Henry VIII's rage may have been caused by brain damage from jousting injury

A brain injury similar to the type suffered by American footballers is the best explanation for King Henry VIII's angry and impulsive behaviour, US researchers have suggested.

Researchers believe the Tudor King suffered brain damage from a jousting injury which changed his behaviour from even-tempered to erratic.

In the decade before his death in 1547, the Tudor King - who married six times and executed two of his wives - was afflicted by explosive anger, memory problems, impulsiveness, headaches, insomnia and even impotence.

One of the biggest disputes the monarch faced was his row with Catholic Church over his desire to annul his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon and marry Ann Boleyn.

ITV News Correspondent Nina Nannar reports:

Their findings, to be published in Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, support theories by some historians that jousting injuries caused later health problems.

The monarch's letters and historical sources were analysed to build a picture of his health of events that may have contributed to his ailments.

The king suffered two major head injuries during his 30s.

However, the researchers said Henry's erratic behaviour may have been triggered in 1536 by a jousting accident when a horse fell on him, causing him to lose consciousness for two hours.

Professor Salardini said: "Historians agree his behaviour changed after 1536."

He said descriptions of Henry during his youth portrayed an intelligent and even-tempered young man who made wise military and policy decisions.