Henry VIII was not quite eighteen when he came to the throne. The
country was at peace, was fairly prosperous, and the young King had
everything in his favor. He was handsome, well educated, and fond of
athletic sports. His frank disposition won friends everywhere, and he
had inherited from his father the largest private fortune that had
ever descended to an English sovereign. Intellectually, he was in
hearty sympathy with the revival of learning, then in progress both on
the Continent and in England.