Highlands Ranch High School - Mr. Sedivy
Highlands Ranch, Colorado

- World History -
National Monarchies: England
King Henry VIII

England

Henry VIII (1509 - 1547)
Henry VIII was the second Tudor King. He strengthened the crown by breaking away from the church.

King Henry VIII

Henry VIII was very religious; he went to Mass every day and spent his father's money on wars for the Catholic Church. Henry had a conflict with the Pope because he wanted an annulment of marriage from Catherine of Aragon. Henry VIII wanted a male heir and he was in love with Anne Boleyn, a "lady in waiting."

Henry VIII jousts before Catherine of Aragon to celebrate the birth
of their son, Henry. The young prince died ten days later.

His first duty was to produce heirs to the throne. Catherine hadn't produced a son that survived, so Henry decided that it was a sinful marriage, believing that all of this was a punishment from god (his wife and his brother). The Pope could not take any action and Catherine refused. She got her nephew, Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, to help her.

Left: Part of the letter Catherine of Aragon wrote to Henry when she
learned that he was going to divorce her. Click the letter for an enlargement.
Right: Writing Box of Henry VIII.

King Henry VIII breaks from the Pope and establishes The Church of England, or The Anglican Church. He granted a new archbishop of Canterbury, the highest church office in England, who granted Henry an annulment in 1533. Henry married Anne Boleyn. They had a girl; then a miscarriage. When she was found guilty of adultery, Anne Boleyn asked to be beheaded with a sword.

Left: Portrait of Anne Boleyn, by Frans Pourbus the younger.
Her marriage to Henry VIII only lasted for three years.
Right: Part of the letter Henry wrote to Anne Boleyn on his hopes for a divorce.
Click the letter for an enlargement.

Catherine of Aragon

Anne Boleyn

Jane Seymour

Then Henry married Jane Seymour. They have a son, but she dies in child birth. Then Henry married a German Princess, by proxy, Anne of Cleves. (butt ugly!)

Anne of Cleves

King Henry VIII said, "I will not marry a cow!" ... They never consummated the marriage.

Then Henry VIII married Catherine Howard - she had an affair and was beheaded. ... Then Catherine Parr.

Anne of Cleves

Catherine Howard

Catherine Parr

Henry, through Parliament, passed the "Act of Supremacy." The King was the head of the English Church (huge break from the past). Beliefs and practices stayed the same except for divorce.

"For Pope, Read King." Henry VIII seized spiritual authority from the papacy and assumed the title: "Head of the Church." In this woodcut, Henry rests his feet on the prostrate body of Pope Clement VII.

Henry got a lot of support because the people resented the high taxes of the Catholic Church (and they wanted to have fun). Those who disagreed were often executed. Sir Thomas More, a devout Catholic and student of the humanities, was killed for not accepting The Act of Supremacy.

Henry VIII opens Parliament in 1512. Henry is preceeded by the duke of Buckingham, carrying the cap of maintenance. Henry is follwed by the earl of Oxford, bearing the staff of the Lord Great Chamberlain.

Left: JOOS VAN CLEVE - Henry VIII at about the age of 44. The king is holding a scroll with a quote form St. Mark's gospel. Right: Henry VIII playing a celtic harp known as a clàrach. His villainous-looking companion is the court fool, Will Sommers. Henry was said to be very entertaining and an excellent mimic.

Left: SEBASTIAN GIUSTINIAN - Portrait of Henry VIII at age 29 in 1519.
Right: Henry's suit of armor, made towards the end of his life.

By the way, Henry did have a son, Edward VI, a Protestant. He was sickly and weak, and only ruled for six years (from ages 15-21). His sister, Mary I, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, was a Catholic who persecuted those who weren't Catholic. "Bloody Mary" married Philip II of Spain, a Catholic. After her death, Elizabeth I, daughter of Anne Boleyn, took over and returned England to Protestantism.

Left: SCHOOL OF HANS HOLBEIN - Portrait shows the King Henry VIII as
no longer the lithe, well-proportioned youth who succeeded to the throne in 1509.
Right: CORNELIS MASSYS - Henry VIII at the age of 53. This portrait eschews the
heroic in favor of candor. (the bald head and eyes lost in folds of fat)