The English king Henry VIII became a support. Henry VIII Tudor and his wives

era reign of Henry VIII(1509-1547) became key in English history. Suffice it to remember that his passionate desire to obtain a divorce from his legal wife led to a break with the Roman Catholic Church, and subsequently to the destruction of monasteries in England. During these years, the role of parliament increased significantly, which included a group of Welsh deputies. And Wales, in 1543, safely and legally united with England. We can say that by the end of the reign of Henry VIII the fate of the country had changed radically.

Henry VIII was very different from his father when he came to the throne in 1509. This is understandable, because he had a happy and prosperous childhood behind him, while his father grew up in exile, experiencing hardships and deprivations. The new king, eighteen-year-old Henry VIII, was a bold and self-confident young man - a new type of ruler, whom we would call a Renaissance prince. This is how a Venetian diplomat named Pasqualigo saw Henry in 1515: “One of the most attractive monarchs I have ever seen; above average height with short golden-brown hair... his round face is so beautiful that one would rather suited a pretty woman, the neck is long and strong... He speaks excellent English, French and Latin, speaks a little Italian. “The other one is in England, and he fights wonderfully in fights.”

Henry VIII achieved military glory thanks to two brilliant victories won in 1513. Back in 1511, he became a member of the Holy League, established by the warlike Pope Julius II to fight France. In addition to Henry, the League included the Spanish king Ferdinand of Aragon and Venice. The result was a brilliant victory for the English cavalry in the so-called Battle of the Spurs(a hint that the French fled the battlefield, spurring their horses with all their might). This battle took place in August 1513, and just three weeks later the Scots invaded England, intending to distract Henry from the French campaign. They succeeded fully: the English army returned home and defeated the interventionists at Flodden. The Scottish king James IV died in this battle. The entire color of the Scottish nobility fell with him, which ensured almost thirty years of peace on the northern borders of England.

Unlike his father, Henry VIII preferred all the variety of joys of life to boring calculations and revisions of office books: he ate a lot, drank a lot, danced until he dropped, and did not miss a single beautiful woman. Instead of the king, a whole galaxy of advisers dealt with governance issues, the most prominent among whom were Thomas Wolsey and.

Thomas Wolsey(1472-1530) was born in the town of Ipswich, in the family of a butcher. He made a dizzying career, rising to the highest church and government positions. At the end of the reign of Henry VII, Wolsey was the king's chaplain, and in 1509 he became a member of the newly created King's Council. He played an important role in the development and planning of the French campaign, which to a certain extent explains his rapid career in the state and church fields. In 1513, Wolsey became Lord Chancellor and de facto ruler of England. Tudor historian Polydore Virgil wrote that "Wolsey conducted all affairs according to his own understanding, since the king valued him above all other advisers."

Wolsey's rapid ascent to the heights of power is perfectly illustrated by the list of his ecclesiastical ranks: Archbishop of York (1514), cardinal (1515) and papal legate (1518). Such an impressive record provided Wolsey with an income of fifty thousand pounds and a life of honor and luxury. The butcher's son built himself three magnificent palaces, the most famous of which is Hampton Court. The Venetian ambassador wrote in 1519 about this man: “He rules the king and the kingdom.” Apparently, Henry had nothing against it, since he himself was burdened by state affairs. On the other hand, at that time he was quite satisfied with Wolsey's diplomatic successes, as well as the opportunity to have a scapegoat if one was needed.

Wolsey's foreign policy was replete with such frequent and unexpected turns that more than one generation of historians tried unsuccessfully to unravel their background. It has been suggested that Wolsey had some designs on the papacy. At that time, there were two rival parties in Europe: one led by the French King Francis I, the other led by King Charles V of Spain, who later became Emperor of the Roman Holy Empire in 1519. Both tried to assert influence on the pope - both due to their religious views and wanting to take control of the Papal States in the center of Italy.

In 1515, Francis was lucky enough to win the Battle of Marignano, and this fact made the papacy somewhat dependent on France. But then luck changed - in 1525, it was now Charles V who won the battle of Pavia. In 1527, imperial soldiers, who had not received pay for a long time, rebelled and captured Rome. The city was plundered, Pope Clement VII became a prisoner of Charles V. This happened at the very moment when Wolsey was in dire need of the pope's help. The fact is that Henry VIII urgently needed a divorce from his first wife Catherine, and only the pope could dissolve such a marriage. Alas, at that time the life and freedom of Clement VII were in the hands of the French King Charles, who was Catherine of Aragon’s nephew.

At first, the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine was very successful. She was a passionate and fearless woman and a faithful wife. Problems arose in connection with the succession to the throne and only worsened over time. During the first five years of her marriage, Catherine gave birth to five children, but they all died. Finally, in 1516, the queen gave birth to a healthy child; unfortunately, it turned out to be a girl, who was named Mary. Later, Catherine had several more miscarriages, and Henry, despairing of waiting for an heir, began to take a closer look at the women around him. His gaze settled on Anne Boleyn (1507-1536).

Anna was not loved at court. Wolsey called her "the night crow." It was rumored that Anna was engaged in divination, but no rumors could cool the ardor of the king in love. Henry treated Anna as best he could - gifts and passionate speeches were used, but the unyielding maid of honor stood her ground: she agreed to accept the king’s love only with a marriage contract. Henry's impatience grew, and along with it, his frustration at the insurmountable obstacle in the person of his first wife grew. The king was convinced that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was a fatal mistake. He demanded an immediate divorce from his faithful Wolsey. Such an attempt was made, but the pope, who was in the hands of Charles V, naturally refused. Enraged Henry drove away
Wolsey. He tried to hide in the north, but was soon brought to court on charges of treason. On the way from York to London, Wolsey died on November 29 in Leicester Abbey. There is evidence that, shortly before his death, the former chancellor said: “If I had served the Lord as diligently as I served the king, he would not have sent me such a test in my old age.”

During that period, in England, as well as in many other countries, the anti-clerical movement intensified. Actually, it had not died down since the days of the Lollards, but now anti-clericalism had gained especially many supporters, and Wolsey was an ideal candidate for the role of a scapegoat. Occupying a high ecclesiastical post, he was formally responsible for several dioceses and monasteries. And although he never visited these subordinate objects, he received money regularly - the income from these dioceses allowed Wolsey to lead a luxurious life, not much inferior to the royal one. It must be said that the clergy at that time represented an exclusively uneducated and incompetent stratum of society. At parliamentary meetings in 1529, complaints were heard about the extreme ignorance of the clergy; it was pointed out that “one such illiterate priest was responsible for ten to twelve parishes, essentially not living or working anywhere.” It was decided to improve the education of church ministers, and twenty-two years later, in 1551, one of the bishops examined two hundred and forty-nine clergy. And what did he find out? Of this number, one hundred and seventy-one priests were still unable to recite the Ten Commandments; ten people were unable to recite the “Our Father,” and twenty-seven did not know the author of this prayer.

Outraged by such ignorance, some scientists formed a community that merged into a single European movement called “humanism.” They united under the banner of classical education and biblical piety. John Colet (1466-1519), rector of St. Paul's Cathedral, championed the idea of ​​reforming the church from within. He also promoted a literal translation of biblical texts. The most famous of the humanists was Erasmus of Rotterdam, who taught for some time at Cambridge. The “Praise of Folly” he wrote in 1514 caused many criticisms from the highest church officials, since in this book Erasmus condemned and ridiculed the abuses practiced in the Catholic Church.

The strongest opposition to the existing religious system arose in Germany. A monk named Martin Luther sharply criticized the hypocrisy and self-interest of Catholic priests. On October thirty-first, 1517, he nailed sheets of his “Ninety-five Theses” to the doors of Wittepberg Cathedral. This document instantly spread throughout the city in copies and in printed form, and Martin Luther - perhaps unexpectedly for himself - found himself at the head of a protest movement against the abuses of the Catholic Church. Later this movement received the name Protestantism. The “Ninety-Five Theses” spurred dissatisfaction among church officials and secular people, and very soon Protestant groups began to emerge in all cities and villages. At first, Henry did not at all encourage the new movement: several Protestants were even publicly burned, the king issued in his own name (although the author was most likely) a furious pamphlet denouncing Lutheranism. This performance pleased the pope so much that he awarded Henry the honorary title “Fidei Defensor” (“Defender of the Faith”). One can imagine his disappointment when the English king changed his faith, but retained the bestowed title (even today you can see these letters - “FD” on British coins). Once it arose, Protestantism gained more and more supporters at the English court. Thus, Anne Boleyn read the first English translation of the New Testament, made by William Tyndall, and literally forced King Henry to familiarize himself with another of Tyndall’s works, entitled “The Obedience of a Christian.” In this work, the author argued that the king was morally responsible for the spiritual health of his subjects to the same extent as he was responsible for their physical well-being. Well, the reading could not have come at a more opportune time: Henry used this argument in a dispute with the pope over the divorce he needed so much.

