| − | Henry was born on the 28th June 1491, the third child and second son of [[Henry VII]] (Henry Tudor) and Elizabeth of York. Henry was a second son and not the heir to the throne; he was well educated because his father intended him for the church. The death of his elder brother Arthur (1502) made him heir to the throne His father was a Tudor and heir to the Lancastrian claim to the throne, and his mother was the daughter of the Yorkist King [[Edward IV]]. Henry thus symbolized in his person the union of the houses of Lancaster and York whose rivalry had caused the [[War of the Roses]]. Unlike his father, therefore, he could believe himself to be the unquestioned and unquestionable king of God's choice. | + | Henry was born on the 28th June 1491, the third child and second son of [[Henry VII]] (Tudor) and Elizabeth of York. Henry, as a younger son, was not heir to the throne. His father intended him for the church, and so he received an excellent education. The death of his elder brother Arthur (1502) made him heir to the throne. His father was heir to the Lancastrian claim to the throne, and his mother was the daughter of the Yorkist King [[Edward IV]]. Henry thus symbolized in his person the union of the houses of Lancaster and York whose rivalry had caused the [[War of the Roses]]. Unlike his father, therefore, he could believe himself to be the unquestioned and unquestionable king of God's choice. |