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Henry VIII was born in 1491 being the second son of Henry VII. When his older brother Arthur died, Henry inherited the throne and his wife, Catherine. In 1521 Henry was given title “Defender of the Faith,” by the Pope by writing a book attacking Martin Luther hand his preaching’s. All though in his later days and his most well-known portrait, King Henry VIII was seen as quite a large man with a temper, but in his youth he was seen as charming, intelligent and good looking. It wasn’t until he was in an accident and got gout that he began to gain weight and often was in pain due to the open wound on his leg.
One or more so of six things Henry VIII was most remembered by was his six wives. His first wife being Catherine of Aragon who he was married to for twenty years and had a well establish monarchy with. She was left as regent of England for some time while Henry went to France to campaign. She was well involved in England as a country and politics so Henry would often go to her for advice and counselling. Henry kept mistresses but finally found one he wanted to marry, Anne Boleyn. She was one of Catherine lady’s in waiting. The Catholic Church would not grant Henry VIII a divorce since the Catholic Church does not believe in divorce. England was also against the divorce, even to this day Catherine was seen as the one true queen of England during Henry VIII reign. Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Church and created his own church, being the Church of England and granted his own divorce while making his daughter Mary illegitimate and sent Catherine away from England. Anne Boleyn was hated by England. She was pregnant when Henry wed her. It wasn’t long before he sought out other women and even more so when she could not give him a male heir. In 1536, Anne was charged with treason under adultery with her brother that were certainly false. She was beheaded shortly after. In 1537 Henry married Jane Seymour who was the only wife to give him a male heir, Edward VI but died twelve days after. Henry then married Anne of Cleves as to secure a peace with Germany. Henry however did not find her attractive and sought a divorce but kept her in another house and made sure she lived wealthy. His fifth wife was Katheryn Howard who was only about 17 years old when she married Henry VIII who was now an older larger man. Katheryn Howard was the cousin of Anne Boleyn. A little after a year of marriage, Katheryn was caught committing adultery and beheaded. Henry VIII’s last wife was Katherine Parr who was the only one of his wives to outlive him. Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church and when he did it caused friction between the Protestants and Catholic religions in England. Henry VIII died in 1547.  | |