A former factory worker who now makes a living impersonating King Henry VIII has told how he spent £2,500 on a custom-made costume that leaves school children convinced he really is the monarch.
David Smith, 24, from South Ockendon in Essex, began dressing up as the Tudor king as a hobby but then turned it into a full-time job and now tours all around the country doing events at schools and other venues.
With his ginger locks and beard, he looks remarkably like Henry when he was young and in his prime in the early 1500s.
Mr Smith spent six years working in a factory that makes shower trays but gave it up after he saw a costume on Facebook and bought it.
He then took things to another level by having a second more authentic outfit custom-made – complete with an impressive codpiece – at a cost of £2,500.
‘I don’t take myself seriously, but I take what I do very seriously. I want to be the most authentic Henry VIII impersonator there is in the country,’ he told .
‘I will work until I’ve done that. I want to be the person that people contact when they need Henry VIII. I believe I’ve got a good service to offer to people.’
A former factory worker who now makes a living impersonating King Henry VIII has told how he spent £2,500 on a custom-made costume that leaves school children convinced he really is the monarch. David Smith, 24, from South Ockendon in Essex, began dressing up as the Tudor king as a hobby but then turned it into a full-time job
Mr Smith with (from left to right) Kristen Hansen as Catherine of Aragon, Karen as Anne Boleyn, Mercedes as Jane Seymour, Olga as Anne of Cleves, Izzy as Catherine Howard and Emma as Catherine Parr
He added that children, who are left ‘absolutely mesmerised’ by his act and costume, often ask him, ‘how are you still alive’.
For a heritage fair in Ipswich, Mr Smith was asked to come with the monarch’s six wives and so put a post on Facebook and was immediately deluged with responses.
He was already good friends with Kristen Hanson, 36, who portrays Catherine of Aragon, Henry’s first wife, and had secured women to play the king’s other five wives – Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr – within a week.
He did however initially struggle to find someone to portray German Anne of Cleves – Henry’s fourth wife – before a woman living in Scotland agreed to step in and travel to Ipswich to take up the role for the event.
Mr Smith said he has had an interest in history for as long as he can remember.
‘It started with dinosaurs when I was about four years old. The Tudors started when I was eight,’ he said.
‘We had just learned about them at school; I went to the Tower of London and was mesmerised.
Mr Smith is good friends with Kristen Hanson, 36, who impersonates Catherine of Aragon alongside him at some events
Mr Smith had an authentic outfit custom-made – complete with an impressive codpiece – at a cost of £2,500
‘I don’t take myself seriously, but I take what I do very seriously. I want to be the most authentic Henry VIII impersonator there is in the country,’ he told
He added that children, who are left ‘absolutely mesmerised’ by his act and costume, often ask him, ‘how are you still alive’
‘I remember Anne Boleyn telling me about her execution. When I was looking at books, the thing that caught me the most was pictures.
‘I was enthralled with the depictions of Henry VIII. I would then read the text, which was just as interesting and just as engaging. It went from there.’
Mr Smith turned his hobby into a full-time pursuit last year when he quit a second job as a delivery driver for fashion retailer Next.
By then, he had been performing with a re-enactment group but chose to part ways with them in part because he did not get his expenses covered.
The history fan then spotted an advert posted by education firm Historic Workshops, which puts on re-enactment events for school children.
‘I looked at the job, I was like I don’t care what the money is, this is my job,’ he said.
On the day that he had the job interview, he was dressed up as Henry for an event and did not have time to get changed.
So he instead sat in a cafe while dressed as the Tudor monarch and had the grilling over Zoom.
Ms Hanson, 36, lives in Grimsby and works as a compliance administrator for a firm of financial advisors
Mr Smith – who has also become good friends with the woman who portrays Catherine Howard – met Ms Hanson when she worked as a photographer for the re-enactment group that he was previously part of
Ms Hanson believes that Catherine of Aragon, who was from Spain, is ‘really underrated’. Above: Her and Mr Smith as Catherine and Henry, with birds of prey
Ms Hanson said of Catherine: ‘She is portrayed a lot as the woman who got in the way of this great love story between Henry and Anne’
‘They saw first hand the level of authenticity my outfit has and my passion for history,’ he said.
