BBC History - Henry VIII Henry VIII Henry VIII Henry VIII is one of the most famous kings in English history. He was the second Tudor monarch and was well-known for having six wives. His break with the papacy in Rome established the Church of England and began the Reformation. Image: Henry VIII (1491–1547) by Hans Holbein the younger (Getty Images) More information about: Henry VIII Henry, the second son of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was born on 28 June 1491 at Greenwich Palace. After the death of his elder brother Arthur in 1502, Henry became heir to the English throne. King of England When Henry VII died in 1509, this popular eighteen-year-old prince, known for his love of hunting and dancing, became King Henry VIII. Soon after he obtained the papal dispensation required to allow him to marry his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon. In the first years of his reign Henry VIII effectively relied on Thomas Wolsey to rule for him, and by 1515 Henry had elevated him to the highest role in government: Lord Chancellor.

In 1521 Pope Leo X conferred the title of Defender of the Faith on Henry for his book 'Assertio Septem Sacramentorum', which affirmed the supremacy of the Pope in the face of the reforming ideals of the German theologian, Martin Luther. Military might Henry VIII's early military campaigns began when he joined Pope Julius II's Holy League against France in 1511. Wolsey proved himself to be an outstanding minister in his organisation of the first French campaign and while the Scots saw this war as an opportunity to invade England, they were defeated at Flodden in 1513. However war with France ultimately proved expensive and unsuccessful. Henry VIII is known as the 'father of the Royal Navy.' When he became king there were five royal warships. By his death he had built up a navy of around 50 ships. He refitted several vessels with the latest guns including the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545. Henry also built the first naval dock in Britain at Portsmouth and in 1546 he established the Navy Board. This set up the administrative machinery for the control of the fleet.

A male heir Henry was acutely aware of the importance of securing a male heir during his reign. He was worried that he had only one surviving child, Mary, to show for his marriage to Catherine, who was now in her 40s. So the king asked Cardinal Wolsey to appeal to Pope Clement VII for an annulment and it soon became clear he wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, who had been a lady-in-waiting to his first wife. But, unwilling to anger Catherine of Aragon's nephew – the most powerful ruler in Europe, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V – the Pope refused. Thomas Wolsey's ascendancy was cut short by this failure. In 1533, Henry VIII broke with the church and married the now pregnant Anne Boleyn in a secret ceremony. Henry was excommunicated by the Pope. The English reformation had begun. Head of the Church After Wolsey's downfall, Thomas Cromwell became Henry's chief minister and earned the confidence of the King by helping him to break with Rome and establish Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. This act also brought him much needed wealth through the dissolution of the well-funded monasteries.

Over four years Cromwell ordered that 800 monasteries be disbanded and their lands and treasures taken for the crown. The cultural and social impact was significant, as much of the land was sold to the gentry and churches and monasteries were gutted and destroyed. Henry's personal religious beliefs remained Catholic, despite the growing number of people at court and in the nation who had adopted Protestantism. Anne Boleyn In September 1533 Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth I). Henry had grown tired of her, and after two further pregnancies ended in miscarriages, she was arrested in 1536 on trumped up charges of adultery and publicly beheaded at the Tower of London. Henry's third marriage, this time to lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour, finally produced the son he so desperately desired with the birth of Edward in 1537. Jane Seymour died after childbirth and Henry ordered that she be granted a queen's funeral. In an attempt to establish ties with the German Protestant alliance, Thomas Cromwell arranged a marriage between the king and German princess Anne of Cleves. The marriage was a disaster and Henry divorced Anne a few months later.

Henry blamed Cromwell for this mismatch and soon afterwards had him executed for treason. Final Years The final years of his reign witnessed Henry VIII's physical decline and an increasing desire to appear all-powerful. Henry continued with fruitless and expensive campaigns against Scotland and France. In 1540, the aging King married the teenage Catherine Howard. Their marriage was short lived. It was alleged that she had a previous relationship with Henry's courtier Francis Dereham and an affair with another courtier Thomas Culpeper. Catherine was executed for adultery and treason in 1542. Henry's final marriage to Catherine Parr, who acted like a nurse, was more harmonious and she would go on to outlive him. Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547 and was succeeded by his son, Edward VI. He was buried next to Jane Seymour in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. What year did Henry VIII become king? | Reference.com What year did Henry VIII become king? A: Quick Answer Henry VIII became King of England on April 21, 1509. His coronation took place on June 24, 1509, and he reigned until his death on Jan.

