Why did King Henry VIII so desperately want a son?
He needed a son to be King after him, to establish the still fairly-new Tudor dynasty, and to carry the Tudor name on. It was extremely important in those days; a woman was not considered fit or able to rule by herself. Once Henry did get a son (Edward VI), it became less imperative, but another son or two would have been good to have as spare. Infant mortality was high; Edward could have died early -as, in fact, he did – and another son would have ensured the future of the Tudors. As it happened, after the early death of Edward, two Queens ruled England in their own right, as Queens Regnant, and we remember them more than we did the longed-for son! However, these two Queens died without issue, and the Tudor dynasty died out with the death of Elizabeth I.
