History

• Henry VIII


  A Tudor king who ruled England from 1509 - 1547, remembered for his six wives and his cruelty towards them
• Henry VIII


  • Sought to achieve military success and bring greatness to his kingdom
  • One of the most significant events of his reign was his decision to break with the Catholic Church and establish the Church of England
• Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor dynasty, took the throne


  1485
• Henry VII became king towards the end of the Wars of the Roses
• Henry VII married Elizabeth of York and had a large family with her
• Henry VII was succeeded by his son, Henry VIII, and then by his grandchildren, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I
• The Tudors ruled from 1485 to 1603
• Young Henry VIII


  • He was a very clever child, a good musician, enjoyed jousting, and spoke several languages
  • Following the death of his father in 1509, Henry VIII became King of England with big ambitions
• Henry VIII wanted to be like a previous king of England, Henry V, and conquer France
• Henry's initial invasion of France, in 1512, was a failure
• A second invasion, in 1513, saw Henry's army defeat a band of French soldiers at the Battle of the Spurs and take the towns of Thérouanne and Tournai
• Henry's wars with France continued throughout his reign, and he also fought wars against Scotland
• Henry's successive wars were very expensive, and he became desperate for more money, falling into debt and needing to raise more and more taxes
• Henry invaded France once again in 1522, and he went to war with France several more times over the course of his reign
• Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon

  He attempted to have the marriage annulled by the Pope in the 1520s, claiming that marrying his brother's widow had left him childless, despite the fact that he had a daughter
• The Pope refused to grant Henry his annulment
• Protestant books


  Questioned the power of the Pope, and inspired Henry and reform-minded men and women at court
• Henry formally married Anne in January 1533 and then created the Church of England, making himself, not the Pope, the head of the English Church
• Cardinal Campeggio


  Sent by the Pope to help give a judgment on Henry VIII's marriage
• The Pope refused to grant Henry VIII his annulment
• Protestant


  A form of Christianity that originated in the early 16th century, after a German priest, Martin Luther, published a long list of criticisms of the Catholic Church
• Henry VIII formally married Anne Boleyn in January 1533
• Henry VIII created the Church of England
• Parliament


  Elected members of the House of Commons, and the House of Lords, who helped the King to pass laws
• Henry VIII made himself, not the Pope, the head of the English Church
• Henry VIII spent his days hunting, jousting and attending parties at the start of his reign
• Henry VIII would spend some time on the running of the country after Mass each day
• Ministers


  Key men such as Thomas Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell who helped Henry VIII with the day-to-day running of the country
• When his ministers failed him, they faced real danger
• Wolsey died on his way to prison, after failing to get Henry his divorce from Catherine of Aragon
• Cromwell was beheaded in 1540, having been declared a traitor
• The list of charges brought against Cromwell was long and mostly focused on his support of religious radicals, though Henry's failed marriage to Anne of Cleves, which was encouraged by Cromwell, could also have played a role
• Henry VIII gained more power as a result of the Reformation
• Henry VIII became the Supreme Head of the Church of England
• In 1539, Henry VIII passed an act called the Statute of Proclamations, which allowed him to make changes to how England was run simply by reading out orders instead of passing laws in the traditional way
• Henry VIII was cruel to his wives
• Catherine of Aragon was a Spanish princess, the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
• Catherine of Aragon married Henry VIII in 1509, and was his wife for 24 years
• Catherine of Aragon remained convinced that she was the true English queen until her death, in 1536
• Anne Boleyn spent her youth in France, at the court of Francis I