However, the pope was tied hand and foot - he still remained a virtual prisoner of Charles V. In the Treaty of Barcelona, ​​signed in June 1529, he swore an oath to “serve the empire, live and die in this capacity.” Therefore, in response to pressure from Henry VIII, he used tactics of excuses and delays in order to delay the resolution of the divorce issue as long as possible. Then Henry tried to enlist the support of experts: in August 1529, he sought advice from experts in church law. Scientists from Oxford and Cambridge universities supported the king, and professors from six other European universities agreed with them. Clement VII remained deaf to their opinion, and then Henry - as a means of putting pressure on the pope - decided to strengthen his own power over the church.

Representatives of the English clergy found themselves in a difficult position: on the one hand, they were obliged to remain faithful to their spiritual leader in the person of the pope, but on the other hand, they remained English, obliged to remain loyal to the king. As they say, you won’t envy... Of course, conflicts between the papacy and the monarchy have happened before: just remember King John and Innocent III, but, as a rule, relations between popes and kings were quite friendly. An excellent example was the same Wolsey - he embodied both church power (being a papal legate) and secular power, granted to him by the king. Such a combination of power in one hand somewhat softened the Catholic Church’s opposition to attacks from the crown.

Before his death, Wolsey had to stand trial on charges of treason. Allegedly using the power of the papal legate, he weakened the position of the English king. Now Henry successfully used the same technique in the fight against his clergy. He accused them of recognizing Wolsey's authority as bowing their heads to the pope. The frightened clergy tried to pay off, this gave Henry a good income. Canterbury Abbey alone paid one hundred thousand pounds to regain the king's favor.

Between November 1529 and May 1532, four sittings of Parliament took place. Henry used them again to push the pope towards a positive solution to the divorce case. Through his own statutes and acts of parliament, he significantly curtailed the privileges of the English clergy. The final break with the Vatican occurred in 1531, when the king was declared "under Christian law, Protector and Supreme Head of the Church of England and its clergy." Thus, the power of the Pope in England was abolished. Even more important was the Annat Law of 1532, which ended annual payments to the pope.

Towards the end of 1532, Henry's need for a divorce became even more acute as it turned out that Anne Boleyn was pregnant. The future child, especially if it was a boy, the heir to the throne, had to be born in a legal marriage. In January 1533, Henry's secret wedding to Anna took place, despite the fact that the divorce from Catherine of Aragon was never formalized. To ease his own situation, the king ordained his protege Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) as Archbishop of Canterbury. He supported Henry VIII in everything. Ironically, the pope himself, taking a step towards reconciliation, granted Cranmer full power. Perhaps he did not know this man well, but one way or another the deed was done - Thomas Cranmer became archbishop. Parliament, for its part, further contributed to his rise. In 1533, he passed the "Act of Appeal", which transferred the final decision of theological disputes not to the pope, but to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Thus, the gap between Catholic Rome and England widened. Then events developed at an accelerated pace. On May 8, 1533, Cranmer began legal proceedings against Catherine of Aragon in the town of Dunstable. On May 23, he made a decision to recognize her marriage with Henry VIII as invalid, accordingly, the secret marriage concluded with Anne Boleyn acquired legal force. And a week later, on June 1, Anna became Queen of England.

When news of these events reached the pope, he excommunicated Thomas Cranmer and gave Henry a month to come to his senses. The parliament of 1533-1534, obedient to the will of Henry, severed the last ties with Rome. Now the pope was deprived of the right to appoint bishops in England, and all payments in his favor were prohibited. In 1534, the “Act of Supremacy” was adopted, according to which the King of England was proclaimed the head of the Anglican Church. The Pope was henceforth referred to simply as the “Bishop of Rome.” The Church in England was freed from subordination to Rome, papal power was replaced by royal power. The Anglican Church gained independence.

The separation occurred at a truly dizzying speed, which was dictated primarily by the need for a legitimate male heir. In September of the same year, Anna was delivered from her pregnancy. To the great disappointment of the king, a girl was born who was named Elizabeth. Thus, the question of inheritance - the same one that lay at the basis of the break with the Roman Church - still remained open and required a speedy resolution.

Oddly enough, despite the extraordinary nature of what happened, no storm broke out in the civilized world. And that is to say, Henry took care to frame what happened as a completely legitimate decision made by the English parliament. Moreover, he did not formally change religion: the British remained the same Catholics, only not subject to the pope. However, there were dramatic events here too. The main Catholic martyr was Sir (1478-1535). At that time, he was acting as Lord Chancellor at the court of Henry VIII, taking the place of the late Wolsey. He is known to the entire enlightened world as the author of Utopia. Being a zealous Catholic, he boldly defended his ideas in parliament. Alas, public opinion turned against him, and More was eventually executed for refusing to recognize Henry as head of the English Church. The same fate befell John Fisher (1459-1535), Bishop of Rochester, and four Carthusian monks. In 1539, Parliament passed the "Six Articles Act", which essentially represented the dogmas of the Church of England. There was no hint of radical Protestantism. And so that no one would have any doubts on this score, the king used an old, proven method - he publicly burned twenty-two Protestants.

Thomas Cromwell

Cromwell (1485-1540) began as Wolsey's protégé. Like his benefactor, he was born into a simple family - his father was a blacksmith in Putney, a suburb. In 1529 he became a member of parliament, and after the fall of Wolsey inherited his ranks at the king's court. Cromwell's career took off in 1533 when he became Chancellor of the Exchequer and then took over as Lord Privy Seal in 1536. However, Cromwell's real power came not from official positions, but from the king's friendship and trust. Cromwell had an undoubted talent for government, and some historians considered him to be the founder of a revolution in government governance. If earlier decisions were made in accordance with the wishes of the king (sometimes rash and inconsistent), then Cromwell developed a whole system of departments with proven management techniques. Not all researchers agree with this statement, but as far as the history of the destruction of monasteries is concerned, Thomas Cromwell undoubtedly played a leading role.

If the initial break with Rome was due to problems with the heir to the throne, then the subsequent plunder of the monasteries was clearly dictated by Henry VIII's acute shortage of money. Large sums were required to strengthen coastal defenses in anticipation of an attack from the pope and Charles V. But wealth was at hand. This property of the church - not only relics, jewelry and church utensils, but also huge land holdings, which, according to preliminary estimates, amounted to from one fifth to a quarter of all cultivated land in England. And this at a time when the royal treasury is empty! It is easy to imagine how tempting such an opportunity seemed to Henry VIII, the head of the entire Anglican Church. In 1535, he sent his representatives to examine small abbeys to identify the “existing sins, vicious and vile lifestyle” of the local clergy. Having a clear and clear goal, the “commissioners” enthusiastically set to work and, naturally, immediately discovered a lot of evidence. Their reports served as the basis for the closure of the monasteries, which was carried out in two stages.

First of all, small monasteries were “processed”, whose annual income did not exceed two hundred pounds. This happened in 1536, and in the same year an uprising called the “Graean Pilgrimage” took place in the north of the country. Its participants, of course, protested against the destruction of monasteries, but they were almost more dissatisfied with agricultural problems and the behavior of government officials. Be that as it may, the uprising was quickly suppressed, and over the next three years the property of larger church monasteries passed into the hands of Henry. In 1539, Parliament passed the “Second Act of Closing the Monasteries,” according to which the monasteries were to “of their own free will ... without coercion or physical pressure” to liquidate themselves. All their property passed into the hands of the royal power. So in a short time, in just three years, Henry VIII put an end to the medieval power of the monasteries.

The end of medieval England

Usually the end of the Middle Ages in England is considered to be 1485 - the year of Henry VII's accession to the throne. It would be more correct to attribute this milestone to 1538, when the last monasteries were closed. At the same time, Cromwell issued a decree according to which every church parish was required to have a Bible in English. The same decree ordered the destruction of all tombs. The order was immediately carried out: all the tombs and shrines, including the main shrines, such as the tomb of Thomas Becket in Canterbury, were destroyed. The valuables found in them entered the royal treasury. After the break with Rome, the king assumed the right (which for a thousand years belonged to the pope) to play the role of arbiter in all religious matters.

When historians write about the destruction of monasteries, they mean physical destruction. They were literally demolished. Stones were stolen to build other buildings, lead was stripped from roofs, and precious metals were sent for smelting. It’s scary to even think how many ancient books and objects of medieval art were destroyed. As a result, only the fragments of the choirs were left hanging out forlornly - as a living reminder of the once rich monasteries, the main element of medieval life.

