Henry VIII (1491-1547) R. 1509-Death Henry was the 2nd Tudor King of England; Father was Henry VII (won the War of the Roses; created the Star Chamber to suppress the nobles; one of the New Monarchs) He was an intellectual, a humanist, a Renaissance man. He played instruments, composed, and sang. He played dice, hunted and jousted. He was quite the athlete and was over 6 ft. tall.

Ascends the throne in 1509 and in the same year, married Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, and aunt of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor

Catherine of Aragon Catherine had been married to Henry’s brother, who died prematurely. Usually, it was illegal to marry your brother’s widow, but Henry and Catherine received a special dispensation from the Pope (Clement VII) to secure this advantageous marriage. Clement VII was another Medici Pope. His uncle was Lorenzo de’ Medici and his cousin was Pope Leo X. Annulled

Unfortunately, for Henry, Catherine had a daughter, Mary Tudor, but no sons. The sons they did have died in childbirth. Henry was a rather superstitious man who had Old Testament sensibilities. In the OT, having a wife unable to bare a son was often seen as a punishment or curse from God for committing some kind of grave sin. Henry believed that marrying his brother’s widow was that sin and therefore, he believed his marriage to be invalid or at least that the Pope’s previous dispensation had been invalid.

The Pope had been rather liberal in granting annulments but by that time, Charles V had sacked Rome and was exerting a great amount of pressure on the Pope. Since Catherine was Charles’ aunt, he was not about to encourage the Pope to grant Henry an annulment. He also could not say that their marriage had been invalid. It lasted for 18 years and was okayed by Pope Julius II.

Cardinal Wolsey, one of Henry’s advisors failed to get the annulment and so was fired. Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer became Henry’s new trusted advisors and gave him the idea of becoming the Head of the Church of England Sad because Henry had been named Defender of the Faith not that long ago for defending the Catholic view of transubstantiation against Luther; religiously, not opposed to the Catholic Church 1533 “Annulled” the marriage with Catherine, secretly married Anne of Boleyn with Cromwell as officiant (Archbishop of Canterbury) and then officially married her, at which point she was already pregnant with Elizabeth; Mary declared illegimate

1535- It was a law that every male had to affirm the act of Supremacy or else it was treason/blasphemy. Part of unifying England and exerting power over people. Thomas More, Catholic lawyer and one of Henry’s advisors disagreed with the Act of Succession and the Act of Supremacy. Practiced civil disobedience and was executed. 1536, dissolved monasteries and convents AP

Anne of Boleyn Beheaded for treason and adultery; Elizabeth declared illegitimate

Jane Seymour Died in Childbirth 1537 Gave birth to Edward VI; Henry legitimately sad at her passing In the meantime, Henry engaged in a campaign against idolatry and homosexuality. Destroyed icons and religious art and crucifixes. Old Testament King

Anne of Cleves 1539 Cromwell recommended; Annulled and died naturally Best story- resembled a horse. Only married for 6 months. Marriage never consummated; moved on from that quickly; Cromwell executed for giving bad advice 25 1539 Same year that he wrote Six Articles- discuss; still very Catholic. Again, political not religious

Catherine Howard 17 years old; 1540 (same day Cromwell executed, married Catherine) Beheaded for adultery 1542.

Family photo

Catherine Parr Died Naturally 1543- Henry was 3rd husband and would marry once more after his death 4 years later. Was quite adept and a learned humanist woman. Henry gave her political control for when he was away from the throne. He died in 1547 due to obesity. His waist was 53 inches, and he had to be moved about with mechanical inventions. He had gotten wounded in the leg while jousting in 1536, which prevented him from exercising like usual. The wound also never healed properly, which also could have led to his physical decline. He was succeeded by Edward VI, his son, who was only 10 at the time. We will talk about what happened there later.