Peter Moore: The medical expalanation for this ruler's tyranny

Occasionally I am dragged along to a show, knowing I will hate it, but end up loving it.

Six, which sold out at the Princess Theatre, is a musical for which I was, to put it mildly, uncertain. It is a rock musical based on the lives of Henry VIII ‘s wives.  

It is amazing anyone had the idea, but it worked brilliantly. The writers knew their history. The character and life story of each wife came across while the music was stunning. There was also a clear message, History is written by men. Women only ever have a supporting role. It is never herstory. In this show there were no men.

Even the musicians playing drums, bass and rock guitar at the back of the stage were women. They pointed out that, while many people can name Henry VIII’s wives, who can anyone name the wife of Henry VII? I knew it was Elizabeth of York but shouting it out would have made me the most boring person in the theatre. 

Of course, Six did not feature Henry, he was the evil figure off stage, but it is possible to speculate. What made him turn these women into tragic victims?  

Henry was not meant to become king. He had an older brother, Arthur, who died. We could have had a real King Arthur. If he had been like the mythical Arthur and married Queen Guinevere she might have lost her head.  That would have taken the gloss off the myth. Instead Arthur married Katherine of Aragon who later became Henry’s first wife.  

When Henry became King in 1509 he was a fit, seventeen-year-old over six feet tall weighing about fifteen stone with a waist of 32 inches. After the Wars of the Roses he was the child from both the Houses of Lancaster and York and so the future looked bright although all sixteenth century monarchs had more in common with Putin or Kim Jong Un than King Charles 3rd. 

Why did he change into an irrational tyrant? It is difficult to make a medical diagnosis after five hundred years, Even the worst NHS waiting list is slightly shorter, but he did sustain several head injuries jousting. T

here were less health and safety officers around. In 1524 a lance penetrated his helmet and in 1525 while trying to pole vault a brook he fell in and was probably knocked out. No one dared tell him that pole vaulting a brook is not a great idea. 

His most serious head injury was in 1536 when he was thrown from his horse while jousting and was unconscious for two hours. For some reason he did not have an MRI scan, but it is possible that these head injuries lead to behavioural changes making his more psychopathic and impulsive. It may also have led to poor memory and his physical decline.

It can lead to a reduction in testosterone leading to erectile dysfunction. In Six there was a dig about Henry not being able to perform but if you wanted to keep your head on it might not have be a good idea to mention it. It was easier to blame the women. 

When his illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy died of TB in 1536 he gave instruction for the funeral but a few days later he appears to have forgotten. He also put on weight. When he died he weighed about 28 stone with a waist measurement over fifty inches. He would have benefited from Wegovy injections. 

Although he broke away from the Pope to marry Ann Boleyn, he also wanted absolute power. The monasteries took orders from Rome. He wanted to “take back control” (where have I heard that before). There is no record that he wrote on the side of a wagon that breaking away from Rome would lead to £350 million for barber-surgeons, bloodletting and leaches.

Some of the changes in his behaviour can be dated from 1536 and so could be explained by the head injuries. Another theory is that he had type 2 diabetes which is very likely at that weight. He should eat less swan.

Six is a brilliant show with an important message. It can also rewrite history.