Mr Smith did his 100th workshop in March and has travelled as far as Cambourne in Cornwall and Sheffield in South Yorkshire to go to events.
Although he does impersonate other characters from history – ranging from the Stone Age to the Victorian era – his favourite is Henry.
He said he wants to show people a ‘different side’ to the monarch.
‘I’m not trying to champion him because he did do some very brutish things,’ he admitted.
But he added: ‘Let’s talk about Henry when he was young, when he was dancing and singing and in love with his wives.
‘He was considered handsome, gracious, affable. Thes are the qualities that everyone forgets.
‘Or they look at it and concentrate on all the bad things that he did.
‘When people say he executed his wives and killed people, tell me which medieval king didn’t execute people?’
Henry was married to Catherine for more than 20 years but strove to end their union when she failed to give birth to a surviving son.
He became infatuated with future second wife Anne Boleyn but Pope Clement VII refused to annul their marriage.
Henry then defied him by proclaiming himself supreme head of the Church of England and splitting from the Catholic Church.
In the end, he got his wish and went on to marry Anne. She gave him his desired son – the future King Edward VI – but then fell foul of him and was beheaded.
The King also had his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, executed.
Speaking of how school pupils are enthralled by his portrayal, he said: ‘Children are absolutely mesmerised when they see me.
‘Especially the younger years, years two and three. They are like “oh my god Henry VIII is here!”.
‘Some children have cried when I have raised my voice a little bit to display Henry’s temper.
One question I get often is: “How are you still alive?”
‘Staying in character, I say, “because God wills it to be so”. Henry was a religious man, so it’s god’s will that he is still here. So that’s my answer to the children.
‘They genuinely believe that I am Henry VIII.’
Mr Smith – who has also become good friends with the woman who portrays Catherine Howard – met Ms Hanson when she worked as a photographer for the re-enactment group that he was previously part of.
Any women enthused by Mr Smith’s act will be pleased to know that he is single. But he did add: ‘I’m not actively trying to look for a relationship. I just don’t have the time.’
Ms Hanson, 36, lives in Grimsby and works as a compliance administrator for a firm of financial advisors.
She impersonates Catherine of Aragon in her spare time and does between five and 10 events a year.
The office worker told : ‘I’ve loved history since being little, since Year 4 with the Tudors.
‘I became obsessed with them. And it’s grown from there. Catherine is my favourite of the wives.’
She joked: ‘I’m single, apart from the marriage to David. We are just friends in real life.
‘Whenever he gets a girlfriend I do say to her “I’m the wife, you’re the mistress”.’
Speaking of how school pupils are enthralled by his portrayal, he said: ‘Children are absolutely mesmerised when they see me. ‘Especially the younger years, years two and three. They are like “oh my god Henry VIII is here!”
Henry was married to Catherine for more than 20 years but strove to end their union when she failed to give birth to a surviving son
The pair are set to go to Italy together for a couple of weeks for a parade fair.
She added: ‘I love going to the events and meeting people. It is expensive but once you get into it, it is such a lovely thing talking to people and bringing the history to life and getting people interested in it.’
Ms Hanson believes that Catherine of Aragon, who was from Spain, is ‘really underrated’.
‘She is portrayed a lot as the woman who got in the way of this great love story between Henry and Anne,’ she said.
‘They were married nearly 24 years, she was pregnant six times. They had a great love story themselves which doesn’t really get told that much.
‘It gets overshadowed by Anne.’
She added: ‘They were so romantic together, there were so many stories about how much he loved her and the courtship.
‘That’s what really attracted me to her, the fact that she doesn’t get as much attention.’