28, 1547. Full Answer Though he was not the first son of Henry VII, Henry VIII became the heir to the throne when his elder brother Arthur died in 1507. Henry VII died in 1509, and the crown passed to his 17-year-old son, Henry VIII. During his long reign, Henry VIII made many important changes in English society. He began to steer the Church of England on an independent course, throwing off the authority of the pope and confiscating land belonging to the monasteries. He also began to build up the navy, setting the stage for English naval dominance over the next few centuries. When he died, his son Edward VI succeeded him. Henry VIII St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle If a lion knew his strength, it were hard for any man to hold him. - Sir Thomas More of Henry VIII Prince Henry Henry Tudor, named after his father, Henry VII , was born by Elizabeth of York June 28, 1491 in Greenwich Palace . Since he was the second son, and not expected to become king, we know little of his childhood until the death of his older brother Arthur, Prince of Wales .

We know that Henry attended the wedding celebrations of Arthur and his bride, Catherine of Aragon , in November 1501 when he was 10 years old. Shortly after the wedding, Arthur and Catherine went to live in Wales, as was tradition for the heir to the throne. But, four months after the marriage began, it ended, with Arthur's death. A treaty was signed that would allow Catherine to marry the next heir to the throne -- Prince Henry. Until then, Catherine's parents, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain would send over 100,000 crowns worth of plate and gold as a wedding gift and Henry would pay the agreed upon dowry. It was deemed necessary for a papal dispensation to be issued allowing Henry to marry Catherine, as she was his dead brother's wife, and this marriage was prohibited in Leviticus. At the time, and throughout her life, Catherine denied that her marriage to Arthur had even been consummated (and given the boy's health, that is most likely the case) so no dispensation was needed. However, both the parties in Spain and England wanted to be sure of the legitimacy of the marriage, so permission from the pope was sought and received.

This issue would be very important during the Divorce and the Break with Rome. The marriage still did not take place however. Henry VII had been slow to pay his part of the arrangement and her parents were refusing to send the marriage portion of plate and gold. The stalemate continued until Henry VII died on April 22, 1509 and his son became Henry VIII. Henry was just shy of 18 years old when he became king, and had been preparing for it from the time of his older brother Arthur's death. At this age, he was not the image that we usually call to mind when we hear the name Henry VIII. He was not the overweight and ill man of his later years. In his youth, he was handsome and athletic. He was tall and had a bright red-gold cap of hair and beard, a far cry from the fat, balding and unhealthy man that is often remembered Henry's marital career is probably the thing that he is most known for. The story of Henry's wives is told on their own pages. The Young King Shortly after becoming king, Henry VIII took Catherine of Aragon as his bride on 11 June 1509.

He inherited £1.5 million pounds from his father and succeeded in the first peaceful transition of power after the Wars of the Roses. Henry brought a youth and vigor to the Court that had long been lacking and Henry dreamed of glory beyond the hunt and joust. Catherine of Aragon gave birth to their first child, a son named Henry after his father, in January 1511. The child died two months later, and was destined to be the first of many unhappy births the couple would suffer. Henry consoled himself by going to war against France, hoping to emulate his ancestors Edward III and Henry V. Henry met with some success in France, but while he was distracted on the Continent, his Scottish brother-in-law James IV used the opportunity to attack. Thomas Howard , Earl of Surrey led the English forces against James and defeated the Scots army at the Battle of Flodden Field. James was killed, leaving his infant son as the new king James V and Henry VIII's sister Margaret a widow. By 1514, Thomas Wolsey had risen to power in Henry's court and was to eventually rival Henry himself in wealth and opulance.