This process had less obvious, but very important long-term consequences. In pursuit of immediate profit, Henry immediately sold off the huge monastery lands. Thus, he destroyed the source of future income for the crown and made himself completely dependent on the mercy of parliament. The new owners of the monastery lands from among the gentry and wealthy bourgeoisie happily rubbed their hands: over time, their income, and therefore their political power, increased unspeakably. Naturally, they were vitally interested in ensuring that the deposed clergy would in no way - regardless of the wishes of the monarch - return back to the country.

Another important trend should be noted. It concerned the gradual decline in the role of the hereditary nobility. This was due, on the one hand, to the growing influence of the Star Chamber at the state level; and on the other hand, at the local level, many issues were resolved by the power of justices of the peace, who were often elected from among the same gentry. As a result, an increasing number of government posts were occupied by people of low origin, and, of course, they defended the interests of their class. These changes were also reflected in the nature of such an important body as parliament. In the 16th century, it clearly formed the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The first written mention of the House of Lords occurs in 1544, as a possible reaction to the emergence of a gentry class claiming the power of the lords.

At the same time, the medieval era came to an end in Wales. Although this area was officially conquered by Edward I by 1284, the Welsh language, laws and customs remained in many areas of Wales. In 1536 and 1543, Parliament, through its acts, legitimized the unification of England and Wales. In reality, this meant a simple absorption of Wales by a more powerful neighbor. English laws and the English system were established here. Welsh principles of land tenure and inheritance were replaced by English ones. Is it any wonder that the two peoples assessed the results of the unification completely differently? If the English talked about the civilization that they brought to a semi-savage land, then the Welsh called what was happening brute violence.

To the great joy of Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon died in 1536. At that time, the king's passion for Anne Boleyn had faded, and he was looking for a way to get rid of her. While Anna kept Henry at a respectful distance, she seemed irresistible to him, but now she openly tired her husband. Without waiting for an heir to the throne from her, Henry began to look for a new wife. This time his attention was attracted by a young maid of honor named Jane Seymour (1509-1537). However, in order to marry her, it was necessary to first free himself from Anna. A ridiculous charge of “criminal adultery” with court gentlemen was hastily fabricated. Anne Boleyn was found guilty and executed in May 1536: the poor woman's head was cut off.

According to contemporaries, Henry loved his third wife, Jane Seymour, more than anyone else. In addition, she gave birth to his long-awaited son - the future King Edward VI. Now Henry could be calm about the fate of the throne. But, unfortunately, Jane died on the twelfth day after giving birth - October 12, 1537. To somehow console himself, the grief-stricken Heinrich showered honors on the family of the deceased.

Now his chief minister has taken up the search for a new wife for the king. Thomas Cromwell. His choice for political reasons fell on Anna of Cleves (1515-1557). Cromwell took care to order an exceptionally successful (maybe even flattering) portrait of the bride, which was presented to Henry for consideration. He agreed to marry based on correspondence. However, imagine Henry’s disappointment when he saw the girl with his own eyes: Anna turned out to be a homely simpleton. The king christened her that way - with his characteristic rude frankness: “my Flemish filly.” The marriage turned into a farce, ending quickly and painlessly. Anna was content with two houses and an annual allowance of five hundred pounds. Parliament annulled the marriage, Cromwell lost his head in 1540 for his embarrassment with Anne of Cleves and other offenses. And Henry... Henry began to look for a new wife.

Cromwell's rivals offered him Catherine Howard, daughter of a Catholic Duke of Norfolk. She became the fifth wife of Henry VIII. However, she was also unlucky: she compromised herself through premarital affairs and in 1542 was also beheaded in the Tower of London. Accusations of adultery were costly for royal wives.

Henry's sixth (and last) wife turned out to be happier: Catherine Parr (1512-1548), who had been widowed twice before, outlived this husband. Her fate was successful: she enjoyed the respect of the royal family and subsequently married Jane Seymour's brother named Thomas. Henry's succession to the throne was reliably ensured by his son from his third wife, Edward.

By 1538, Henry already owned everything in the kingdom. He established his own national church, which he himself led. He finally had a son, Prince Edward. Concentrating on getting rich quickly, he sold off the confiscated monastery lands. But even this operation, coupled with the devaluation of silver money (a decrease in the silver content compared to the specified denomination) still could not cover the costs of Henry VIII’s high-cost wars: in 1542-1546 he fought with Scotland, and in 1543-1546 with France . The Battle of Solway Moss, which took place in 1542, ended in a crushing defeat for the Scots and the death of King James V (according to the popular belief at the time, from a broken heart). The Scottish crown passed to his six-year-old daughter Mary. And in 1545, Henry conquered Boulogne from the French. Unfortunately, all these victories brought little to England, and peace treaties were concluded in 1546.

By the end of his life, Henry’s health, as well as his character, had deteriorated greatly. He had terrible ulcers on his legs (possibly syphilitic in origin) that made him literally howl in pain. The young “prince of the Renaissance,” highly spiritual and well-educated, turned into a gloomy and gloomy wreck. Heinrich became so fat that he could barely walk through the doors; he was lifted up the stairs using a special device. But even on his deathbed he retained his formidable authority; those close to him were afraid to contradict him. In the early morning of January 28, 1547, Henry VIII died at the age of fifty-five.

Peterborough Cathedral (Cambridgeshire). The majestic building evokes memories of Notre Dame Cathedral...

The abbey and cathedral of Saints Peter, Paul and Andrew were founded in 655. The current building is the third, standing on the site of two that burned down. Its construction began in 1118 and lasted 120 years. In addition to the magnificent west pediment and ancient interior decoration, the tomb of Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon (left side of the Cathedral, on the grave - flowers and a Christmas card, remember) is of historical interest. Nearby is an exhibition stand from the history of England and the Cathedral (apparently permanent: two years ago it was in the same place), a portrait of Henry VIII - a strong figure in a royal suit with regalia, a face widening downwards, a portrait of his first wife Catherine of Aragon - a sweet feminine a rather strong-willed face, straight parting of hair hidden under a light brown cap; eyes downcast.

Brown dress, matching decoration - beads on the neck.

She was the youngest daughter of the founders of the Spanish state, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England. Catherine of Aragon arrived in England in 1501. She was 16 years old and was to become the wife of Crown Prince Arthur - the son of King Henry VII. Thus, the king wanted to protect himself from France and raise the authority of England among European states.

Arthur was only 14 years old at the time of his marriage. He was a sickly young man consumed by consumption. And a year after the wedding, he died without leaving an heir, since he never entered into an intimate relationship with his young wife. Catherine remained in England as a young widow, and in fact as a hostage, because by that time her father had not yet managed to pay her dowry in full, and besides, it seemed that he had no intention of paying. She lived in such uncertainty for the next eight years.

She saw salvation in renunciation of worldly vanity and turning to God (she had nothing but the title of dowager princess, a small allowance and a retinue consisting exclusively of Spanish nobles who came with her. She was a burden both for the King of England Henry VII and for her father, King Ferdinand. Her mother, the brave Queen Isabella, died.

By the age of twenty, she indulged in severe asceticism - constant fasting and masses. One of the courtiers, fearing for her life, wrote to the Pope. And an order immediately came from him: stop self-torture, since it could be life-threatening.

In fact, the same state considerations as during the marriage of Catherine and Arthur contributed to the marriage of Henry, the youngest son of the King of England, and now the heir, to Catherine, who was six years older than the groom. Negotiations regarding their marriage began during the life of Henry VII and continued after his death. Catherine became Queen of England two months after Henry VIII's accession to the throne. However, before the wedding, Henry had to obtain permission from the Pope - Julius. Church law prohibited such marriages, but the Pope gave the English king special permission, largely because Catherine and Arthur never actually became husband and wife.

Due to Catherine's lack of surviving sons, Henry insisted, after 24 years of marriage, on a divorce (more precisely, annulment) in 1533. This step became one of the reasons for Henry's conflict with the Pope, the break with the Roman Catholic Church and the reformation in England.

In May 1533, Henry married Anne. He never received the consent of either the Pope or Catherine. It was decided that from this moment on, the Pope's authority would not extend to England. Henry declared himself head of the Church (since 1534), and his marriage with Catherine was invalid.

The people loved Queen Catherine: when Henry decided to fight the French, he longed for the glory of an outstanding military leader; he left Catherine as regent. At this time, taking advantage of the king's absence, the Scottish lords under the leadership of James IV invaded England. The Queen personally developed much of the defense plan. On September 9, 1513, the Scots were defeated on the hills near Flodden, and King James himself was killed. Catherine was proud of this victory.

