answersLogoWhite

0

Henry VIII, like monarchs before and after him, was personally responsible for most of the expenses we would nowadays expect to be paid by "the government". He had to maintain his palaces, the civil service, and the military out of his private pocket. There was no clear line between what were Henry's expenses and what were England's expenses. The dissolution of the monasteries made Henry very rich but a lot of this money was paid out to courtiers and other powerful people in the country to help with the political fallout of the Reformation. Even more was frittered away in the wars against France which characterized the last years of his reign. Henry was, of course, fond of pomp and finery to a much greater extent than his parsimonious father, but this was not where the bulk of his great wealth went.

User Avatar

Wiki User

15y ago

What else can I help you with?