As one of Britain's most famous monarchs, what "coppernose" went through six wives and piddled his country's wealth away on flashy festivals and food?

The 16th-century king is known as "the father of the Royal Navy," but he is perhaps most known for his multiple marriages and his spendthrift appetite. Henry VIII pushed the English Reformation, which cut out papal authority from the Church of England – all so he could annul his first marriage from Catherine of Aragon and produce a male heir. Although he did eventually do so after six marriages, several mistresses, and two wives beheaded, his son Edward VI died of tuberculosis at the young age of 15. Elizabeth I's subsequent reign demonstrated that a male heir wasn't necessary after all.

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