Catherine did not recognize this marriage. She continued to call herself queen and responded to all threats that she was the legal wife of the king of England.

Catherine spent another two years in obscurity, spiteful critics continued to pester her, and she was not allowed to see her daughter. However, despite all the troubles, there was still a place in her heart for love for her husband. She wrote to the Pope, begging him not to forget about Henry and Mary.

She lived in a small room, the windows of which overlooked the fortress moat filled with rancid water and the neglected Kimbolton hunting park. Her retinue consisted of three ladies-in-waiting, half a dozen maids and several devoted Spaniards who looked after the household. In 1535, she fell ill, as it later became known, incurably.

On January 7, 1536, Catherine felt that she was dying. She managed to dictate a will, according to which she left all the money she had to her close associates. Daughters (Henry VIII’s eldest daughter from his marriage to Catherine of Aragon - Mary I Tudor (1516 - 1558) - Queen of England from 1553, Also known as Bloody Mary (or Bloody Mary), Mary the Catholic. Not a single monument was erected to this queen in her homeland) she bequeathed her furs and a gold necklace, which was part of her dowry, brought from Spain. She also wrote a farewell letter to Henry. In it, she asked him not to forget his daughter, reminded him of her rightful title and said that she still loved him.

Henry VIII was married six times.

His wives, each of whom stood behind a certain political or religious group, sometimes forced him to make changes in their political or religious views.

In 1524, in the retinue of Catherine of Aragon, who was already quite tired of the king, the monarch noticed a new pretty face.

Daughter of one of the king's dignitaries, Earl Thomas Boleyn. The engagement to her former fiancé, Lord Percy, has been broken off, and preparations have begun for a new wedding. In 1533, Henry married Anne Boleyn, and in September their daughter Elizabeth was born. So, this passion of the king was worth the break with Rome, the liquidation of Catholicism and its institutions in the country and the cooling of relations with Spain.

The love for Anne Boleyn lasted only two years. In his wife's retinue, Henry meets a new object of adoration - Jane Seymour. Possessing her becomes his goal for the near future. As luck would have it, my wife won’t give me a divorce; it’s worse for her. You must understand that you cannot order your heart. The king finds a way to gain freedom. If you don’t disperse, then “remove” (in the modern language of criminal elements). The most convenient excuse is adultery. And “well-wishers”, always ready to help their beloved king, begin to look for “evidence”. At one of the balls, the queen drops her glove. She is picked up and returned to her owner by Henry Noris, who is in love with her. The "Watching Eye" took note of this. Ease of communication with his brother, Lord Rochefort, provides a pretext for charges of incest. Several other nobles have been spotted in love with the queen. One of them, Smithox, promised to testify about adultery for a “moderate fee.”

Apparently Henry guessed that the church would not forgive him for his second divorce. Apart from divorce, only her death could free him from his former wife.

Henry called an executioner from France to execute his wife (the French succeeded in cutting off heads, because it was they who invented the guillotine - a device for quickly and painlessly cutting off heads). On May 15, 1536, the executioner cut off Anna's head not with an ax, but with a sharp and long sword, the first time. Anna did not suffer for long. Her daughter Elizabeth was deprived of the right to inherit the throne. Subsequently, the king recalled Anne Boleyn, not without regret.

A love letter from Henry VIII to his future second wife Anne Boleyn, in French, probably dated January 1528, has recently been published. The letter has been kept in the Vatican for five centuries and will be exhibited for the first time at the British Library in London.

“From now on, my heart will belong only to you.”
“Your expression of affection for me is so strong, and the beautiful words of your message are so heartfelt that I am simply obliged to respect, love and serve you forever,” the king writes. “For my part, I am ready, if possible, to surpass you in loyalty and desire to please you.”

The letter ends with the signature: “G. loves A.B.” and the initials of the beloved enclosed in a heart.

After Pope Clement VII refused to invalidate Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon (in order to marry Anne Boleyn), the English monarch broke with the Vatican and eventually created the Anglican Church, independent of Rome.

The British monarch holds the title

Supreme Ruler of the Church of England.

...The ghost of Anne Boleyn is known (let us remember that she was accused of adultery and incest, although, apparently, her only guilt was that she was tired of her husband) ... Anne Boleyn was executed in May 1536 directly in the Tower (the towers of the fortress were a state prison), where she was kept. After the execution, her body was hastily buried in St. Peter's Chapel in the Tower. But the soul of the unfortunate queen did not calm down. Since then, her ghost has been regularly seen for several centuries at regular intervals, sometimes at the head of a procession heading to St. Peter's Chapel, sometimes alone in different places in the old fortress: at the place where the execution took place...

One of the most impressive ghost sightings occurred in the winter of 1864. One night they found a sentry lying unconscious. He was court-martialed on charges of falling asleep on duty. Then he said that before dawn he saw a white silhouette emerge from the fog. He was wearing a cap, under which his head was missing; the silhouette headed towards the sentry.

After three usual warning calls, the soldier approached the ghost, but when the bayonet of the gun pierced him through, lightning ran down the barrel, and the sentry himself fainted from shock.

All this would have seemed like just a clever excuse if two other soldiers and an officer who testified after the accused had not said that they, too, had noticed the ghost through the window. When it turned out that the ghost in all four cases appeared under the door of the room in which Anne Boleyn spent her last night on the eve of her execution, the tribunal decided to release the sentry.

The nightmare recurred from time to time until the beginning of the 19th century. One day, a completely atheistically inclined officer, late at night, noticed a bright glow pouring from the windows of the chapel, which he had personally locked at sunset. Having obtained a ladder, the officer climbed up it, looked out the window - and almost fell down from fear.

Inside he saw a whole retinue of the Tudor court, led by Anne. The eerie procession moved towards the altar and, reaching it, gradually seemed to go under the floor... After some time, the officer managed to open the floor of the chapel, and under the slabs they found the remains of the queen along with her murdered retinue... After the remains were reburied with appropriate royal honors , the ghost of the innocently injured queen disappeared from the Tower forever.

The king marries Jane Seymour. She could not boast of an excellent education and “gallant” manners, since in the 16th century the education of an English girl was limited to religion, needlework and the basics of housekeeping. The ability to read and write was considered sufficient for a young aristocrat wishing to make a career at court.

Lady Jane's brothers, Thomas and Edward, on the contrary, were raised at the king's court from childhood (they were pages), and subsequently occupied various lucrative positions. Therefore, it was not surprising that from the mid-1520s their sister Jane was accepted into the staff of ladies-in-waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon. After Anne Boleyn became queen, Lady Jane came “at the disposal” of the new mistress.

At Christmas 1533, the king presented gifts to several ladies-in-waiting, including Lady Seymour.

After Anne Boleyn “upset” the king - instead of the desired son, she gave birth to only a girl (the future Elizabeth I), relations between Henry and the queen began to deteriorate noticeably. Moreover, Anna was intolerant, hot-tempered and ambitious. Having made many enemies at court, the queen gradually alienated Henry and herself. The years 1534 and 1535 were spent in family scandals, stormy showdowns and vain anticipation of the queen's next pregnancy.

It was at this time, in 1535, that the king became interested in the modest maid of honor Seymour. She was the complete opposite of Anna: blond, pale, very quiet and agreed with everyone on everything. If Anna was compared to a witch, and even a witch - she was thin, dark-haired and dark-eyed, then Jane was much more like a bright angel.

The royal wedding of 1536 was extremely modest. in the spring of 1537, Jane informed Henry of her pregnancy. The king surrounded his wife with unprecedented care and fulfilled all her demands and whims.

The heir was born healthy, handsome and similar to both spouses. But Jane was not destined to rejoice...

The young queen suffered in labor for two days. It was necessary to choose - mother or child. The doctors, knowing the explosive nature of the sovereign, were even afraid to mention it. “Save the child. I can get as many women as I want,” was the decisive and calm answer.

Jane died of childbed fever.

The famous ballad of the English group The Rolling Stones “Lady Jane” is dedicated to Jane Seymour and is based on the letters of King Henry VIII. The song also mentions Anne Boleyn (Lady Ann) and Mary Boleyn (Mary). Each of the three women is dedicated to their own verse.

In Europe, people began to fear the monarch, who so coldly got rid of his wives. In 1539, Henry VIII met his “beloved”, Princess Anne of Cleves, through a portrait. The daughter of the Duke of Cleves - Johann III and Maria von Geldern - was born on September 22, 1515, in Düsseldorf.

