Henry VIII's Infamous Jousting Accident of January 1536: Did it cause brain damage?
Featured in An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor
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On January 24, 1536, King Henry VIII of England suffered a serious jousting accident that would profoundly affect his reign and his life. The accident, which took place at Greenwich Palace, left Henry unconscious for two hours and is widely regarded as a pivotal moment that contributed to his physical decline, growing health problems, and increasingly erratic behavior in the final years of his reign. This event not only altered the course of Henry’s life but also had significant political and personal consequences, including its potential influence on his second wife, Anne Boleyn, and the Tudor court.
Henry VIII was known for his athleticism and love of sports and was an avid participant in jousting, a sport reserved for the nobility that involved two knights on horseback charging at each other with lances. By 1536, despite being in his mid-40s, Henry remained passionate about jousting, a display of both chivalric skill and royal power.
On the day of the accident, during a joust at Greenwich, Henry was unseated by his opponent when a lance struck him. What made the accident particularly dangerous was that Henry was fully armored, and when he fell from his horse—believed to weigh around 1,200 pounds—it is reported that the horse landed on top of him. The impact knocked the king unconscious, and he remained in that state for approximately two hours.
The court was thrown into panic, fearing for Henry’s life. Given the importance of the monarch's health to the realm's stability, any serious injury to the king could have led to political unrest. Although Henry eventually regained consciousness, the incident marked a critical turning point in his physical health.

Before the accident, Henry had been an active and fit king, renowned for his prowess in sports and hunting. However, after the jousting mishap, Henry’s physical health deteriorated rapidly. The fall is believed to have exacerbated an existing leg injury, possibly an ulcer or varicose veins, which became chronic and plagued him for the rest of his life. His mobility was increasingly restricted as the leg wounds frequently became infected, causing him excruciating pain and limiting his ability to engage in the activities he once loved.
Henry’s once athletic frame gave way to significant weight gain in the years following the accident. By the end of his reign, he had become obese and was frequently carried in specially made chairs or lifted by servants. The physical transformation was matched by a shift in his personality, which many historians believe became more volatile, paranoid, and cruel in the wake of the accident.
Henry’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, was pregnant at the time of the accident. This pregnancy was crucial for the Tudor dynasty, as Henry desperately needed a male heir. News of the king’s fall and his subsequent unconsciousness caused great distress in the court, and it is believed that Anne herself was deeply affected by the shock.
Tragically, just a few days after the accident, Anne miscarried a male child. This event was a devastating blow to both Anne and Henry, as it further strained their already troubled marriage. The miscarriage, following earlier failed pregnancies, added to Anne’s precarious position at court. By May 1536, just a few months after the jousting accident, Anne was arrested, tried for treason, and executed. While there were multiple factors leading to her downfall, the jousting accident and the subsequent miscarriage may have played a part in hastening her demise, as it removed her last chance of securing Henry’s favor by producing a male heir.
In the years following the accident, Henry VIII became increasingly tyrannical and unpredictable. His temper flared more easily, and he developed a reputation for cruelty, particularly toward those closest to him. Henry’s later years were marked by political purges, religious upheaval, and the execution of several close advisors, friends, and even family members.
The accident also symbolized a broader change in Henry’s reign, which shifted from the early, more optimistic years of Renaissance court culture and humanist ideals to a darker, more paranoid period characterized by distrust, personal betrayal, and religious persecution. Some historians suggest that the accident, and the head injury Henry may have sustained, could have contributed to this change in his mental state, though this remains speculative.
In many ways, the 1536 jousting accident set the stage for the final tumultuous decade of Henry’s reign, which would be defined by religious reform, multiple marriages, and a legacy of tyranny that continues to fascinate historians and readers alike.
Discover how Max and the team from St Mary’s fare when they go to investigate the accident in An Argumentation of Historians.
We hope you have enjoyed this History Briefing. Click here to read more background history to the events in The Chronicles of St Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor.