Henry VIII, McLeod syndrome and Jacquetta’s curse

The mental decline of King Henry VIII from being a jovial, charismatic and
athletic young man into an increasingly paranoid, brutal tyrant in later life, ever more
concerned at his lack of one or more male heirs, has attracted many medical
diagnostic theories. Previous hypotheses have included diabetes, syphilis and
hypothyroidism, among others. However, these inadequately explain Henry’s failure
to produce a male heir, despite multiple pairings. The latest postulated diagnoses for