The portrait of Anna, painted by the great artist Holbein, made an excellent impression on 48-year-old Henry. He was not embarrassed by the fact that his chosen one was engaged for a short time to the Duke of Lorraine - according to English laws, the new marriage could not be considered legitimate.

On September 4, 1539, a marriage contract was signed. At the very beginning of 1540, Anna arrived in England. The first meeting of the bride and groom took place in Rochester, where Henry arrived as a private citizen.

One glance at Anna was enough - the king was disappointed. Instead of the pale and graceful beauty that Holbein portrayed, before Henry stood a large, massive woman with rather rough features. The straightforward Henry took out all his anger on Cromwell, who allegedly “slipped him a hefty Flemish mare.”

The original was a complete disappointment. It was probably not Anna’s appearance that was repulsive at all, but her stiffness, inability to behave in society, the unusual cut of her clothes for the king’s eyes, and lack of proper grace.

“Where did you find this stuffed animal? Send her back immediately!” he became angry with Cromwell (the Protestant party, led by the king’s favorite and first minister, Thomas Cromwell, found the bride for the king). “This is impossible, Your Majesty! If you break the marriage contract, Europe may declare war on England.”

Anna didn’t like Henry either, and besides, she had heard rumors about the death of Anne Boleyn while still in Kleve.

Henry resigned himself, but he could not fulfill his marital duty. For six months, the Princess of Cleves lived in England - her husband did not deign her with his attention. Anne was a kind stepmother to both Prince Edward and Princesses Betsy and Mary. She settled into the English court: she fell in love with music and dancing, and got herself dogs and parrots.

The divorce of the spouses was surprisingly calm. Anna, having judged everything sensibly and sorted out all the pros and cons, gathered the Privy Council to give a response to the divorce proposal.

Henry kept Anna in his family - as a "sister". This was dictated by a number of circumstances: Anna of Cleves fell in love with the king’s children, a number of courtiers found her an extremely kind and pleasant woman. Henry did not want to come into conflict with Anna's brother, Duke of Berg-Julig-Cleves, who was one of the most influential rulers of Germany. And Anna herself sincerely fell in love with her new homeland.

Henry proclaimed Anne his "sister" and thus she remained the highest-born lady after the new queen and princesses Mary and Betsy. Anna received generous gifts from the king: the castles of Richmond and Hever, as well as a substantial annual income.

The correspondence between Heinrich and Anna suggests that the former spouses lived very amicably. The King always signed his messages "Loving Brother Henry".

The instigator of this marriage, Thomas Cromwell, was arrested and placed in the Tower. He lived only to testify in the divorce case - on June 28, 1540, he was executed on charges of treason and heresy.

Anna did not remarry. She outlived both Henry VIII and his son Edward VI. Anna von Kleve died on July 16, 1557 in London. Anne of Cleves was buried in Westminster Abbey.

In July 1540, Henry married 19-year-old Kate Howard. The wedding was modest. After the wedding, Henry seemed to look 20 years younger - tournaments, balls and other entertainment, to which Henry remained indifferent after the execution of Anne Boleyn, resumed at court. He adored his young wife - she was incredibly kind, simple-minded, sincerely loved gifts and rejoiced at them like a child. Henry called Kate "a rose without thorns."

However, young Howard was extremely careless in her actions - Kate accepted all her “friends of her youth” to the court, and they knew too much about the queen’s life before her marriage. In addition, Kate resumed her relationship with Francis Dirham, whom she made her personal secretary.

Then another gentleman from a “past life” appeared at court - Thomas Kelpeper (Kate’s distant relative on her mother’s side, whom she once wanted to marry).

However, the young woman had enemies at court (or rather, they were the enemies of her influential uncle Norfolk...

The innocence of the young “rose” began to irritate the middle-aged king.

When Henry was informed that his naive Kate was not such a “rose” at all, he was simply confused. The king's reaction was quite unexpected - instead of the usual anger, there were tears and complaints. The meaning of the complaints boiled down to the fact that fate did not grant him a happy family life, and all his women either cheated, or died, or were simply disgusting.

In early February 1542, Lady Howard was transferred to the Tower, and two days later she was beheaded in front of a curious crowd. The young woman met her death in a state of deep shock - she had to be carried to the place of execution.

After the execution, Lady Kate's body was buried next to the remains of Anne Boleyn, another executed queen, who, by the way, was also a relative of the Howards.

Feeling in my heart that I am unloved,

Henry the Eighth executed his wives.

Henry's sixth wife is Katherine Parr, daughter of a baronet, widow of the elderly Lord Edward Borough. Young Kate Parr was only 14 or 15 years old when she was married in 1526 to an elderly, sixty-three-year-old lord. The couple's family life was quite happy. Moreover, Catherine managed to become a true friend for the children of Lord Boro, who were almost twice the age of their stepmother. However, in 1529 Lady Borough became a widow.

In 1530, the young widow received a new proposal for marriage. It came from John Neville, Lord Latimer, a widower. Having accepted this offer, Lady Catherine moved to her husband in Snape Castle. Here she again found herself in the role of a stepmother - Latimer had a daughter, Margaret, from his first marriage.

In the second half of the 1530s, the Latimers often visited the king's court, and Henry VIII was very friendly towards the couple.

In the second half of the 1530s, the Latimers often visited the king's court, and Henry VIII treated this couple very friendly. After the execution of his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, Henry increasingly paid attention to the intelligent and friendly Lady Latimer. She was already thirty-one years old, which by the standards of the 16th century was not considered the age of youth, however, the king himself was far from young.

Lord Latimer was already seriously ill at that time and, alas, there was no hope for recovery. When he died in 1543, the king began to persistently court Lady Latimer.

Lady Latimer's first reaction to the king's offer to become his “comfort in old age” was fear. However, Henry did not abandon his intention to marry Catherine and, ultimately, she gave her consent.

On July 12, 1543, the wedding took place at the royal chapel at Hampton Court. The wedding took place in Windsor.

From the very first days of her life together with Henry, Catherine tried to create for him the conditions for a normal family life. Princess Elizabeth, daughter of the executed Anne Boleyn, enjoyed her special favor.

A strong friendship began between the stepmother and stepdaughter - they conducted active correspondence and often had philosophical conversations.

Smart and energetic, Catherine skillfully neutralizes the court intrigues weaving against her. Despite her husband’s increased suspicion, Katerina, throughout the four years of their marriage, gives him no reason to be dissatisfied.

In 1545–1546, the king’s health deteriorated so much that he could no longer fully deal with state problems. However, the king’s suspiciousness and suspiciousness, on the contrary, began to acquire a threatening character. Catherine was, as they say, on the verge of death several times: the queen had influential enemies, and, ultimately, the king could believe them rather than his wife. The king decided to arrest Catherine several times, and each time he refused this step. The reason for the royal disfavor was mainly the radical Protestantism of Catherine, who was carried away by the ideas of Luther. On January 28, 1547, at two o'clock in the morning, Henry VIII died. And already in May of the same year, the dowager queen married Thomas Seymour, Jane Seymour's brother.

Who knows, perhaps Henry VIII served as the prototype for the character in Charles Perrault's fairy tale "Bluebeard" (Perrault wrote it down in the 17th century in France, the hero's name is Gilles de Rés. Bluebeard's last wife has no name in the fairy tale, but her older sister is called Anna )?..

“Once upon a time there was a man who had beautiful houses both in the city and in the countryside, dishes made of gold and silver, furniture covered in embroidery and carriages gilded from top to bottom. But, unfortunately, this man had a blue beard..."

early years

In 1513, he set out from the city of Calais, preparing to make his first land campaign against the French. The mainstay of the marching army were archers (Henry himself was an excellent archer, and he also issued a decree according to which every Englishman should devote one hour to practicing archery every Saturday). He managed to capture only two small towns. Over the next twelve years he fought in France with varying degrees of success. In 1522-23, Henry approached Paris. But by 1525 the war treasury was empty, and he was forced to conclude a peace treaty.

As a result of the policy of ruining small peasant farms, the so-called enclosure, which was carried out by large landowners, a huge number of vagabonds from among the former peasants appeared in England. Many of them were hanged under the “vagrancy law.” The despotism of this king, both in state and in personal life, knew no boundaries. The fate of his six wives is a striking example of this.

Break with the papacy and church reform

The formal reason for the severance of relations with the papacy was in 1529 the refusal of Pope Clement VII to recognize Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon as illegal and, accordingly, to annul it so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. In such a situation, the King decided to sever ties with the papacy. The English bishops were charged with treason under a previously “dead” article - appealing for trial not to the King, but to a foreign ruler, that is, the pope. Parliament adopted a decision prohibiting henceforth contacting the pope on church matters. In the same year, Henry appointed Thomas Cranmer as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, who undertook to free the king from an unnecessary marriage. In January, Henry married Anne Boleyn without permission, and in May, Thomas Cranmer declared the king's previous marriage illegal and annulled. Pope Clement VII excommunicated the king on July 11.

