Henry VIII (1491-1547)

A gold half-sovereign carrying a portrait of King Henry VIII of England, and his coat of arms. Henry inherited a wealthy kingdom, and his policies during the first part of his reign, assisted by English statesman Thomas Wolsey, strengthened the country's position in Europe.

Portrait of King Henry VIII of England, by German painter and engraver Hans Holbein. The portrait is a piece of Tudor propaganda designed to emphasize Henry's strength, power, and prestige. As court painter to Henry VIII, Holbein has clearly shown his patron's wealth by portraying in detail the jewels stitched upon the king's clothes. The artist had many other duties as well as recording life at court, such as designing jewellery and goblets, and creating costumes for pageants.

A contemporary portrait of King Henry VIII of England with his jester Will Summers. Henry came to the throne at 18 years of age and for the first years of his reign interested himself in all the idle entertainments of a rich nobleman. He is seen here with a harp, possibly singing one of his own compositions.

A portrait of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII of England, by Flemish artist Frans Pourbus. Anne was maid of honour to the king's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, when she aroused the king's interest. Married in January 1533, Anne was crowned queen in June, and her daughter Elizabeth was born in September of the same year.

King of England from 1509, when he succeeded his father Henry VII and married Catherine of Aragón, the widow of his brother. During the period 1513-29 Henry pursued an active foreign policy, largely under the guidance of his lord chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, who shared Henry's desire to make England stronger. Wolsey was replaced by Thomas More in 1529 after failing to persuade the pope to grant Henry a divorce. After 1532 Henry broke with papal authority, proclaimed himself head of the church in England, dissolved the monasteries, and divorced Catherine. His subsequent wives were Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. He was succeeded by his son Edward VI.

Henry demanded his first divorce because his wife had become too old to bear him a (male) heir and he was attracted to Anne Boleyn. Thomas Cromwell initiated legislation that made Henry head of the Church of England, allowing him to marry Anne in 1533, who later that year gave birth to Elizabeth I. Anne was beheaded in 1536, ostensibly for adultery. His third wife, Jane Seymour, who was the mother of Edward VI, died in 1537. Henry's last years were devoted to war with France and Scotland, consequent economic problems, and attempts to hold back the Reformation, which his own interests had unleashed in his nation.

Foreign policy Henry's reign falls naturally into two parts, separated by the year 1529, which can be regarded as the critical year of the divorce. The early period is notable for his skilful foreign policy, guided by Wolsey, although Henry's will was always paramount. Henry and Wolsey exploited the rivalry between Francis I of France and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V by making England the arbiter between them, enhancing the prestige and influence of England. Both kings sought Henry's favour, Francis at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and Charles, less ostentatiously, in Kent. The policy collapsed disastrously after Henry began supporting Charles in 1522. Charles comprehensively defeated Francis at Pavia in 1525 and no longer needed English support.

Split from Rome By this time Henry's policy had become dominated by his desire to divorce Catherine as he was becoming desperate for a male heir and was determined to marry Anne Boleyn. At first there seemed a possibility that the divorce might be granted. The papal legate journeyed to England to hear the case, but Catherine appealed direct to the pope and the court was adjourned. The position was complicated by the fact that Charles V, Catherine's nephew, controlled Rome. Unable to obtain the annulment for his monarch, Wolsey was dismissed in 1529. Henry then proceeded to act through Parliament, and had the entire body of the clergy in England declared guilty of treason in 1531. The clergy were suitably cowed and agreed to repudiate papal supremacy and recognize Henry as supreme head of the church in England. The English ecclesiastical courts then pronounced his marriage to Catherine null and void and he married Anne Boleyn in 1533.

Henry continued his attack on the church with the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536-39); their lands were confiscated and granted to his supporters. However, although he laid the ground for the English Reformation by the separation from Rome, he had little sympathy with Protestant dogmas. As early as 1521 a pamphlet that he had written against Lutheranism had won him the title of Fidei Defensor from the pope, and Henry's own religious views are quite clearly expressed in the Statute of Six Articles in 1539 which instituted the orthodox Catholic tenets as necessary conditions for Christian belief. As a result Protestants were being burnt for heresy even while Catholics were being executed for refusing to take the oath of supremacy.

See also Reformation, England; and England: history 1485-1714, Henry VIII and the split with Rome.

Henry's legacy Henry ended his reign with the reputation of a tyrant, despite the promise of his earlier years - in 1536 the rebellion known as the Pilgrimage of Grace was viciously suppressed, and advisers of the calibre of Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher had died rather than sacrifice their own principles to Henry's will. But the power of the crown had been considerably strengthened by Henry's ecclesiastical policy, and the monastic confiscations gave impetus to the rise of a new nobility that was to become influential in succeeding reigns.

Henry VIII

Opera by Camille Saint-Saëns (libretto by L Détroyat and P A Silvestre), first produced at the Paris Opéra, France, on 5 March 1883. It tells how Henry defies the Pope to marry Anne Boleyn.