Did the King have syphilis?

One of the longest-lasting rumours that has surrounded Henry VIII for centuries is related to his physique. Because did the infamous womanising King have syphilis?
Since the King was notorious - even at his own day - for his many casual liaisons with many different ladies it is possible that he had caught a disease. The rumour even states that Henry's syphilis may have caused the miscarriages of Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn and that the ulcer that plagued Henry throughout his life was a sign of the STD.

However, today the theory is no longer considered to be likely mainly because of the lack of evidences to support the statement. Also, syphilis was a well-known disease in the Tudor age and even if the King had had it, there would have been a cure.

So this is a rumour that we can quite safely say is untrue.

Henry VIII - Quotes

Despite the notorious life of Henry VIII, not many of his quotes have survived but those that have tells us a thing or two about the King's personality:

Henry VIII's Astronomical Clock

King Henry VIII ordered this astronomical clock for the decoration of Hampton Court Palace in around 1540 - right after Cardinal Wolsey had fallen from power and Henry VIII began to rebuild his newly-acquired palace. Within the clock there are three bells of which the oldest is from 1478. The clock is very complicated compared to the clocks we use today and it shows:

• The hour 
• The month
• Day of the month
• The position of the sun in the ecliptic
• The twelve signs of the zodiac
• The number of days that have elapsed since the beginning of the year
• The phases of the moon
• It's age in days
• The hour in which it crosses the meridian which means that it tells the time of high time in London

Since Henry VIII often used to travel by barge to Hampton Court Palace it was practical to know when it was high tide and thereby the best time to travel by. 

The earth is centred in the middle of the clock because the clock was made before Copernicus and Galileo began to doubt the heliocentric world-image (where the sun is the centre of the universe). The minor circle is the sun that was said to circle around the earth at the time. 

The King's 26 Ladies

After the discovery of Katherine Howard's adultery, Henry VIII was furious and embarrassed. He felt that Katherine had made a fool of him by cheating on him not only with a man he liked but with the knowledge of other courtiers! So at the end of January, while Katherine awaited her execution, the King decided to cheer himself up.

The King decided to throw a ball - inviting only twenty-six ladies to dine with him and thirty-five to dine at a table near by. No gentlemen were admitted to the ball. Even at the time it caused quite a scandal.

It can only be assumed that Henry wanted to surround himself with beautiful women to make himself forget the embarrassment he felt over the one he had locked up in the Tower. Since Katherine had always helped him to feel young again, it can be assumed that the elderly King wanted young and beautiful women (no less than 61 in total) could help to restore that feeling of youth - and in that case it would only be annoying to be distracted by the presence of other men.

The dinner party as it was depicted in "The Tudors"