Having led the religious reformation in the country, in 1534 being proclaimed head of the Anglican Church, in 1536 and 1539 he carried out large-scale secularization of the monastic lands. Since the monasteries were the main suppliers of industrial crops - in particular, hemp, which was extremely important for sailing - it could be expected that the transfer of their lands into private hands would have a negative impact on the condition of the English fleet. To prevent this from happening, Henry issued a decree ahead of time (in 1533) ordering each farmer to sow a quarter acre of hemp for every 6 acres of sown area. Thus, the monasteries lost their main economic advantage, and the alienation of their possessions did not harm the economy.

The first victims of church reform were those who refused to accept the Act of Supremacy, who were equated with state traitors. The most famous of those executed during this period were John Fisher (1469-1535; Bishop of Rochester, formerly the confessor of Henry's grandmother Margaret Beaufort) and Thomas More (1478-1535; famous humanist writer, in 1529-1532 - Lord Chancellor of England ).

Later years

In the second half of his reign, King Henry switched to the most cruel and tyrannical forms of government. The number of executed political opponents of the king increased. One of his first victims was Edmund de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, who was executed back in 1513. The last of the significant figures executed by King Henry was the son of the Duke of Norfolk, the outstanding English poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, who died in January 1547, a few days before the king's death. According to Holinshed, the number of people executed during the reign of King Henry reached 72,000 people.

Death

In the last years of his life, Henry began to suffer from obesity (his waist size grew to 54 inches (137 cm), so the king could only move with the help of special mechanisms. Towards the end of his life, Henry's body was covered with painful tumors. It is possible that he suffered from gout.

Obesity and other health problems may have been a consequence of the king's accident in 1536, in which he injured his leg. Perhaps the wound became infected, and because of this, the wound received earlier on the hunt reopened. The wound was so problematic that all the invited doctors considered it incurable, and some were even inclined to believe that the king was incurable at all. Some time after the injury, the wound began to fester, thus preventing Heinrich from maintaining his usual level of physical activity, preventing him from daily performing the usual physical exercises in which he had regularly previously engaged. It is believed that it was this injury that caused the change in his shaky character. The king began to show tyrannical traits, and he increasingly began to suffer from depression.

At the same time, Henry changed his eating style and began to mainly consume huge amounts of fatty red meat, reducing the amount of vegetables in his diet. It is believed that these factors provoked the quick death of the king. Death overtook Henry VIII at the age of 55, on January 28, 1547, at Whitehall Palace (it was supposed that his father's 90th birthday would be held there, which the king was going to attend). The king's last words were: “Monks! Monks! Monks! .

Wives of Henry VIII

Henry VIII was married six times. The fate of his spouse is memorized by English schoolchildren using the mnemonic phrase “divorced - executed - died, divorced - executed - survived.” From his first three marriages he had 10 children, of whom only three survived - the eldest daughter Maria from his first marriage, the youngest daughter Elizabeth from the second, and son Edward from the third. They all subsequently ruled. Henry's last three marriages were childless.

• Anne Boleyn (c. 1507-1536). For a long time she was Henry's unapproachable lover, refusing to become his mistress. According to one version, Henry was the author of the text of the ballad Greensleeves (Green Sleeves), dedicating it to Anna. After Cardinal Wolsey was unable to resolve the issue of Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, Anne hired theologians who proved that the king was the ruler of both state and church, and responsible only to God, and not to the Pope in Rome (this was the beginning of the disunion the English Church from Rome and the creation of the Anglican Church). She became Henry's wife in January 1533, was crowned on June 1, 1533, and in September of the same year gave birth to his daughter Elizabeth, instead of the son expected by the king. Subsequent pregnancies ended unsuccessfully. Anna soon lost the love of her husband, was accused of adultery and beheaded in the Tower in May 1536.
• Jane Seymour (c. 1508-1537). She was Anne Boleyn's maid of honor. Henry married her a week after the execution of his previous wife. She soon died of childbed fever. Mother of Henry's only son, Edward VI. In honor of the birth of the prince, the cannons in the Tower fired two thousand volleys.
• Anna of Cleves (1515-1557). Daughter of Johann III of Cleves, sister of the reigning Duke of Cleves. Marriage to her was one of the ways to cement the alliance of Henry, Francis I and the German Protestant princes. As a prerequisite for marriage, Henry wanted to see a portrait of the bride, for which Hans Holbein the Younger was sent to Kleve. Heinrich liked the portrait and the engagement took place in absentia. But Henry categorically did not like the bride who arrived in England (unlike her portrait). Although the marriage was concluded in January 1540, Henry immediately began to look for a way to get rid of his unloved wife. As a result, already in June 1540 the marriage was annulled; The reason was Anne's pre-existing engagement to the Duke of Lorraine. In addition, Henry stated that there was no actual marital relationship between him and Anna. Anne remained in England as the King's "sister" and outlived both Henry and all his other wives. This marriage was arranged by Thomas Cromwell, for which he lost his head.
• Catherine Howard (1520-1542). Niece of the powerful Duke of Norfolk, cousin of Anne Boleyn. Henry married her in July 1540 out of passionate love. It soon became clear that Catherine had a lover before marriage - Francis Durham - and was cheating on Henry with his personal page Thomas Culpeper. The perpetrators were executed, after which the queen herself ascended the scaffold on February 13, 1542.
• Catherine Parr (c. 1512-1548). By the time of her marriage to Heinrich (), she had already been widowed twice. She was a convinced Protestant and did a lot for Henry’s new turn to Protestantism. After Henry's death she married Thomas Seymour, brother of Jane Seymour.

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Children

From first marriage

• Unnamed daughter (b. and d. 1510)
• Henry (b. and d. 1511)
• Henry (b. and d. 1513)
• Henry (b. and d. 1515)
• Maria I (1516-1558)

From second marriage

• Elizabeth I (1533-1603)
• Unnamed son (b. and d. 1534)
• Unnamed son (b. and d. 1536)

From third marriage

• Edward VI (1537-1553)

Illegitimate

• Henry Fitzroy (1519-1536)

On coins

In 2009, the Royal Mint issued a £5 coin to mark the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to the throne.

Image in art

Literature

• William Shakespeare . "Henry VIII"
• Grigory Gorin. Play "Royal Games"
• Jean Plaidy. Novel "The Sixth Wife of Henry VIII"
• Judith O'Brien. Novel "The Scarlet Rose of the Tudors"
• Simone Vilar "A Queen to boot"
• Philippa Gregory - novels from the "Tudor" series ("The Eternal Princess", "The Other Boleyn", "The Boleyn Inheritance")
• Karen Harper "The Last of the Boleyns", "The Queen's Mentor"
• Carolly Erickson - "Royal Secrets"
• Mark Twain . "Prince and the Pauper "
• Mühlbach Louise - “Henry VIII and his favorites”
• Mantel Hilary - "Wolf Hall", "Bring in the Bodies"
• George Margaret - "Between an Angel and a Witch", "The Hopelessly Lonely King"
• Holt Victoria - "St. Thomas's Day", "The Path to the Scaffold", "Temple of Love in the King's Court"
• Weir Alison - "Lady Jane's Throne and Scaffold"
• Small Bertrice - "Blaze Wyndham", "Remember Me Love"
• Galinax Brezgam - "Kingdom for Love"
• Peters Maureen - "Havor Rose", "The Slut Queen"
• Miles Rosalyn - "I, Elizabeth..."
• Vantrice Rickman Brenda - "The Heretic's Wife"
• Emerson Keith - "Refuse the King"
• Sansom K.J. - "Lord Cromwell's Hunchback", "Dark Fire", "Sovereign", "The Seventh Bowl"
• Yesenkov Valery - “Henry VIII”
• Pavlishcheva Natalya - “The sixth wife of Henry VIII: in the arms of Bluebeard”
• Henry Rider Haggard - "Mistress of Blossholm"

Cinema

• "The Prince and the Pauper" (1937) - the role of Henry VIII was played by Montague Love
• In one of the episodes of the popular American television series “My Wife Bewitched Me,” the role of Henry was played by Ronald Long
• "The Six Wives of Henry VIII"(1970) - the role of Henry VIII was played by Keith Michell
• "Elizabeth R."(1971) - the role of Henry VIII (in one episode, uncredited) was played by Keith Michell
• "Henry VIII and his six wives"(1972) - the role of Henry VIII was played by Keith Michell
• In Episode 11 of Season 15 of The Simpsons, Marge tells the children the story of Henry VIII.
• The life of Henry VIII, his reforms and the events of that time are described in detail in the television series "Tudors"(Canada-Ireland). The series premiered in 2007; The series has four seasons, filming ended in 2010. The role of the king was played by Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers
• "Wolf Hall" (mini-series) (2015) - Damian Lewis as Henry VIII

