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biography
| name: |
Henry VIII (of England)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1491–1547)
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| biography:
| King (1509–47), born in Greenwich, EC Greater London, UK, the second son of Henry VII. Soon after his accession he married Catherine of Aragón, his brother Arthur's widow. As a member of the Holy League, he invaded France (1512), winning the Battle of Spurs (1513); and while abroad, the Scots were defeated at Flodden. In 1521 he published a book on the Sacraments refuting Luther, receiving from the pope the title ‘Defender of the Faith’. From 1527 he determined to divorce Catherine, whose children, except for Mary, had died in infancy. He tried to put pressure on the pope by humbling the clergy, and in defiance of the Roman Catholic Church was privately married to Anne Boleyn (1533). In 1534 it was enacted that his marriage to Catherine was invalid, and that the king was the Supreme Head of the English Church. The policy of Dissolution of the Monasteries then began. In 1536 Catherine died, and Anne Boleyn was executed on the grounds of infidelity. Henry then married Jane Seymour, who died leaving a son, afterwards Edward VI. In 1540 Anne of Cleves became his fourth wife, in the hope of attaching the Protestant interest of Germany; but dislike of her appearance caused him to divorce her speedily. He then married Catherine Howard (1540), who two years later was executed on grounds of infidelity (1542). In 1543 his last marriage was to Catherine Parr, who survived him. His later years saw ineffectual and expensive wars with France and Scotland, but a powerful English navy was created. |
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