Henry VIII

Imagine the weight on

a kings shoulders during
the Renaissance time
period. A king needed to
rule, be respected, and
have a male heir, that was
a lot to do with the high
chance of dying around 50
years of age.
King Henry VIII had a strong rule,
many wives, and strong beliefs.
When his rule started, he was only
17 and without his brother Arthur
dying, he would have only been a high
ranking church member. This didnt
make Henry VIII angry though.
 His brother, Arthur, became king as
expected, and he married Catherine of
Aragon to unite Britain and Spain. His
reign didnt last long though; he died
in 1502 and Henry VIII took the
throne.
The Church wanted to keep Britain
and Spain united, so the Pope blessed
the wedding of Henry VIII and
Catherine of Aragon. After 6
miscarriages, only one child survived,
Mary I.
Henry VIII didn't want to be married
to Catherine of Aragon anymore, so
when it came time for a divorce, the
Catholic Church would not approve,
the people adored Catherine of
Aragon and she refused the divorce as
well. The only way Henry VIII could get
a divorce was using his top-notch
knowledge of the Bible. His marriage
to Catherine had been against Gods
law from the start despite the Popes
blessing for it to go ahead in 1509. He
was therefore living in sin (Divorce).
Henry VIII was a strong Catholic
and would do anything for his religion,
Henry VIII wrote an attack on a
leading Protestant, Martin Luther. For
attacking Protestantism he was given
the title Defender of the Faith by the
Pope (Protestant). Henry VIII snapped
when they refused him a divorce, as
you previously read, he said his
marriage was a sin because Catherine
of Aragon could not deliver a son. As a
result, Henry VIII went from a strong
Catholic to backing the Protestants.
The site Protestant states, Henrys
advisors were secretly Protestants and
they convinced him to ignore the Pope
and that he had good reasons to
divorce Catherine. They convinced
him that if he broke with the Catholic
Church he would be more powerful
and could make his own decisions
about marriage and about how the
Church was run in England. This
meant Henry VIII would become head
of church and could divorce any wife
he was to have.
Once Britain was fully Protestant,
Henry VIII had married his third wife,
Jane Seymour, and she was the queen
to deliver a male child. Sadly, she died
shortly after the child's birth.
Henry had done many other things
with his life like, surviving chicken pox
at age of 23 and having six wives. He
even wrote his own poems and music,
but the most long lasting achievement
was making Britain Protestant.