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King Henry 8th

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King Henry 8th

World History

On June 28, 1491 Henry the VIII of England was born. This young man will form his own church. He will succeed to the throne in 1509. He will also marry six women! Something good will happen when he is king, he will unite England and Wales and will also do some bad things like executing people who would not follow his rules. In 1539, the Act of Supremacy declared Henry to be the head of the Church of England. King Henry the VIII of England had a good side and a bad side. Though popular with the people of England, and also very talented, he had many bad times and many good times for himself. Henry was not only selfish but also, handsome and had a hearty personality. He was also a gifted scholar, linguist, composer, and a musician. He was talented at many sports and was also good with the ladies. Henry was the second son and the third child of his father. Henry the VIII died in 1509. The only reason Henry would become king is because of his brothers, Arthur, death in April of 1502. Soon after that, Henry would marry his first wife, his brother (Arthur's) widow, Catherine of Aragon. Many wives would follow after her. During most of his early reign, Henry relied on Thomas Cardinal Wosley to do much of the political and religious activities. Henry soon got tired of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, so he decides that he doesn't want to be married to her anymore. One of his underlying reasons is that Catherine fails to bare a male heir. He tells Thomas Wosley to talk to the pope so he can divorce Catherine. But, Cardinal Wosley wasn't able to convince the Pope. Thus, in 1529 Henry took Wesley's authority away from him. Henry then appointed Sir Thomas More. Through Thomas Cramner, Henry got the divorce that he wanted with Catherine of Aragon and then married Anne Boleyn. Cramner now the archbishop of Canterbury, made Henry's marriage with Catherine void and his marriage with Anne valid. This made the Pope furious. So in 1534, King Henry had the parliament pass a law saying that the king, not the Pope, would from now on be the supreme head of the Church of England. "Thus, . The entry if England into the Reformation movement was an accident, the result of a side issue... the desire of King Henry VIII to get an annulment of the marriage between himself and his legitimate wife Catherine...." Since Henry was now in charge of the Church , he was going to make some changes. He had all the bibles translated into English. He then had all the people take an oath for this law. But Sir Thomas More, Cardinal, and John Fisher wouldn't accept the religious supremacy of the English monarch, so they were then executed. These changes gradually led to the formation of the Church of England In 1536, Henry accused his second wife, Anne Boleyn of adultery. Then, Henry executed her. A few days after that, he married a young woman by the name of Jane Seymour. Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife, was the mother of Henry's only legitimate son. Jane Seymour died after bearing the child. Edward the VI was Henry's only legitimate son. A couple of years after Jane Seymour had died, Henry decided to marry once again. He married a German princess by the name of Anne of Cleaves. In 1540, Henry was told that Anne of Cleaves was a beautiful and pretty young woman. However, when Henry finally saw her, he found her to be quite unatractive. Therefore, he then divorced Anne of Cleaves and then beheaded Thomas Cromwell for having tricked him. Being unloyal to God as much as Henry possibly could, he made the decision to marry his fifth wife by the name of Catherine Howard. Catherine Howard was then summarily executed in 1542 for being unchaste prior to marriage with Henry the VIII and for committing adultery. Henry had only one more wife to go. In 1543 Henry married his sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr. Catherine then survived Henry and then lived on to marry fourth husband. In 1536, during Henry the VIII's reign, England and Wales were finally united as one country. During the 1280's,

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