MBTI Type: ESTP

Charles is out to take advantage of everything has life to offer. He is fully aware of his environment and its potential for action, whether that includes physical sports or sexual conquests. He is rash and impulsive, and many of his decisions are made in the heat of the moment, which he feels regret over later (marrying Margaret and earning Henry’s wrath, cheating on his wife and making her unhappy, etc). Brandon greatly enjoys jousting, wrestling, playing squash, hunting, and anything else that engages his body and allows him to show off his superior skills. Optimistic and opportunistic, Charles does spend some time in deep reflection about his future life, and the future of England. He has no plan for his life but leaps on opportunities as they come along, most of which have a logical advantage to them (if he marries Margaret Tudor, not only does he get her, but their children will be in the line of succession). Brandon is an apt schemer, but leaves most of the direct planning to others. He is quick to act, and a capable leader on the battlefield, able to improvise the rules of war. With time and experience, he learns to be more cautious in his decisions and consider the impact they’ll have on his life. “You know me,” he tells a friend; “I don’t always think with my head.” Brandon is charming, witty, and a flirt, able to get women easily into the sack and only afterward, prone to feeling guilty for upsetting his wife about it. He is impacted by other people’s feelings, to the extent of his mind changing about them after repeated exposure to them (though he is at first antagonistic toward Katharine of Aragon, he comes to admire her; he tries to take down Cromwell only to be horrified at his botched execution; and the ghosts of those he ‘murdered’ for the king after the Pilgrimage of Grace haunt him to such an extent that he must unburden himself before his wife, by telling her what happened and how he felt about it). He is largely optimistic as he learns to craft a vision of what he wants and work toward it with steady determination. In time, he also learns how to predict Henry’s actions so that he can take advantage of his friends’ moods for the greater good.

Enneagram: 7w8 sp/sx

Brandon’s first wife accuses him of “loving another… and then another,” and meanwhile, overlooking the good thing in his life, which is her. True, Brandon is so often in pursuit of pleasures, of another high, another affair, another instant fix, that he doesn’t stop to think about what he’s running away from or admit to the problems he is causing at home. His own mistakes devastate him when he finally has to deal with the fact that his wife died, and he didn’t even know she was ill, because he was off sleeping around. He matures as the series progresses, becoming somewhat more faithful and willing to accept responsibility for his mistakes (integration to 5), but is still prone to “making his wife cry” with his choices. His 8 wing brings aggression; he admits “I don’t often think.” He’s quick to leap on opportunities.