Who is Henry VIII from the novel, Wolf Hall?

Henry VIII is King of England, husband of Katherine, and father of Mary. Henry VIII worries about producing a male heir for the throne, and out of a mixture of fear and lust pursues Anne Boleyn, daughter of Thomas Boleyn, a diplomat. Henry is a tempestuous ruler, alternating between violent outbursts and weak-kneed blithering – all subject to his passion for Anne, who dominates him. Henry VIII is brutal and ruthless in securing marriage to Anne, betraying Katherine and Mary to do so, betraying his friend and former ally, Cardinal Wolsey, and severing ties from the Catholic Church in Rome. Frustrated by Anne’s inability to have a male child, by the end of the novel, Henry is already sizing up Jane Seymour.