He built Hampton Court Palace , which he eventually "gave" to Henry as a gift as he began to fall from power in the 1520s. [To be continued... eventually. Yes, I know I keep promising that, but Henry is proving difficult to write about!] BBC History - Henry VII Henry VII Henry VII Henry VII ended the dynastic wars known as the Wars of the Roses, founded the Tudor dynasty and modernised England's government and legal system. Image: King Henry VII of England (Getty Images) More information about: Henry VII Henry Tudor was born on 28 January 1457 in Pembroke, Wales. His father, Edmund Tudor, had died two months earlier and his mother, Margaret Beaufort, was just thirteen. Henry was born into a country divided by conflict. He belonged to one branch of the Plantagenet Royal Family, the House of Lancaster, who were fighting another branch, the House of York, for control of the throne – the so-called Wars of the Roses. Henry’s mother Margaret was a descendant of Edward III, which gave Henry a real, although tenuous, claim to the throne.

Mindful of Henry's vulnerability, Margaret entrusted her son to the care of his uncle, Jasper Tudor. When Henry was 14, Edward IV won power for the House of York in the Battle of Tewkesbury. Many Lancastrians died or were executed as a result of the battle. Jasper fled with Henry to France. Claim to the English Throne Edward IV died in 1483, leaving his wife, Elizabeth Woodville (the 'White Queen') a widow. His brother Richard usurped the throne from his 12-year-old nephew Edward V, making himself Richard III. Henry was now the leading Lancastrian claimant to the English crown, and saw his support grow. He promised his supporters that if he became king he would marry Edward IV's daughter, Elizabeth of York; a move that would unite the warring houses of York and Lancaster, the opposing sides in the Wars of the Roses. The Battle of Bosworth In 1485, Henry landed at Milford Haven. He marched across Wales and England to meet Richard III's forces at the Battle of Bosworth Field in Leicestershire.

In the battle Richard III was killed and Henry was crowned King Henry VII at the top of Crown Hill, near the village of Stoke Golding. Having secured parliamentary recognition of his title as King of England he married Elizabeth of York thus uniting the House of Lancaster and the House of York. He adopted the Tudor rose as the emblem of England, combining the white rose of York with the red rose of Lancaster to symbolise an end to the dynastic war. Consolidated Power Henry VII's grip on power was far from secure. His claim to the throne was shaky and he was plagued by plots and conspiracies. He consolidated his position with a treaty with France that opened up trade between the two countries. His most important treaty was the 'Magnus Intercursus' or 'Great Intercourse', signed with the Netherlands, securing England's textile exports. In 1503 he arranged the marriage of his daughter, Margaret Tudor, to James IV of Scotland in order to secure peace between the two countries. The marriage meant that James IV's descendants would have a claim to the English throne. Henry also secured a marriage between his eldest son, Arthur, and the Spanish princess, Catherine of Aragon, in 1501.

But in 1502 the 15-year-old Arthur Tudor died suddenly at Ludlow Castle, leaving Catherine a widow and making his younger brother, Henry, the new heir to the throne. It was suggested that Catherine should marry the young Henry instead, but this wasn't agreed upon during Henry VII's lifetime due to wrangling over Catherine's dowry. Tudor State Henry VII rebuilt the royal finances by avoiding war, promoting trade and enforcing royal taxes to the point of ruthlessness. This meant he was able to leave a fortune to his son, the future Henry VIII. Henry VII began the work of building a modern administration. The Royal Council was reborn as the Court of Star Chamber, set up to deal with judicial matters. Arrangements were made to promote better order in Wales and the north through the creation of special councils and more powers were entrusted to the justices of the peace. The combined impact of Henry VII's reforms would increase significantly the power of the King and open the way for medieval rule, with its local law and customs, to be gradually supplanted by a more centralised Tudor state. Death Henry VII died of tuberculosis on 21 April 1509 and was buried at Westminster Abbey.

He left a safe throne, a solvent government and a prosperous and reasonably united country. Henry VII was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII. About Henry VIII TUDOR (King of England) Six Wives and Tungsten Wedding Bands Married 2: Anne BOLEYN (M. Pembroke/Queen of England) 25 Jan 1533, London, England ANNULMENT 1536 Children: 12. Henry TUDOR (D. Cornwall) (b. Jul 1534) 13. Son TUDOR (b.

29 Jan 1536) Married 3: Jane SEYMOUR (Queen of England) 20 May 1536, York Place, England Children: Married 4: Anne of CLEVES (Queen of England) 6 Jan 1540, Greenwich, England ANNULMENT 1540 Married 5: Catherine HOWARD (Queen of England) 28 Jul 1540, Oatlands Palace/ Hampton Court Palace, Richmond, England Married 6: Catherine PARR (Queen of England) 12 Jul 1543, Hampton Court Palace, Richmond, England Henry VIII attributed to Hans Eworth c. 1545 Bridgeman Art Library, London See him at The King Gallery Henry VII and Elizabeth of York , were loving parents, although they saw little of their children. Henry, their second son, was styled the Duke of York. He had his own servants and minstrels, and a fool named John Goose. He even had a whipping boy who was punished when Henry did something wrong. Henry VII loved entertainers, and the court attracted acrobats, jesters, magicians and musicians.

Prince Henry enjoyed music and grew up to be an accomplished musician (although he did not write "Greensleeves," as legend suggests). At the age of 10 he could play many instruments, including the fife, harp, viola and drums. Henry's older brother Arthur married a Spanish princess, Catalina De Aragon , when he was fifteen. Prince Arthur danced at his wedding and seemed to be in good health, but within a few months he was dead. Some historians think Arthur had tuberculosis. Or he may have had plague or sweating sickness . Young Henry was now heir to the throne. While his father was alive he was watched so closely that he might have been a girl., because the King feared for the safety of his only remaining male heir. He could go out only through a private door, and then he was under the supervision of specially appointed people. No one could speak to him. He spent most of his time in his room, which could only be entered via the King 's chamber. He never spoke in public unless it was to answer a question from his father. Henry was a very tall, athletic, handsome teenager. He kept his exuberant personality under control on public occasions because he feared his father's temper.

He received little training for his future role as King, and would rely heavily on his counselors in the early years of his reign. In 1509 Henry VII died of tuberculosis and his son became King Henry VIII. He was 17. The first ten weeks of the reign, his grand mother, lady Margaret , acted as a regent, until he came on age. Twenty six Knights of the Bath were made on 22 Jun, and Henry and his wife were crowned on Sunday 24, the day of St. John, at Westminster Abbey.Henry VIII ascended a throne which his father had made remarkably secure, he inherited a fortune which probably no English King had ever been bequeathed, he came to a kingdom which was the best governed and most obedient in Christendom. Although most people today think of Henry VIII as a fat tyrant, in his youth he was admired for his intelligence, good looks, good nature and athletic ability. One of his contemporaries wrote that he was "one of the goodliest men that lived in his time, in manners more than a man, most amiable, courteous and benign in gesture unto all persons".

But of course, Henry is remembered today for just one thing - well, six things. Six wives, to be exact. The first was: Catalina De Aragon . It may surprise you to learn that Henry VIII was married to his first wife for over 20 years, and for a long time they were happy together. Catalina , daughter of Fernando and Isabel of Spain, was five years older and much more sedate than the King. She was interested in politics and Henry often turned to her for advice. In 1513 she ruled as regent while Henry was campaigning in France. Although Catalina was pregnant many times, only one of her children, Princess Mary , survived. Henry was a doting father and didn't seem to blame Catalina for her failure to bear healthy sons. Henry is only known to have had two mistresses during his marriage to Catalina , which made him a reasonably faithful husband by the standards of the time. Catalina knew of his affairs but kept silent. On 28 May 1510, Luis Caroz, Spanish Ambassador, wrote an account, which seems to derive from court gossip. Is the only one to refer to this incident.

He reported that two sisters of the Duke of Buckingham , both married, lived in the palace; one of them is the favourite of the Queen , and the other, it is said, is much liked by the King, who went after her. Another version is that the love intrigues were not of the King, but of a young man, his favourite, William Compton , who carried on the love intrigue for the King. Buckingham had two sisters: Anne , wife of Sir George Hastings, later Earl of Huntingdon, and Elizabeth, wife of Robert Ratcliffe, Lord FitzWalter, were both ladies-in-waiting to Queen Catalina . It is not clear from this account which of them was the object of the King's affections and which the informer, but Compton is known to have lived for a time in an adulterous relationship with Lady Hastings , and at Compton he later founded a chantry where prayers were said daily for her soul and those of his family members, so it is reasonable to suppose that it was she who was at the centre of this scandal. According to Caroz's account, though, it sounds very much as if Compton at this stage was acting as a go-between for the King and the lady.

Caroz thought so, and had this not been the case, the Queen would surely not have reacted so angrily, even though she would naturally have been upset at a close attendant being so publicly disgraced, since it reflected upon her own honour and reputation. The fact that her ladies were going about the court spying on the King suggests that Catalina had already had her suspicions. The Stafford affair taught Catalina a humiliating lesson, that it was useless to remonstrate with her husband in such cases. Like many men of his time, Henry regarded it as his prerogative to pursue other ladies, while at the same time expecting his wife to stay chaste, and she soon realised that, in order to preserve her dignity and avoid mortifying public rows, she should shut her eyes to his extramarital affairs and be grateful that he did not shame her by flaunting them. That there were affairs we cannot doubt. Although the pieces of evidence are fractional, taken as a whole they are overwhelming.

In 1515 Giustinian described Henry as being "free from every vice", yet in that same year a French Ambassador in Rome stated that the King was "a youngling [who] cares for nothing but girls and hunting and wastes his father's patrimony" --much to the distress of the English Ambassador at the Vatican, who thought such words disrespectful to his sovereign. About this time, a Venetian Ambassador wrote a description of Henry VIII. George Wyatt, the grandson of Sir Thomas Wyatt , Henry's court poet, refers to the King abandoning his pursuit of a lady when his friend Sir Francis Bryan revealed an interest in her. Henry may also have enjoyed the favours of Bryan 's gorgeous sister Elizabeth, who was married to an-other favoured courtier, Sir Nicholas Carew ; the King gave her "many beautiful diamonds and pearls and innumerable jewels" that were, strictly speaking, the property of the Queen.48 When, sometime before 1528, the King had an affair with the volatile Mrs.

Amadas, wife of Robert Amadas, the Master of his Jewel House, that lady, who was given to tantrums and strange visions, made no secret of the fact that William Compton had made his house in Thames Street available for their trysts -a circumstance that gives credence to Caroz's assertion that Compton had acted for Henry in the Stafford affair. It is important to remember that during Henry's reign, at least half of his subjects were under the age of eighteen. Henry's court swarmed with young people - pages, scullery maids, and the like. English culture celebrated youth; tournaments, hunts, glorious warfare - these were all the province of the young and strong. And while Henry was young, he joined these events with a gusto sadly lacking in his father or son. But time does not stop, not even for a despotic monarch determined to have his way in all things. During his 'great matter', Henry was in his thirties and changing from 'Bluff King Hal' into an overweight and balding hypochondriac. He had rid himself of Rome to gain wealth and a son. He did both and, once he had, continually toyed with the idea of making peace with the Pope.

He didn't relish being excommunicated and it is likely that he persuaded himself that he wasn't disobeying Christ's vicar but, rather, the Emperor's puppet. But still young, athletic and handsome in 1518, he looked at a young maid of honour of his Queen , pretty Elizabeth Blount , daughter of a minor branch of the house of Lord Mountjoy . All the evidence suggests that this was not an affair of any duration, only a short liaison with an unexpectedly pleasant result. Elizabeth fell pregnant and gave the King a baby, his first boy, born around Jun of 1519 at the Priory of St. Lawrence at Blackmore, near Chelmsford in Essex. The child was baptized Henry , and he was given the surname of Fitzroy (King son) It is thought that Elizabeth Blount had been replaced in the kingï¿½s bed by "mistress Parker". That could be Arabella Parker, the wife of a city merchant, or Margery Parker, who had been part of Princes Mary ï¿½s household since 1516. After these came Mary Boleyn .

The affair was brief, ending in mid-1525 (probably Jul). On 4 Mar 1526, Mary gave birth to a son, called Henry. He was widely assumed to be the king's son. He physically resembled the King, a fact often remarked upon. In 1535, for example, a man called 'young Master Carey' the king's son. If Henry Carey was also his son, why didn't Henry do the same for him as for Henry Fitzroy ? The answer lies in his determination to divorce Catalina de Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn , the child's aunt. It is likely that even Henry VIII would have been too embarrassed to recognize his bastard son by his fiancee's younger sister. Bewitched by Anne 's sparkling black eyes, long dark hair and vivacious personality, the King began scheming to end his marriage to Catalina . He claimed that it had never really been a marriage because she had been his brother's wife. Catalina insisted that her first marriage didn't count because it hadn't been consummated, and church authorities agreed. For years Henry struggled unsuccessfully to have his marriage annulled.