Music

• Album “The Six Wives Of Henry VIII” () Rick Wakeman
• Opera "Henry VIII" by Camille Saint-Saëns
• Army of the Pharaohs song "Henry The VIII"
• Song by Herman's Hermits - "I'm Henry the Eighth I am"
• Emilie Autumn's song "Marry Me"

see also

• Greenwich armor is a type of English armor created by order of Henry VIII

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Notes

Literature

• Petrushevsky D. M. ,.// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

Excerpt characterizing Henry VIII

The old count, who had always kept a huge hunt, but now transferred the entire hunt to the jurisdiction of his son, on this day, September 15th, having fun, got ready to leave too.
An hour later the whole hunt was at the porch. Nikolai, with a stern and serious look, showing that there was no time to deal with trifles now, walked past Natasha and Petya, who were telling him something. He inspected all parts of the hunt, sent the pack and hunters ahead to the race, sat down on his red bottom and, whistling the dogs of his pack, set off through the threshing floor into the field leading to the Otradnensky order. The old count's horse, a game-colored mering called Bethlyanka, was led by the count's stirrup; he himself had to go straight in the droshky to the hole left for him.
Of all the hounds, 54 dogs were bred, under which 6 people went out as handlers and catchers. In addition to the masters, there were 8 greyhound hunters, who were followed by more than 40 greyhounds, so that with the master's packs about 130 dogs and 20 horse hunters went out into the field.
Each dog knew its owner and name. Each hunter knew his business, place and purpose. As soon as they left the fence, everyone, without noise or conversation, stretched out evenly and calmly along the road and field leading to the Otradnensky forest.
The horses walked across the field as if walking on a fur carpet, occasionally splashing through puddles as they crossed the roads. The foggy sky continued to descend imperceptibly and evenly to the ground; the air was quiet, warm, soundless. Occasionally one could hear the whistling of a hunter, the snoring of a horse, the blow of an arapnik, or the yelp of a dog that was not moving in its place.
Having ridden about a mile away, five more horsemen with dogs appeared from the fog to meet the Rostov hunt. A fresh, handsome old man with a large gray mustache rode ahead.
“Hello, uncle,” Nikolai said when the old man drove up to him.
“It’s a real march!... I knew it,” said the uncle (he was a distant relative, a poor neighbor of the Rostovs), “I knew that you couldn’t stand it, and it’s good that you’re going.” Pure march! (This was my uncle’s favorite saying.) - Take the order now, otherwise my Girchik reported that the Ilagins are standing in Korniki with pleasure; You have them - pure march! - they will take the brood under your nose.
- That's where I'm going. What, to bring down the flocks? - Nikolai asked, - get out...
The hounds were united into one pack, and uncle and Nikolai rode side by side. Natasha, wrapped in scarves, from under which a lively face with sparkling eyes could be seen, galloped up to them, accompanied by Petya and Mikhaila, the hunter who was not far behind her, and the guard who was assigned as her nanny. Petya laughed at something and beat and pulled his horse. Natasha deftly and confidently sat on her black Arab and with a faithful hand, without effort, reined him in.
Uncle looked disapprovingly at Petya and Natasha. He did not like to combine self-indulgence with the serious business of hunting.
- Hello, uncle, we're on our way! – Petya shouted.
“Hello, hello, but don’t run over the dogs,” the uncle said sternly.
- Nikolenka, what a lovely dog, Trunila! “he recognized me,” Natasha said about her favorite hound dog.
“Trunila, first of all, is not a dog, but a survivor,” thought Nikolai and looked sternly at his sister, trying to make her feel the distance that should have separated them at that moment. Natasha understood this.
“Don’t think, uncle, that we will interfere with anyone,” said Natasha. We will remain in our place and not move.
“And a good thing, countess,” said the uncle. “Just don’t fall off your horse,” he added: “otherwise it’s pure marching!” – there’s nothing to hold on to.
The island of the Otradnensky order was visible about a hundred yards away, and those arriving were approaching it. Rostov, having finally decided with his uncle where to throw the hounds from and showing Natasha a place where she could stand and where nothing could run, set off for a race over the ravine.
“Well, nephew, you’re becoming like a seasoned man,” said the uncle: don’t bother ironing (etching).
“As necessary,” answered Rostov. - Karai, fuit! - he shouted, responding with this call to his uncle’s words. Karai was an old and ugly, brown-haired male, famous for the fact that he single-handedly took on a seasoned wolf. Everyone took their places.
The old count, knowing his son’s hunting ardor, hurried not to be late, and before those who arrived had time to drive up to the place, Ilya Andreich, cheerful, rosy, with trembling cheeks, rode up on his little black ones along the greenery to the hole left for him and, straightening his fur coat and putting on his hunting clothes, shells, climbed onto his smooth, well-fed, quiet and kind, gray-haired Bethlyanka like him. The horses and droshky were sent away. Count Ilya Andreich, although not a hunter by heart, but who firmly knew the hunting laws, rode into the edge of the bushes from which he was standing, took apart the reins, adjusted himself in the saddle and, feeling ready, looked back smiling.
Next to him stood his valet, an ancient but overweight rider, Semyon Chekmar. Chekmar kept in his pack three dashing, but also fat, like the owner and the horse - wolfhounds. Two dogs, smart, old, lay down without packs. About a hundred paces further away in the edge of the forest stood another of the Count's stirrups, Mitka, a desperate rider and passionate hunter. The Count, according to his old habit, drank a silver glass of hunting casserole before the hunt, had a snack and washed it down with a half-bottle of his favorite Bordeaux.
Ilya Andreich was a little flushed from the wine and the ride; his eyes, covered with moisture, shone especially, and he, wrapped in a fur coat, sitting on the saddle, had the appearance of a child who was going for a walk. Thin, with drawn-in cheeks, Chekmar, having settled down with his affairs, glanced at the master with whom he lived for 30 years in perfect harmony, and, understanding his pleasant mood, waited for a pleasant conversation. Another third person approached cautiously (apparently he had already learned) from behind the forest and stopped behind the count. The face was that of an old man with a gray beard, wearing a woman's hood and a high cap. It was the jester Nastasya Ivanovna.
“Well, Nastasya Ivanovna,” the count said in a whisper, winking at him, “just trample the beast, Danilo will give you the task.”
“I myself... have a mustache,” said Nastasya Ivanovna.
- Shhh! – the count hissed and turned to Semyon.
– Have you seen Natalya Ilyinichna? – he asked Semyon. - Where is she?
“He and Pyotr Ilyich got up in the weeds from the Zharovs,” answered Semyon, smiling. - They are also ladies, but they have a great desire.
- Are you surprised, Semyon, how she drives... huh? - said the count, if only the man was in time!
- How not to be surprised? Boldly, deftly.
-Where is Nikolasha? Is it above the Lyadovsky top? – the count kept asking in a whisper.
- That's right, sir. They already know where to stand. They know how to drive so subtly that sometimes Danila and I are amazed,” said Semyon, knowing how to please the master.
- It drives well, huh? And what about the horse, huh?
- Paint a picture! Just the other day, a fox was snatched from the Zavarzinsky weeds. They began to jump over, out of delight, passion - the horse is a thousand rubles, but the rider has no price. Look for such a fine fellow!
“Search...,” the count repeated, apparently regretting that Semyon’s speech ended so soon. - Search? - he said, turning away the flaps of his fur coat and taking out a snuff box.
“The other day, as Mikhail Sidorich came out from mass in full regalia...” Semyon did not finish, hearing the rut clearly heard in the quiet air with the howling of no more than two or three hounds. He bowed his head, listened and silently threatened the master. “They’ve attacked the brood...” he whispered, and they led him straight to Lyadovskaya.
The count, having forgotten to wipe the smile from his face, looked ahead along the lintel into the distance and, without sniffing, held the snuffbox in his hand. Following the barking of the dogs, a voice was heard from the wolf, sent into Danila’s bass horn; the pack joined the first three dogs and the voices of the hounds could be heard roaring loudly, with that special howl that served as a sign of the rutting of the wolf. Those arriving no longer squawked, but hooted, and from behind all the voices came Danila’s voice, sometimes bassy, ​​sometimes piercingly thin. Danila’s voice seemed to fill the entire forest, came out from behind the forest and sounded far into the field.
After listening in silence for a few seconds, the count and his stirrup became convinced that the hounds had split into two flocks: one large one, roaring especially hotly, began to move away, the other part of the flock rushed along the forest past the count, and in the presence of this flock Danila’s hooting could be heard. Both of these ruts merged, shimmered, but both moved away. Semyon sighed and bent down to straighten the bundle in which the young male was entangled; The count also sighed and, noticing the snuff-box in his hand, opened it and took out a pinch. "Back!" Semyon shouted at the dog, who stepped out beyond the edge. The Count shuddered and dropped his snuffbox. Nastasya Ivanovna got down and began to lift her.
The Count and Semyon looked at him. Suddenly, as often happens, the sound of the rut instantly came closer, as if, right there in front of them, there were the barking mouths of dogs and the hooting of Danila.
The count looked around and to the right he saw Mitka, who was looking at the count with rolling eyes and, raising his hat, pointed him forward, to the other side.
- Take care! - he shouted in such a voice that it was clear that this word had been painfully asking him to come out for a long time. And he galloped, releasing the dogs, towards the count.
The Count and Semyon jumped out of the edge of the forest and to their left they saw a wolf, which, softly waddling, quietly jumped up to their left to the very edge at which they were standing. The evil dogs squealed and, breaking away from the pack, rushed towards the wolf past the legs of the horses.
The wolf stopped running, awkwardly, like a sick toad, turned his big forehead to the dogs, and also softly waddling, jumped once, twice and, shaking a log (tail), disappeared into the edge of the forest. At that same moment, from the opposite edge of the forest, with a roar similar to crying, one, another, a third hound jumped out in confusion, and the whole pack rushed across the field, through the very place where the wolf had crawled (ran) through. Following the hounds, the hazel bushes parted and Danila’s brown horse, blackened with sweat, appeared. On her long back, in a lump, lolling forward, sat Danila, without a hat, with gray, tousled hair over a red, sweaty face.
“Whoop, whoop!” he shouted. When he saw the count, lightning flashed in his eyes.
“F...” he shouted, threatening the count with his raised arapnik.
-About...the wolf!...hunters! - And as if not deigning to deign the embarrassed, frightened count with further conversation, he, with all the anger he had prepared for the count, hit the sunken wet sides of the brown gelding and rushed after the hounds. The Count, as if punished, stood looking around and trying with a smile to make Semyon regret his situation. But Semyon was no longer there: he, taking a detour through the bushes, jumped the wolf from the abatis. Greyhounds also jumped over the beast from both sides. But the wolf walked through the bushes and not a single hunter intercepted him.

