Revealed: Henry VIII's mega divorce settlement (and annual 6m booze bill)

Thursday 12 January 2017 CASTLES: BRITAINS FORTIFIED HISTORY, THURSDAY 12 JANUARY, 8PM, ON YESTERDAY AND AVAILABLE TO CATCH-UP ON UKTV PLAY

The decadent lifestyle of Henry VIII is laid bare by a new study by the Yesterday channel which shows he paid out the modern day equivalent of £30 MILLION for his second divorce settlement - and his annual alcohol bill would run to almost £6 million today.

The research for Castles: Britains Fortified History, which premieres on the Yesterday channel tomorrow/Thursday (8pm), examines the luxurious lifestyles and extravagant spending of Britains medieval monarchs -- and makes todays royals look relatively thrifty in comparison.

After Henry VIII divorced Anne of Cleves in 1540, he provided her with generous financial compensation in the form of luxury property and assets, including Hever Castle in Kent.

Historians estimate that the settlement was worth £3,000 a year at the time which, over the remaining 17 years of Annes life, would amount to £29,630,000 in modern money.

Meanwhile, the annual bill for meat alone at Henry VIIIs court would have been more than £3.5 million in modern money, which dwarfs our current Queens £1.4 million food bill for 2014/15.

Henrys lavish castle banquets featured a variety of different meats, including ox, mutton and some of which are familiar today such as pork, beef and venison. And the Tudor kings huge meals were washed down with 600,000 gallons of beer every year, which would cost £5.78 million based on the price of an 11-gallon barrel today.

To drink that much beer, each of the 1,200 people at court would need to have consumed an average of 10 pints every day.

Henry wasnt the only monarch to indulge in extravagant castle spending, with Edward I shelling out three quarters of his Treasurys annual income to build Beaumaris Castle in Anglesey, Wales, in the 1290s.

Thats akin to todays government, which receives £182 billion from income tax alone, spending £136.5 billion on the Queens royal residences to match the Plantagenet kings deep pockets.

Leading historical author Guy Walters said Edward Is castle spending was an insane figure, adding,

It just shows the huge vanity project that some of these buildings were. You could justify it for defensive purpose, but this is absolutely enormous. It also puts the expenditure on Buckingham Palace into huge perspective.

Adrian Wills, general manager for Yesterday, added,

Comparing past and present royal lifestyles helps bring the excess of the past to life. This series offers an intriguing insight into these magnificent buildings and their place in our culture and psyche. Yesterday viewers can enjoy tracing the story of Britains castles and their unique and lasting impact on our history, art and literature.

Edward I, who was memorably depicted in the Hollywood epic Braveheart, spent a great deal of his time at Leeds Castle in Kent. An enormous bath house constructed for Edward at that castle measured 352 sq ft and wouldve required roughly 10,500 gallons of water to fill - 200 times the size of an average bath, which only holds 50 gallons.

William the Conqueror also shelled out a huge portion of the royal purse on building and fortifying castles following the Battle of Hastings. He built 500 castles in the first 20 years of his rule, with each the result of an estimated 50 men working for 80 days - approximately 32,000 man hours, assuming an eight-hour working day.

Based on the current British minimum wage of £7.20, William wouldve spent £115.2 million over two decades on labouring cost alone to construct his formidable portfolio of 500 castles.

Our Queen is no stranger to big spending, though, with the Windsor Castle restoration following the 1992 fire costing £37 million in 1997, which is more than £60 million today.

In contrast, Henry VIIIs friend and confidante Thomas Wolseys 200,000 Crowns investment in turning Hampton Court Palace into what we know today amounts to a little less, being the equivalent of £33.8 million in todays money. Todays castle dwellers, though, are fewer in number, with around 150 people resident at Windsor Castle, rather than the 1,200 who made up Henry VIIIs court.

Mr Guy Walters added,

These figures show that the royals were very happy to spend money on getting themselves fat and drunk. In many ways, the monarchs of the past were like the dictators of today. They loved their vanity projects and their eating and drinking. They were big show offs and loved splashing their cash.

Castles: Britains Fortified History will be shown on the Yesterday channel every Thursday at 8pm, starting January 12 and available to catch up on UKTV Play

ENDS

For pictures, video and more press info:

Howard Bowden (07720 839 852 / howard@generation-media.co.uk) or Joe Dyble (07771 825 359 / joe@generation-media.co.uk) at Generation

About Yesterday Sky 537, Virgin 206, Freeview 19, BT and TalkTalk 019 and on demand via UKTV Play

Showcasing UK premiere series such as Raiders of the Lost Past, Forbidden History, and UFO Declassified, Yesterday provides fascinating factual stories. The channel also features dynamic nature and science programming including David Attenboroughs Natural Curiosities and Why Planes Crash, and programmes which challenge expectations including Secrets of the Bible. Ancient history is also featured in series including Medieval Dead, plus modern conflict in shows such as Black Ops.

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