In the end, determined to have his way, he broke free of the Catholic Church, established the Church of England, banished Catalina from court, had his first marriage declared invalid, and married Anne Boleyn . In terms of the practical effect the reformation had on everyday Englishmen, the situation is more difficult to gauge. Unlike the wealthy noblemen, they couldn't bid on the seized monastic properties. And in many towns and villages, the parish church was the community center, where births, weddings, and deaths were officiated over by a priest. But they undoubtedly enjoyed not paying their tax to Rome. Once again, a paradox emerged - an excommunicated nation which found itself torn between loyalty to the sovereign and loyalty to the papacy. Also, since Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn could only be recognized if one accepted his annulment from Catalina - which in itself meant a rejection of papal authority - and it was treason to not recognize his marriage to Anne , then many people were swayed by the threat of execution. In other words, accept Henry's decisions or die. There was opposition to the reformation which probably had more to do with the attendant loss of independence in north England.

In 1536, a northern uprising which came to be called the Pilgrimage of Grace , gathered over 40,000 men and marched through England. It eventually destroyed itself by internal division and lack of clear purpose but one of the rebels' demands was a warning for Cromwell - they want their King to be advised by noble councilors who understand the people's wishes, not common men like Cromwell . Henry was angry at their presumption - how dare his ignorant subjects rebel and then tell him how to run the country! - but he was persuaded to show mercy and pardon those involved. And he continued to listen to Cromwell . The Pilgrimage was largely motivated not by religious concerns but by Cromwell 's determination to dissolve the monasteries and improve the royal tax collecting methods. With no standing military force, taxes were greatly needed for military loans to pay the dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk to respond to the rebel threat. For example, the movement began in Louth, in Lincolnshire, and began with the murder of two tax collectors, one of whom was hanged and the other sewn into a sack and thrown to a pack of hungry dogs!

So the common people might grumble somewhat but they were ultimately more influenced by practical matters. Had Henry's excommunication been followed by a terrible harvest or bad weather, it may have been otherwise. During his daughter Mary 's reign, such signs were taken to mean God was angry with her for attempting to reinstate Catholicism. But not only did Henry have good weather, he had a brilliant servant. Cromwell was the one who gave force to Henry's grand declarations. The King declared that Rome had no authority in England and Cromwell instituted the reforms which would make it so. The King declared that all monastic lands were forfeit and Cromwell set out to close the monasteries, assess their value, and sell them to the highest bidder. For a decade, this partnership worked marvelously. Also, Henry and Cromwell both recognized a fundamental truth of the English people - don't upset their traditional religious views. Certainly Henry did not upset his own. They omitted the name of the Pope in their prayers but not much else. Henry's break with Rome was really a legal reformation rather than one of real religious content. England practiced Catholicism without a Pope and, in his place, was their King. This situation suited Cromwell .

Like many, he recognized that the Church had lost its way, remaining a ponderous medieval institution concerned with wealth and influence. But Europe was no longer medieval - countries were becoming nation-states, patriotic and immune to the cultural unity which Rome promoted. The Pope envisioned a collection of nations joined beneath the cloak of Christendom with him at its head; but, particularly in xenophobic England, there were mutterings that the church was dominated by other nations. Also, the church claimed authority over its subjects; no priest or cleric could be tried by their sovereign nation. They would answer only to Rome. This problem had angered Henry II centuries before and resulted in Thomas Becket's murder. In Henry's time, it had grown worse. Also, as King, he believed himself ruler of all his subjects, priest and commoner alike. One must also mention the corruption of the church, sadly evident to everyone. Certainly there were Godly men who struggled to enforce the tenets of their faith. But there were also bishops and cardinals more interested in business and finance than theology.

The church preached that the surest path to heaven was through good works, particularly at a monastery or abbey; but every Englishmen knew that only the wealthy could afford to endow or board at them. Furthermore, an increasing number of churchmen were absent from their posts. Cardinal Wolsey embodied this avaricious streak; he was Bishop, Archbishop, abbot, and cardinal yet the affairs of state kept him from his duties. Instead of tending to his flock, he tended to his purse. He sired illegitimate children and collected nearly 50,000 pds a year from his vast holdings. Wolsey represented the church as it had become; certainly such abuses may not have turned most Englishmen from their faith. But when confronted with the forces of Protestantism, the church found precious few willing to die for their beliefs. After all, why would anyone die for a faith they didn't respect? When the King styled himself head of the church, many were perhaps relieved. Henry made no claim to a holy life, not like the churchman Wolsey ; he also was shrewd enough to endow his monarchy with papal apparatus.

