How fat was Henry VIII? "He was an absolute monster."

"The Royal Armouries show, Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill, will be built around five complete suits of armour from the Tower... A full suit of armour gives a much better indication of the wearer’s actual size – even though Henry spent fortunes on hiring the finest European armourers, men with a Savile Row tailor’s knack of disguising a paunch. Henry was never the 'fat, boorish king throwing chicken bones over his shoulder' that Charles Laughton embodied on film."

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"You call this a capon? Look at that! All sauce and no substance, like one of Cromwell's speeches. And just as difficult to swallow."