by 
Anonymous
ANSWERS: 5
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No. Just slightly annoyed.
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No, just abusive of his own power and obsessed with its preservation.
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No, he was egotistical granted but not mad.
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He was mad when his wives did not produce male offspring and so removed them from the royal bed by one method or another. That proves that the man was just downright evil and should have been removed from office but Cromwell was not around at the time!
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Whether or not he was "mad" is pure conjecture and the answer must also take into account how Henry compared to his contemporaries in disposition. He could be ruthless and had a volatile temper, but that does not mean he was mad. Just my opinion, but I think he was far from mad. He was the classic cranky old man towards the end of his life albeit a cranky old man with the ability to sign a death warrant. Towards the end, he was more unpredictable than he had been in younger and happier days. His poor health had robbed him of the things that he enjoyed most(hunting, jousting, etc.) And the ulcer in his leg was painful and one can only imagine that did not make the cantankerous King any friendlier. Henry VIII was an extremely complex character and it would be impossible to examine his mental stability or his personality in depth with a few paragraphs. I am fortunate enough to have a vast library at my disposal, a lot of volumes I own are obscure, out of print, or of an antequarian nature and nothing I have read convinces me that he was "mad". Now his sister in law (Joanna of Aragon) is an entirely different story. . .
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