King of England (1509-1547) who succeeded his father, Henry VII. His divorce from Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, compelled him to break from the Catholic Church by the Act of Supremacy (1534)
the king of England from 1509 until his death. The fact about Henry VIII which most British people know is that he had six wives. He tried to legally end his first marriage, to Catherine of Aragon, because she did not produce any sons and he wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, but the Pope refused to allow this. Henry disobeyed the Pope and made himself the head of the church in England. This started the Reformation in England, in which the Protestant church was established. His other wives were: Anne Boleyn, who had her head cut off; Jane Seymour, who died while giving birth to a child; Anne of Cleves, whom Henry divorced ; Catherine Howard, who had her head cut off; and Catherine Parr, who lived on after Henry's death. During Henry's time as king, many schools were established, and England became a more powerful country (1491-1547)