King Henry VIII.

King Henry VIII.

King Henry VIII, even though he was king of England, is better known for a few events in his personal life than for historical events like wars or politics. Those few events were his marriages. Not just one or two of them. King Henry VIII was married six limes!

The first wife of King Henry VIII was Catherine of Aragon. Catherine was first married to Arthur, Henry's older brother, If Arthur had lived, he would have been the next king or England. His death made his younger brother, Henry, the successor to the throne.

When young Henry became the next in line to the throne, he also became engaged to Catherine. This was considered a good match for England because it would provide an alliance between Henry's England and Catherine's Spain. Henry married Catherine in 1509, the same year that he became king.

Henry and Catherine had a daughter, Princess Mary, but one thing that Henry wanted badly was a son - a son who would one day succeed him as king. A son could safeguard the throne for future generations, keeping it in the Tudor family.

In 1533, Henry decided that it was time for a new queen. He wanted to marry Anne Boleyn. However, the Roman Catholic Church refused to let Henry divorce Catherine. Henry did what he wanted anyway. He divorced Catherine and married Anne. Anne was crowned queen and had a baby daughter, Princess Elizabeth. Henry was excommunicated, or put out of the Catholic Church, for his actions.

King Henry's excommunication was the one event in his personal life that had far reaching effects for his country. At that time, there were already reform movements going on in parts of Europe. These reformers were groups of people who wanted to see changes in the church, but they had not had much effect in England yet. However, once Henry was excommunicated, he began a series of actions that eventually separated England from the Catholic Church.

Henry had his government pass laws, 132 of them in just 7 years, that said the Roman Catholic Church was no longer in charge of England. A new church, the Church of England, was formed. This is how England became a protestant country - not by protest movements or reformers - but by King Henry's laws. It was King Henry's most lasting effect on the country he ruled.