Profession: King of England

Biography: Henry was the second Tudor monarch after his father, Henry VII. During his forty-year reign he led England through a series of intense changes, most notably the English Reformation, England's separation from the Roman Catholic Church.

The reformation began when Henry requested from the Pope, an annulment from his first wife Catherine of Aragon. This was refused, as Catherine was the Aunt of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, the most powerful man in Europe. Spurred on by his infatuation with Anne Boleyn Henry then broke with the Catholic Church by marrying his mistress, who would later give birth to Elizabeth I. Pope Clement VII excommunicated Henry.

Henry's marriage did not prosper, Anne's miscarriages and unpopularity at court led him to accuse her of adultery and have her beheaded. A third wife Jane Seymour did present him with a son, the future Edward VI, before dying of childbirth complications. His fourth wife, Anne of Cleves barely lasted a few months before an annulment.

History repeated itself when Henry accused his fifth wife Catherine Howard of adultery, this time there was some truth to it before having her beheaded. His last wife Catherine Parr survived Henry by acting as nurse to an increasingly unwell King.

Outside his notorious marriages Henry is remembered as the "Father of the Royal Navy", increasing the navy from 5 to 50 ships. As part of his split from the Catholic Church Henry dissolved English monasteries, with their land and wealth taken by the crown and changing the make-up of English society forever.

Born: June 28, 1491
Birthplace: London, England
Star Sign: Cancer

Died: January 28, 1547 (aged 55)

