Henry VIII Part 1: Breaking Away

What made him do it?

There are many different lines of argument for this, but one thing that all historians agree on is that Henry’s failure to obtain an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon from the Pope was a major factor, which forced him to do the unthinkable: become Supreme Head of the Church in England (’so far as Christ’s Law allows’ at first).

His marriage with Catherine of Aragon and ‘love’ for Anne Boleyn

Henry VIII needed an heir to uphold the Tudor Dynasty when he died. That heir unquestionably had to be a son. Therefore Mary, the daughter of Henry and Catherine born in 1516, would not suffice. Catherine had suffered several disappointing failed pregnancies, and by 1527 she was an ageing woman, with her good looks fading, who was unlikely to conceive again (In Tudor times the average life expectancy was 33 so I am not calling modern 40-somethings old!). She was six years Henry’s senior, and the lack of children in the nurseries could only have added to such an arrogant man’s frustration with his wife.

Instead he focused his attention on the young and attractive Anne Boleyn, fresh faced and French having spent her adolescent years at a French court. Before he knew it, Henry was charmed and enticed by Anne, who, unlike so many of his previous mistresses, refused to sleep with him without him taking marital vows first. She wanted to be Queen, and would settle for nothing less. This only served to intensify Henry’s infatuation, to Catherine’s downfall.

To marry Anne, Henry needed an annulment or divorce (less likely in a Catholic society), and he sought a papal annulment from Rome so that it would be valid and indisputable across Europe; that way any children the couple had would not have their legitimacy questioned in the future.

Henry’s legal argument

Catherine of Aragon had originally come from Spain to marry Henry’s elder brother Arthur, who was to be king. However, not long after the marriage, Arthur died at Ludlow castle from the sweating sickness, and Catherine was left as a widow in a foreign country. After months of fluctuating foreign policy with Spain and arguments over Catherine’s dowry that left her impoverished, Henry finally decided to renew the marriage alliance. To be allowed to marry, the pair had to be granted a papal dispensation, on the grounds, crucially, that Catherine’s marriage to Arthur had not been consummated. Pope Julius II granted it, and in 1509 Henry VIII married Catherine, to his subsequent regret.