Henry's Doctors Feared Announcing Death

On January 27, 1547, Henry VIII's physicians concluded that he was dying but reportedly feared telling him because predicting the king's death could invite accusations of treason. Sir Anthony Denny, Henry's closest attendant, warned him that he was unlikely to live and urged him to prepare for death. Henry requested Archbishop Thomas Cranmer but became nearly unconscious before he arrived. Unable to speak, Henry reportedly squeezed Cranmer's hand as a final sign of faith and died early the following morning.

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