Henry was born on June 28, 1491, the second son of the Tudor King Henry VII, Henry became heir to the throne when his older brother Arthur died in 1502. Henry VIII believed himself to be unquestionably the King of God's choice and his rise to the throne on April 21, 1509 affirmed the union of the houses of Lancaster and York whose rivalry had caused the War of the Roses.

Although Henry VIII is infamous for his marital intrigues, great changes took place in England while he was King. His war with France and Scotland from 1512 to 1513 provided empty victories, but the capture of Tournai and the signal victory over the invading Scots at Flodden in 1513 redeemed Henry's honor. While Henry was more interested in hunting, games, music, and mistresses than in government, his ambitious Minister, Thomas Cardinal Wolsey, who started in 1515, helped Henry through many policies, including the triumph of European peace, made official in the Treaty of London in 1518. From 1522 to 1523 and again in 1528, the people spoiled the crown's success in foreign policy by refusing to pay for war.

However, more pressing issues arose in Henry's personal life. When he sought to nullify his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon because of the lack of a male heir, it was clear that Rome would not support him, so in 1531, Henry broke with the Catholic Church and set up a (Protestant) National Church in England under his supreme leadership. The dissolution of the monasteries from 1536 to 1540, because the crown and the gentry wanted more lands, provoked the northern rising of 1536 to 1537, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace. This rising, in fact, was the only real threat posed to Henry's security. That conflict ended in 1539 when the orthodox Act of Six Articles clarified the true faith and worked to balance extreme factions.

From 1542 to 1546 England fought in the Scottish war, and despite defeat and tremendous monetary costs, Henry remained powerful. Despite his shortcomings, King Henry VIII's death in 1547 left most of his people with a feeling of remorse, for his reign symbolized the very embodiment of kingship and nationhood.

Major Events

1509 - Named King of England; married Catherine of Aragon.

1512 -War with France and Scotland.

1513 -Defeated the Scots.

1515 -Thomas Cardinal Wolsey named Minister.

1518 - Treaty of London signed.

1522-1528 -English people refused to pay for war.

1531 -Broke with the Pope, developed the Church of England.

1536-1540 - Dissolved the monasteries.

1536-1537 - The Pilgrimage of Grace.

1539 -Act of Six Articles defined the Anglican faith.

1546 - Scottish war ended.

Did you know?

King Henry VIII was self-indulgent to the extreme and is often represented as eating a big drumstick. He had six wives in his lifetime, two of whom he had beheaded.

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