A head teacher who has published his 100th novel has spoken about the research behind the book, which tells a dark tale of the period before the death of King Henry VIII.

Paul Doherty, head of Trinity Catholic High School in Woodford Green, hosted the launch of his milestone book at the school yesterday.

He gave a lecture on the research behind The Last of Days, which promises to lift the lid on the death of Britain’s most infamous monarch in 1547, whose corpse is alleged to have exploded inside its coffin.

The prolific writer and historian had his first book published in 1985, also about a sovereign’s demise, which was influenced by his Oxford doctorate on King Edmund II.

And Dr Doherty has underpinned The Last of Days with the same methodical research.

The head, awarded an OBE for services to education in January 2012, said: “The more I studied Henry the more I really began to dislike him.

“At this point in time he is in his 50s and weighs at least 25 stone. He is in very poor health. But his brain was still sharp and he was very, very dangerous.”

The novel explores the threat of rebellion in England amidst rumours of plots being concocted against the King’s life even as his health failed, the King being far from his prime, when he hunted game in Epping Forest.

Dr Doherty’s research unearthed documents on the King’s courtiers, whom the historian believes had plans to depose the monarch as his grip on power weakened.

He said: “The people surrounding Henry when he died were basically Mafioso. They were thugs.
“There’s some evidence that his own council, who are not pleasant men, were beginning to move against him.”

But he said the King was planning his own response to the threats, and added that the royal’s ego was beyond control.

Unusally for the time, and especially for the head of the Church of England, paintings of the King feature no religious iconography at all.

Dr Doherty said: “One of the formidable things was that Henry wasn’t finished. We tend to think of him as a reformer but I believe he was going down that very dangerous path of the Roman emperors.

“He thought of himself as God’s voice on earth. That’s what his mindset was. He was a very powerful man."

On writing his 100th book, the author added: "I just love telling stories, I’m delighted that people enjoy reading them.”

The Last of Days is published by Headline and is priced at £19.99.