Henry VIII (1491–1547)

King of England from 1509, when he succeeded his father Henry VII and married Catherine of Aragón, the widow of his brother. During the period 1513–29 Henry pursued an active foreign policy, largely under the guidance of his lord chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, who shared Henry's desire to make England stronger. Wolsey was replaced by Thomas More in 1529 after failing to persuade the pope to grant Henry a divorce. After 1532 Henry broke with papal authority, proclaimed himself head of the church in England, dissolved the monasteries, and divorced Catherine. His subsequent wives were Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. He was succeeded by his son Edward VI.

Henry divorced Catherine of Aragón in 1533 because she was too old to give him an heir, and married Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded in 1536; she was accused of adultery but this was not proved. Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, died in 1537. He married Anne of Cleves in 1540 in pursuance of Thomas Cromwell's policy of allying with the German Protestants, but rapidly abandoned this policy, divorced Anne, and beheaded Cromwell. His fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was beheaded in 1542, and the following year he married Catherine Parr, who survived him. Henry never completely lost his popularity, but wars with France and Scotland towards the end of his reign sapped the economy, and in religion he not only executed Roman Catholics, including Thomas More, for refusing to acknowledge his supremacy in the church, but also Protestants who maintained his changes had not gone far enough.

Foreign policy
Henry's reign falls naturally into two parts, separated by the year 1529, which can be regarded as the critical year of the divorce. The early period is notable for his skilful foreign policy, guided by Wolsey, although Henry's will was always paramount. Henry and Wolsey exploited the rivalry between Francis I of France and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V by making England the arbiter between them, enhancing the prestige and influence of England. Both kings sought Henry's favour, Francis at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and Charles, less ostentatiously, in Kent. The policy collapsed disastrously after Henry began supporting Charles in 1522. Charles comprehensively defeated Francis at Pavia in 1525 and no longer needed English support.

Split from Rome
By this time Henry's policy had become dominated by his desire to divorce Catherine as he was becoming desperate for a male heir and was determined to marry Anne Boleyn. At first there seemed a possibility that the divorce might be granted. The papal legate journeyed to England to hear the case, but Catherine appealed direct to the pope and the court was adjourned. The position was complicated by the fact that Charles V, Catherine's nephew, controlled Rome. Unable to obtain the annulment for his monarch, Wolsey was dismissed in 1529. Henry then proceeded to act through Parliament, and had the entire body of the clergy in England declared guilty of treason in 1531. The clergy were suitably cowed and agreed to repudiate papal supremacy and recognize Henry as supreme head of the church in England. The English ecclesiastical courts then pronounced his marriage to Catherine null and void and he married Anne Boleyn in 1533.

Henry continued his attack on the church with the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536–39); their lands were confiscated and granted to his supporters. However, although he laid the ground for the English Reformation by the separation from Rome, he had little sympathy with Protestant dogmas. As early as 1521 a pamphlet that he had written against Lutheranism had won him the title of Fidei Defensor from the pope, and Henry's own religious views are quite clearly expressed in the Statute of Six Articles in 1539 which instituted the orthodox Catholic tenets as necessary conditions for Christian belief. As a result Protestants were being burnt for heresy even while Catholics were being executed for refusing to take the oath of supremacy.

See also Reformation, England; and England: history 1485–1714, Henry VIII and the split with Rome.

Henry's legacy
Henry ended his reign with the reputation of a tyrant, despite the promise of his earlier years – in 1536 the rebellion known as the Pilgrimage of Grace was viciously suppressed, and advisers of the calibre of Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher had died rather than sacrifice their own principles to Henry's will. But the power of the crown had been considerably strengthened by Henry's ecclesiastical policy, and the monastic confiscations gave impetus to the rise of a new nobility that was to become influential in succeeding reigns.