in 1514 and an experimental gun shield (bottom) from 1540. The Italian design combined a shield for protection and a gun for attacking enemies
English and Spanish ships clashed in the waters between England and France in 1588, 41 years after Henry's death.
The armour is on display at the central White Tower in the Tower of London. They include the elaborately decorated 'Silvered and Engraved' armour dating from 1515 and the Wilton armour, possibly the king's last suit of armour made in about 1544. An outlandish helmet given to Henry by Maximilian I in 1514 is another star attraction, and is the only surviving piece from the suit of armour.
Academics are still arguing about whether the rams horns and spectacles on the metal mask were added later to the piece.
The exhibition shows off the most spectacular armour and personal weapons belonging in Henry VIII. This is the Wilton Anime from 1544, which may have been Henry's last suit of armour
Henry was renowned for his love of sport and the exhibition also contains the earliest known soccer ball from the 16th century made of an inflatable pig's bladder covered in leather. Henry commissioned his own pair of soccer boots at a cost of four shillings, or £100 in today's prices.
The king was surprisingly athletic throughout his life. In 1525, he nearly met a sticky end in pursuit of a hawk, he tried to pole vault over a ditch and landed head first in muddy water, only to be rescued by a footman.
His jousting career finally ended when at 44 he 'fell so heavily that everyone thought it was a miracle he was not killed.'
The Tudor king was equally occupied with building England's defences, spending the modern equivalent of £1billion in developing new weapons and arming and equipping his forces.
'He was a great moderniser and a patron of technological change,' Mr Richardson said.
'Because of the British gunnery at the battle with the Spanish Armada we won, so you could say that because of his interest in technology we're not speaking Spanish today.'
Among the innovations he embraced were gun shields that were probably used on Henry's warships and multi-barrelled canons.
dailymail.co.uk
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