Articles and Photos

Historical Events

  • 1503-02-18 Henry Tudor (later Henry VIII) appointed Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the English throne
  • 1509-04-22 Henry VIII, 2nd Tudor king of England ascends to the throne at age 17, after the death of his father, Henry VII
  • 1509-06-24 Henry VIII is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey, London
  • 1511-02-12 King Henry VIII issues challenge, beginning a jousting tournament to celebrate the birth of his son Henry. Recorded in Roll of Honour manuscript which depicts trumpeter John Blanke, only identifiable black person in Tudor England.
  • 1513-08-16 Battle of the Spurs at Guinegate (now Eguinegatte): Henry VIII of England and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I beat France
  • 1513-09-23 English King Henry VIII and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I conquer Tournai, Belgium
  • 1514-05-20 English King Henry VIII grants a charter to the Corporation of Trinity House to regulate pilotage on the river Thames in London (still in existence)
  • 1520-06-07 Field of the Cloth of Gold; meeting begins between English Henry VIII and King Francis I of France at Balinghem, France
  • 1520-07-10 King Charles V France and King Henry VIII of England sign Treaty of Calais
  • 1520-10-15 King Henry VIII of England orders bowling lanes at Whitehall
  • 1521-10-11 Pope Leo X titles King Henry VIII of England "Defender of the Faith"
  • 1527-04-30 Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France sign the Treaty of Westminster, pledging to combine their forces against Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in attempt to win War of the League of Cognac
  • 1529-06-21 Queen of England, Catherine of Aragon, speaks against her marriage's annulment at the Blackfriars Legatine Court
  • 1530-03-07 English King Henry VIII's divorce request is denied by Pope Clement VII
  • 1531-01-05 Pope Clement VII forbids English King Henry VIII to remarry
  • 1531-03-08 King Henry VIII is recognized as the supreme head of the Church in England by the Convocation of Canterbury
  • 1532-06-23 Treaty of Closer Amity With France / Pommeraye Treaty signed between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France against Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
  • 1533-07-11 Pope Clement VII excommunicates England's King Henry VIII
  • 1534-04-15 Thomas Cromwell is appointed Chief Secretary to King Henry VIII of England
  • 1534-11-03 English parliament passes the Act of Supremacy making Henry VIII and all subsequent monarchs the Head of the Church of England
  • 1535-01-15 King Henry VIII declares himself head of the Church in England
  • 1535-05-04 Five Carthusian monks from London Charterhouse monastery hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, London, for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII as head of the Church of England
  • 1535-06-17 Trial of English Catholic Cardinal John Fischer for treason (declared King Henry VIII was not the Supreme Head of the Church in England) at Westminster Hall - found guilty and later hanged
  • 1535-06-22 Cardinal John Fisher is beheaded on Tower Hill, London, for refusing to acknowledge King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England
  • 1535-07-01 Thomas More goes on trial in England on charges of treason for refusing to accept Henry VIII's supremacy over the Pope
  • 1536-04-14 English King Henry VIII expropriates minor monasteries
  • 1536-04-21 King Henry VIII's chief minister Thomas Cromwell begins to plot Anne Boleyn's downfall while feigning illness
  • 1536-05-02 Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, is arrested and taken to the Tower of London
  • 1536-05-19 Anne Boleyn, second wife of English King Henry VIII, is beheaded at the Tower of London on charges of adultery, incest and treason
  • 1536-07-11 The Convocation of the clergy subscribe to the Ten Articles, beliefs of the English Church under Henry VIII
  • 1536-10-13 Pilgrimage of Grace begins in Northern England, a protest against King Henry VIII's break with the Pope and the dissolution of the monasteries
  • 1538-12-17 Pope Paul II excommunicates King Henry VIII of England
  • 1540-06-10 Former chief minister to King Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell is arrested in Westminster for treason and heresy
  • 1540-06-24 English King Henry VIII commands his 4th wife, Anne of Cleves, to leave the court
  • 1541-05-06 King Henry VIII orders a bible in English be placed in every church in England
  • 1541-11-23 Queen Catherine Howard. 5th wife of King Henry VIII, stripped of her title and confined in the Syon Abbey in Middlesex, England
  • 1542-02-10 Dethroned Queen Catherine Howard. 5th wife of King Henry VIII, transferred to Tower of London prison for her impending execution
  • 1542-06-18 Crown of Ireland Act 1542 passed by the Parliament of Ireland, gives English King Henry VIII the title "King of Ireland"
  • 1543-02-11 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and English King Henry VIII sign anti-French covenant
  • 1544-05-17 Scottish Earl of Lennox Matthew Stewart signs a secret treaty with English King Henry VIII
  • 1544-09-18 English King Henry VIII's troops occupy Boulogne
  • 1544-09-30 King of England Henry VIII draws his armies out of France
  • 1545-07-19 King Henry VIII's flagship Mary Rose sinks at Portsmouth; 73 die
  • 1547-01-28 9-year-old Edward VI succeeds Henry VIII as King of England
  • 1935-05-19 English Cardinal John Fisher and statesman Thomas More, both executed by Henry VIII, canonized as saints by Pope Pius XI

Personal Life

  • 1509-06-11 King Henry VIII (17) of England marries first wife Catherine of Aragon (23), widow of his brother Arthur
  • 1512-04-14 Black royal trumpeter John Blanke is gifted a new outfit for his wedding by English King Henry VIII at Greenwich
  • 1532-11-14 King Henry VIII of England secretly marries Anne Boleyn (officially married January 25, 1533)
  • 1533-01-25 England's King Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn, his 2nd wife
  • 1533-05-23 King Henry VIII of England & Catherine of Aragon's marriage declared null & void by authority English clergy not the Pope
  • 1533-05-28 The Archbishop of Canterbury voids the marriage of King Henry VIII of England and Anne Boleyn
  • 1536-05-30 England's King Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour, his 3rd wife
  • 1539-10-04 English King Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves, his 4th wife
  • 1540-07-09 English King Henry VIII annuls his 6 month marriage to his 4th wife Anne of Cleves, on the grounds of non-consummation and her pre-contract to Francis of Lorraine
  • 1540-07-28 English King Henry VIII (49) weds Catherine Howard (16 or 17), his 5th wife
  • 1543-07-12 King of England Henry VIII (52) weds twice-widowed Catherine Parr (30) at Hampton Court Palace, his sixth and final wife

References


Famous Kings

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7sLrToaCsnJGue6S7zGinnqegobJwtMSnqbJlpp62qg%3D%3D