A hypothesis: King Henry VIII’s (1491–1547) personality change: A case of lead poisoning?

Abstract

Henry VIII (1491–1547) became King of England in 1509. He started out as a good monarch, sensible, reasonable and pleasant, but later his behaviour changed drastically. He became irascible, intolerant, violent and tyrannical. In January 1536, Henry had a serious jousting accident and was unconscious for 2 h. It is generally believed that this accident played a major role in his personality change. Letters of that time, however, indicate that the change began insidiously in 1534 and became most drastic in 1535, a year before the accident. Henry had suffered from leg ulcers before and after the accident and had been constantly treated for them for many years. Sloane MS1047, now in the British Library in London, contains the prescriptions for the medications used to treat these ulcers. Many of the medications contain a high proportion of lead in various forms. Lead can be absorbed through skin, especially damaged skin. Absorbed lead can affect the brain, causing psychiatric problems, especially those associated with violence. The author presents a hypothesis that absorbed lead from his medications might have been a major factor in King Henry’s personality change.