King Henry VIII's gung-ho approach to marriage is the stuff of legend. Yet his all-or-nothing attitude extended far beyond separating the Church of England from the Pope – or indeed his wives' heads from their bodies – and into all other aspects of his kingship.
One particularly noteworthy manifestation was his love of a good old party, for Henry was the most hedonistic of monarchs. In 1509, he spent almost a whole year's worth of tax, about £13.5 million in today's money, just on Christmas celebrations.
HELLO! visited Hampton Court Palace to speak to Tudor expert Professor Anthony Musson, head of research at Historic Royal Palaces, to learn about how King Henry would have celebrated Christmas Day, and how he managed to spend all that money…
Morning Mass
As part of the religious observances of the time, Henry's Christmas morning saw him processing in crimson robes towards the Chapel Royal to attend Mass.
He would hear this Mass in the 'Holy Day closet' in the upper part of the chapel, affording him more privacy than other attendees. It was one of the rare occasions when Henry took communion.
On 12 July 1543, in the Queen's Closet at Hampton Court Palace, Henry married his sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr.
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Last-minute decorations
As he processed throughout the palace, Henry was greeted with Tudor Christmas decorations made up of more natural greenery like holly, ivy and mistletoe.
Homes weren’t decorated until Christmas Eve as it was considered bad luck to begin the preparations any earlier.
Food and feasting
A substantial part of King Henry's vast expenditure came from feasting.
"We've got some surviving menus from the 29th and 30th of December 1529 for when Henry was entertaining,'' said Anthony. ''They're three courses of about 14 or 15 dishes each, involving things like swan, venison, various types of pies and pasties, heron, lark, pheasants and rabbits."
Given his portly stature in later life, unsurprisingly Henry really enjoyed his puddings. ''He particularly liked quince tart which often features on his menus and, of course, plenty of wine and ale to drink," said Anthony.
Guy Walters, who presented Castles: Britain’s Fortified History, estimated that King Henry's meat bill in a year would have come to £3.5 million in today's money, while the drinks bill would be around £6 million as the Tudors preferred wine and ale to often-polluted water.
Banquets involved large quantities of ox, mutton, pork, beef and venison accompanied by 600,000 gallons of beer, coming to a staggering total of £5.8 million.
And let's not forget the famed Tudor Christmas pie, which consisted of a chicken stuffed inside a goose stuffed inside a turkey, encased in a 'coffin' of pastry.
As well as the actual Christmas Day celebrations, there were feasts held almost every day across the period between Christmas and the Twelfth Night – an expensive time for the King.
'Fish Fridays'!
While we in the modern world might not think it unusual to have fish and chips on a Friday (maybe more of a UK tradition than for our friends across the pond), we would all likely baulk at the prospect of fish for Christmas dinner.
Not so in Henry’s England where if Christmas fell on a Friday, the enormous royal kitchen would be set to work preparing a vast array of fish to make up the Christmas banquet.
Gift-giving and charity
It may surprise you to learn that our tradition of Christmas Day gift-giving was not replicated by the Tudors. Opting instead for delayed gratification, they gave their gifts on New Year’s Day.
Much significance was given to presents, especially those given or received by the King.
"In 1545, when Henry was staying here at Hampton Court on Christmas Eve, he personally adjourned parliament and then made a speech complaining that everyone should be much more charitable," said Anthony. "So his Christmas message, as it were, was to be charitable towards everyone." Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard would likely have rolled their eyes at this directive, had their heads still been attached.
While the nobility would give presents to their servants, the gift giving wasn’t all one way. Indeed, everyday people would also give Henry gifts like chickens, wax, cheese and apples.
The gifts he decided to accept or reject were a barometer of how much he favoured the giver. For New Year's in 1532, while courting wife number two Anne Boleyn, Henry portentously rejected a gift sent to him by Catherine of Aragon, showing how firmly she had been displaced in his affections.
Flirtatious gift swaps
Henry and Anne are thought to have first met in March 1522 when Anne played the role of 'Perseverance' in a masque at Whitehall, but Henry did not begin to court her seriously until 1526, when records show Anne refused Henry’s request to become his mistress, insisting on marriage instead.
In 1532, Henry gifted Anne with some hangings and a bed "covered with gold and silver cloth, crimson satin, and embroidery richer than all the rest". She gifted him boar spears in return.
The couple married in January 1533 but the flirtatious gifts didn't stop there, with Henry giving Anne an especially treasured gift in New Year 1534.
It was described by contemporary records as: "A goodly gilt bason, having a rail or board of gold in the midst of the brim, garnished with rubies and pearls, wherein standeth a fountain, also having a rail of gold about it garnished with diamonds, out whereof issueth water at the teats of three naked women standing about the foot of the same fountain."
A masquerading King
As well as the food, religious observances and games, courtiers often enjoyed performances and revels. Part of the Twelfth Night celebrations involved a cake, which had a bean baked into it. Whoever found the bean in the cake would be dubbed the Lord of Misrule or King of the Bean.
There were plays performed as well as masquerades, with King Henry particularly fond of masked mimes – and disguises in general.
"In 1540 he decided to surprise Anne of Cleves with a visit. She had journeyed from Cleves in Germany to Rochester, where Henry decided that he would appear in disguise. He didn't let on who he was, and she was obviously a little bit shocked," said Anthony.
Anne's failure to recognise her future husband may have contributed to the quick divorce following the first meeting.
King Henry VIII’s Christmas gamble
While we know that Henry, in his younger days at least, enjoyed sports and hunting, it was interesting to discover that the Tudor King enjoyed another pastime – gambling.
He was often present at the card tables, although royal records suggest Henry wasn't a skilled practitioner.
Games that were previously banned during Christmas such as dice, cards, tennis, tables and bowls were permitted during Henry’s reign, and royal records show he gave Anne Boleyn £100 for a flutter, and took the same amount for himself from the royal purse.
All this helps to paint a picture of Henry's lifestyle and personality, and his court at Christmastime. It also shows just how different our modern monarchies are, comparing the low-key Sandringham Christmases enjoyed by British royals to the multi-million pound extravaganza put on by Henry.