Famous Eaters - King Henry VIII

Each month we look at the eating habits of famous people, past and present

NAME: King Henry VIII

BORN: 28 June 1491

DIED: 28 January 1547

FAVOURITE FOODS:

Authors and actors have helped perpetuate the picture of Britain's most famous king as an obese, turkey-leg gnawer. And it is true to say he liked an extravagant bumper court banquet where poultry was certainly not the only choice on the menu.

A troop of cooks was on hand to prepare sumptuous seven-hour feasts, which often stretched to 10 courses. And delicacies included peacock and marzipan desserts painted with real gold. All meats were served in rich sauces, flavoured with sugar, spices, pears, oranges and dates. One of his favourite flavours was said to be ginger, which was no doubt beneficial as it is a brilliant digestive.

Anyone feeling a little peckish between starters and the main course could dine on specially prepared titbits, including pastries, fritters, calves' liver, lampreys and whale meat, shaped into castles and animals. One report from the time details how, following one of Henry's shindigs for 1,000 guests, the pantry was violently depleted as the revelling courtiers chomped their way through 11 cows, six sheep, 17 pigs, 500 chickens, 15 swans, six cranes, 380 pigeons, 600 larks, 70 geese, 1,300 apples and a staggering 3,000 loaves of bread. All was washed down with gallons of beer and wine, with the overflowing cups kept topped up by busy servants.

HIS LIFE AND HIS FOODS:

King Henry VIII's circumference was not always quite so generous as the ample four-and-a-half feet it reached in the last years of his life. As a young man, the king was described as a handsome and slender six-footer who was a talented hunter, dancer, wrestler and jouster.

His lifestyle changed at 44 when his horse rolled onto him during a tournament, crippling his leg and leaving him an invalid. The exercise stopped, but the eating continued.

He was then to gain his reputation as a gluttonous gorger, with his household having to dress in heavily-padded clothes to emulate and flatter their increasingly-stout monarch.