Date of Birth: June 28, 1491
Died: January 28, 1547
Reigned: 1509-1547
Parents: Henry VII (1457-1509) & Elizabeth of York (1466-1503)
Spouse: Catherine d'Argon (m. 1509-1533), Anne Boleyn (m.1533-1536), Jane Seymour (m. 1536-1537), Anne of Cleves (m.1540-1540), Catherine Howard (m. 1540-1543) & Catherine Parr (m. 1543-1547)
Religion: Roman Catholic/ Anglican
Children: Elizabeth I (1533-1603), Mary I (1516-1558), Edward VI (1537-1553), Henry Fitzroy (1519-1536)
Buried: Windsor Castle
Successor: Edward VI
Henry VIII was a Renaissance prince as he was proficient in French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin, as well as a good musician, dancer, and athlete. He took the throne on April 21, 1509 and the first part of his reign was dedicated to helping keep the Pope in power. He wrote the Assertio Septem Sacramentorum (Defense of the Seven Sacraments) in 1521, declaring Martin Luther a traitor and was thus given the title 'Protector of the Faith' by the Catholic Church. There is some speculation today of whether he actually wrote this article or if Cardinal Wolsey, Sir Thomas More, or Bishop Fisher wrote it. There is no certain way to know who wrote it but Luther took advantage of the speculation and wrote about how this article was not to be taken seriously because it was not written by the king. Although this article was most likely written for political reasons over personal, it helped unite Henry with the pope. This unification helped with Henry's first marriage.
Catherine d'Argon was the widow of the recently deceased Arthur (Henry's brother), who Henry had taken a liking too. At this time, it was illegal in the church's eyes to marry your brother's widow, so he got a special pardon from the church. They remained married for many years, and she gave him a daughter but was unable to give him a male heir. Henry fell in love with a younger woman named Anne Boleyn, and she became pregnant. He knew that he must marry her before the baby was born, because if it was a boy he would be a bastard and could not be king. He decided that Catherine's infidelity is a sign from God that the Pope did not actually have the power to let them be married in the first place, and the marriage should be annulled. Obviously, the pope refused to give the annulment because it would take away from his power, so Henry decided to break away from the church and start his own. Thus, the Anglican Church came to power and Catherine was divorced through Henry’s new church. He soon married Anne, who gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, and a stillborn son (and he blamed her for being unable to give a son). In the court there are (untrue and very weak) rumors that she was not faithful and she was executed by a French executor for her 'treason.' His next wife, Jane Seymour gave him a male heir but she died in childbirth and he felt guilty for making the Anglican church, as he felt it was a punishment from God. As a king, Henry could not stay unmarried and he decided his next marriage will be for politics. Cleves was a German state that was anti-Catholic and anti-Habsburgs, he forged this alliance and consolidated it with an alliance to the daughter, Anne of Cleves. He did not like her and referred to her as the Flemish mer or horse, so he divorced her. He then fell in love with Kathryn Howard, whose family was very ambitious and they got married. Because the Howards- her family- were so ambitious they got lots of enemies at the English court. The Howards were successful in architecting the fall of Cromwell. Kathryn was unfaithful and the king's court showed him evidence of her unfaithfulness and to prove their point they accused her of incest with her brother, the penalty for that was death. Katherine Parr was his next and final wife. She was his age and was more of a maturing woman then those before. He died during this marriage on January 28, 1547.
Below is a video for the more visual learners, on Henry VIII.
Died: January 28, 1547
Reigned: 1509-1547
Parents: Henry VII (1457-1509) & Elizabeth of York (1466-1503)
Spouse: Catherine d'Argon (m. 1509-1533), Anne Boleyn (m.1533-1536), Jane Seymour (m. 1536-1537), Anne of Cleves (m.1540-1540), Catherine Howard (m. 1540-1543) & Catherine Parr (m. 1543-1547)
Religion: Roman Catholic/ Anglican
Children: Elizabeth I (1533-1603), Mary I (1516-1558), Edward VI (1537-1553), Henry Fitzroy (1519-1536)
Buried: Windsor Castle
Successor: Edward VI
Henry VIII was a Renaissance prince as he was proficient in French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin, as well as a good musician, dancer, and athlete. He took the throne on April 21, 1509 and the first part of his reign was dedicated to helping keep the Pope in power. He wrote the Assertio Septem Sacramentorum (Defense of the Seven Sacraments) in 1521, declaring Martin Luther a traitor and was thus given the title 'Protector of the Faith' by the Catholic Church. There is some speculation today of whether he actually wrote this article or if Cardinal Wolsey, Sir Thomas More, or Bishop Fisher wrote it. There is no certain way to know who wrote it but Luther took advantage of the speculation and wrote about how this article was not to be taken seriously because it was not written by the king. Although this article was most likely written for political reasons over personal, it helped unite Henry with the pope. This unification helped with Henry's first marriage.
Catherine d'Argon was the widow of the recently deceased Arthur (Henry's brother), who Henry had taken a liking too. At this time, it was illegal in the church's eyes to marry your brother's widow, so he got a special pardon from the church. They remained married for many years, and she gave him a daughter but was unable to give him a male heir. Henry fell in love with a younger woman named Anne Boleyn, and she became pregnant. He knew that he must marry her before the baby was born, because if it was a boy he would be a bastard and could not be king. He decided that Catherine's infidelity is a sign from God that the Pope did not actually have the power to let them be married in the first place, and the marriage should be annulled. Obviously, the pope refused to give the annulment because it would take away from his power, so Henry decided to break away from the church and start his own. Thus, the Anglican Church came to power and Catherine was divorced through Henry’s new church. He soon married Anne, who gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, and a stillborn son (and he blamed her for being unable to give a son). In the court there are (untrue and very weak) rumors that she was not faithful and she was executed by a French executor for her 'treason.' His next wife, Jane Seymour gave him a male heir but she died in childbirth and he felt guilty for making the Anglican church, as he felt it was a punishment from God. As a king, Henry could not stay unmarried and he decided his next marriage will be for politics. Cleves was a German state that was anti-Catholic and anti-Habsburgs, he forged this alliance and consolidated it with an alliance to the daughter, Anne of Cleves. He did not like her and referred to her as the Flemish mer or horse, so he divorced her. He then fell in love with Kathryn Howard, whose family was very ambitious and they got married. Because the Howards- her family- were so ambitious they got lots of enemies at the English court. The Howards were successful in architecting the fall of Cromwell. Kathryn was unfaithful and the king's court showed him evidence of her unfaithfulness and to prove their point they accused her of incest with her brother, the penalty for that was death. Katherine Parr was his next and final wife. She was his age and was more of a maturing woman then those before. He died during this marriage on January 28, 1547.
Below is a video for the more visual learners, on Henry VIII.