From the 1530s on, the Tudor dynasty was even more divine and the machinery of state could enforce its divinity. Queen Anne was crowned in Jun 1533. Later that year she gave birth to her only surviving child, Elizabeth . The years of waiting had been hard on Anne . She was in her thirties now, moody and sharp tongued, and Henry was falling out of love with her. She had friends at court, but also many enemies. She had brought about the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey , who died in 1530, and she also plotted against Catalina of Aragon and her daughter Mary . Catalina died on 7 Jan 1536, and Anne rejoiced. She was pregnant again, and if she gave birth to a healthy son her position as Queen would be secure. But on the day of Catalina 's funeral Anne found the King with one of her maids of honor, Jane Seymour , sitting on his knee. She became hysterical and had a miscarriage. "She has miscarried of her savior," the Spanish Ambassador wrote. In May Anne was arrested and charged with having affairs with five men, including her own brother George .

The charges were false, but Anne and all of the men were convicted and sentenced to death. On 19 May 1536, Anne Boleyn was beheaded. And on 30 May Henry VIII married his third wife: Jane Seymour . After their marriage Jane remained quietly obedient to Henry. Once she fell on her knees in public and begged the King to change one of his policies. This did not go over well with the King, and Jane never tried it again. In Oct 1537 Jane gave birth to a son, Edward . Twelve days later she died. Henry grieved for her, but he also began looking for a new wife. This time he wanted to make a politically advantageous marriage. Cromwell 's rise to power was directly connected to the fall of Catholicism in England and he wanted to keep England on the path of Protestantism. Therefore, he sought a Protestant ally for Henry VIII. Naturally, his gaze turned to the Protestant states of Germany, birthplace of the Lutheran revolution. Meanwhile, Henry VIII was concerned with more aesthetic matters, sending artists (namely, Hans Holbein the Younger) to France and Milan to paint potential brides.

Among those painted was Christina, duchess of Milan (niece of the Holy Roman Emperor); she famously remarked that she would be happy to marry Henry - if she had two heads! Henry also considered Marie de Guise, a widowed cousin of the French King; Marie, however, chose to marry Henry's nephew, James V of Scotland, thus creating a French-Scottish alliance along Henry's troublesome northern border. (Their only child is famous in history as the tragic Mary Queen of Scots ). Cromwell was well aware that - as seemed likely - if France and the Holy Roman Empire ended hostilities, England would be left out in the cold. So he was quite happy when the French and Imperial marriage negotiations fell apart. But as the search wound on, Henry became increasingly desperate for a wife. No doubt he was lonely; also, his court needed a Queen to be complete. A King was not meant to be a bachelor, as every European monarch knew. Finally, Cromwell found a Protestant ally with two available sisters - the Duke of Cleves, whose lands were strategically located and wealthy. He had two sisters not yet wed - Anne and Amelia.

As the eldest, Anne was chosen as the possible bride - and Holbein immediately went to Cleves to paint her portrait . This painting would become of paramount importance in the coming year. Henry was determined to have a beautiful wife and specifically asked his various Ambassadors probing questions - does Marie de Guise have wide hips for childbearing? is Christina of Milan pock-marked? does Anne of Cleves play the lute? Holbein's famous portrait of Anne cannot be adequately judged in our time - after all, standards of beauty have changed. However, it is amusing to note that she (rumored to be the ugliest of Henry's wives) is the most attractive by twentieth-century standards. The royal women of Europe were understandably reluctant to marry him, and it was two years before Henry VIII became betrothed to his fourth wife: Anne of Cleves . Henry approved of her portrait, so in 1539 a marriage treaty was signed and Anne set sail for England. When she arrived Henry was so eager to see her that he raced to where she was staying and burst in upon her unannounced.

