Henry VIII
Henricus VIII
King of England · King of Ireland · Supreme Head of the Church of England · Defender of the Faith
1491 – 1547
Biography
Inherited at seventeen the secure throne his father had built, and spent thirty-eight years remaking England in pursuit of a male heir. His break from Rome to annul his first marriage produced the Church of England, the dissolution of the monasteries, and the most consequential political-religious settlement in English history. Six marriages, two divorces, two executions, the death of one wife, and one survivor produced three legitimate children — all of whom would in turn wear the crown.
Events
The Act of Supremacy, passed by Parliament in November 1534, declared Henry VIII supreme head of the Church of England and severed jurisdictional ties with Rome. The break originated in Henry's refusal to accept Pope Clement VII's denial of his annulment from Catherine of Aragon and his determination to marry Anne Boleyn; it produced the dissolution of the English monasteries, the seizure of perhaps a fifth of the kingdom's wealth, and the foundation of the Anglican church.
Also there: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn
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