Top 10 Things You Didn't Know About Henry VIII

In honor of the 500th anniverary of King Henry VIII's coronation on June 24, 1509, TIME found 10 interesting tales about the famous monarch.

The Renaissance Man

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Henry VIII was a composer of music. In his musical collection, he owned 78 flutes, 78 recorders, five bagpipe sets and a harpsichord. The English folk song "Greensleeves" was at one point attributed to the monarch, who was said to have written it as a love ballad for his future Queen, Anne Boleyn — although his authorship has been generally discredited by recent scholarship. He did, however write "Helas Madame" and "Pastimes with Good Company," — the latter of which is probably the only composition by a British royal to have been covered by Jethro Tull.

See "Henry & Catherine & Anne & Jane & Anne, Etc."

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