Anne didn't speak English, didn't know who this fat stranger was, and was busy watching something out the window, so she more or less ignored Henry. The king's pride was wounded. "I like her not!" he told all and sundry. He found her ugly - downright repulsive - and the last thing he wanted to do was marry her. But Henry couldn't wriggle out of his treaty with Cleves. The wedding took place on 6 Jan 1540 with the groom protesting every step of the way. Poor Anne of Cleves - barely able to speak English, in a foreign land, and despised by her intended husband! The confused woman was led to a private marriage ceremony at Greenwich and, then, to her equally humiliating marriage-bed. The union was not consummated, a subject which Henry was firm upon - he spoke openly of how disgusted he was ('struck to the heart' by distaste, he 'left her as good a maid as he found her'.) They lay together for the entire length of their marriage but were never physically intimate. At first Anne had no idea that her husband was displeased with her.

She told her ladies, "Why, when he comes to bed he kisseth me, and taketh me by the hand, and biddeth me 'Good night, sweetheart.'" Her ladies had to tell her that this wasn't enough to cause a pregnancy.After a few months had passed, the French-Imperial alliance showed signs of cooling and Henry's natural boldness had returned. He wanted out of this fourth marriage - and told Cromwell to arrange it. Eventually Anne learned that her husband wished to be rid of her. She was shrewd enough to realize that her life was in danger. To Henry's amazement, she cooperated with his desire to have the marriage annulled. Relieved, he gave her money and property and treated her very well. Anne remained in England, and never remarried. Henry called her his sister and often invited her to court. She outlived Henry and was certainly the most fortunate of his wives. Less than twenty days after his marriage to Anne of Cleves ended, Henry married his fifth wife: Catherine Howard . Henry saw her as perfect and unspoiled, a "rose without a thorn". But Catherine had secrets.

Several years earlier she'd had an affair with a man named Francis Dereham and promised to marry him. She had also been involved with her music teacher, Thomas Culpepper, and as Queen she resumed her relationship with him. In time, of course, her infidelity was discovered and she was arrested. In Dec 1541 Dereham and Culpepper were executed. Catherine Howard was beheaded in Feb 1542. Henry was horrified and heartbroken, but he had not given up on matrimony . The following year he married his sixth and final wife: Catherine Parr . Henry was old and ill now, and Catherine was as much a nurse to him as a wife. She was good to his children and helped him reconcile with Catalina de Aragon 's daughter Mary . But Catherine 's keen intellect and radical religious views placed her in danger. She argued with Henry about religion and he angrily ordered her arrest. Learning of this, Catherine took to her bed crying, which so distressed Henry that he cancelled the arrest warrant. After that Catherine took care not to dispute with the King. Henry VIII died on 28 Jan 1547.

His coffin, lying at Syon on its way to Windsor for burial, burst open during the night and in the morning dogs were found licking up the remains. This was regarded as a divine judgement for his desecration of the abbey. For a king who could have singlehandedly kept the tungsten wedding bands industry in business, Henry VIII is one of England's most memorable monarchs. Six wives and wedding bands notwithstanding, there are many other fascinating aspects of his reign. Why did Henry VIII change the religion of England? | Reference.com Why did Henry VIII change the religion of England? A: Quick Answer Henry VIII changed the religion of England because the Catholic church would not grant him a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. When Pope Clement VII refused to grant a special dispensation to annul the marriage, Henry got the Archbishop of Canterbury to comply and declared himself head of the church. Full Answer Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon in 1509, but by the 1520s, the king still lacked a male heir. Henry decided he wanted the marriage annulled, using the argument that since Catherine had been his brother's widow, it had been a union in violation of the laws of the Bible and should be annulled.

However, Pope Julius II had given Henry a papal dispensation to be married in the first place, so Pope Clement VII refused to contradict that dispensation and declare the marriage invalid. An enraged Henry secured his divorce from a friendly Archbishop and then moved against the entire religious establishment. Henry used the Statute of Praemunire, an act passed in 1392 that forbade allegiance to foreign rulers or the Pope, to demand loyalty from the clergy in England. He demanded a massive payment in exchange for a "pardon" of their crimes, and in the process had himself declared the head of the church. Over the remainder of his reign, Henry steadily destroyed the Roman Catholic church's power in England and established a new faith.

Question: In which year did Henry VIII become King of England?
Answer: 1509