Nikolai Rostov, meanwhile, stood in his place, waiting for the beast. By the approach and distance of the rut, by the sounds of the voices of dogs known to him, by the approach, distance and elevation of the voices of those arriving, he felt what was happening on the island. He knew that there were arrived (young) and seasoned (old) wolves on the island; he knew that the hounds had split into two packs, that they were poisoning somewhere, and that something untoward had happened. Every second he waited for the beast to come to his side. He made thousands of different assumptions about how and from which side the animal would run and how it would poison it. Hope gave way to despair. Several times he turned to God with a prayer that the wolf would come out to him; he prayed with that passionate and conscientious feeling with which people pray in moments of great excitement, depending on an insignificant reason. “Well, what does it cost you,” he said to God, “to do this for me! I know that You are great, and that it is a sin to ask You for this; but for the sake of God, make sure that the seasoned one comes out on me, and that Karai, in front of the “uncle” who is watching from there, slams into his throat with a death grip.” A thousand times during these half-hours, with a persistent, tense and restless gaze, Rostov looked around the edge of the forest with two sparse oak trees over an aspen underhang, and the ravine with a worn edge, and the uncle’s hat, barely visible from behind a bush to the right.
“No, this happiness will not happen,” thought Rostov, but what would it cost? Will not be! I always have misfortune, both in cards and in war, in everything.” Austerlitz and Dolokhov flashed brightly, but quickly changing, in his imagination. “Only once in my life would I hunt down a seasoned wolf, I don’t want to do it again!” he thought, straining his hearing and vision, looking to the left and again to the right and listening to the slightest shades of the sounds of the rut. He looked again to the right and saw something running towards him across the deserted field. “No, this can’t be!” thought Rostov, sighing heavily, like a man sighs when he accomplishes something that has been long awaited by him. The greatest happiness happened - and so simply, without noise, without glitter, without commemoration. Rostov could not believe his eyes and this doubt lasted more than a second. The wolf ran forward and jumped heavily over the pothole that was on his road. It was an old beast, with a gray back and a full, reddish belly. He ran slowly, apparently convinced that no one could see him. Without breathing, Rostov looked back at the dogs. They lay and stood, not seeing the wolf and not understanding anything. Old Karai, turning his head and baring his yellow teeth, angrily looking for a flea, clicked them on his hind thighs.
- Hoot! – Rostov said in a whisper, his lips protruding. The dogs, trembling their glands, jumped up, ears pricked. Karai scratched his thigh and stood up, pricking his ears and slightly shaking his tail, on which felts of fur hung.
– Let in or not let in? - Nikolai said to himself while the wolf moved towards him, separating from the forest. Suddenly the whole face of the wolf changed; he shuddered, seeing human eyes that he had probably never seen before, fixed on him, and turning his head slightly towards the hunter, he stopped - back or forward? Eh! anyway, forward!... obviously,” he seemed to say to himself, and set off forward, no longer looking back, with a soft, rare, free, but decisive leap.
“Whoops!...” Nikolai shouted in a voice that was not his own, and of its own accord his good horse rushed headlong down the hill, jumping over water holes and across the wolf; and the dogs rushed even faster, overtaking her. Nikolai did not hear his cry, did not feel that he was galloping, did not see either the dogs or the place where he was galloping; he saw only the wolf, who, intensifying his run, galloped, without changing direction, along the ravine. The first to appear near the beast was the black-spotted, wide-bottomed Milka and began to approach the beast. Closer, closer... now she came to him. But the wolf glanced slightly sideways at her, and instead of attacking her, as she always did, Milka suddenly raised her tail and began to rest on her front legs.
- Whoop! - Nikolai shouted.
Red Lyubim jumped out from behind Milka, quickly rushed at the wolf and grabbed him by the hachi (hips of his hind legs), but at that very second he jumped in fear to the other side. The wolf sat down, clicked his teeth and got up again and galloped forward, escorted a yard away by all the dogs that did not approach him.
- He will go away! No, It is Immpossible! – Nikolai thought, continuing to scream in a hoarse voice.
- Karai! Hoot!...” he shouted, looking with the eyes of the old dog, his only hope. Karai, with all his old strength, stretched out as much as he could, looking at the wolf, galloped heavily away from the beast, across it. But from the speed of the wolf’s leap and the slowness of the dog’s leap, it was clear that Karai’s calculation was wrong. Nikolai could no longer see the forest far ahead of him, which, having reached it, the wolf would probably leave. Dogs and a hunter appeared ahead, galloping almost towards them. There was still hope. Unknown to Nikolai, a dark, young, long male from someone else's pack quickly flew up to the wolf in front and almost knocked him over. The wolf quickly, as could not have been expected from him, stood up and rushed towards the dark dog, snapped his teeth - and the bloody dog, with a torn side, shrieked shrilly and stuck his head into the ground.
- Karayushka! Father!.. - Nikolai cried...
The old dog, with his tufts dangling on his thighs, thanks to the stop that had taken place, cutting off the wolf’s path, was already five steps away from him. As if sensing danger, the wolf glanced sideways at Karai, hid the log (tail) even further between his legs and increased his gallop. But here - Nikolai only saw that something had happened to Karai - he instantly found himself on the wolf and together with him fell head over heels into the waterhole that was in front of them.
The moment when Nikolai saw the dogs swarming with the wolf in the pond, from under which one could see the wolf’s gray fur, his outstretched back leg, and his frightened and choking head with his ears pressed back (Karai was holding him by the throat), the minute when Nikolai saw this was the happiest moment of his life. He had already taken hold of the pommel of the saddle to dismount and stab the wolf, when suddenly the animal’s head poked up from this mass of dogs, then its front legs stood on the edge of the waterhole. The wolf flashed his teeth (Karai was no longer holding him by the throat), jumped out of the pond with his hind legs and, tucking his tail, again separated from the dogs, moved forward. Karai with bristling fur, probably bruised or wounded, had difficulty crawling out of the waterhole.
- My God! For what?...” Nikolai shouted in despair.
The uncle's hunter, on the other side, galloped to cut off the wolf, and his dogs again stopped the beast. They surrounded him again.
Nikolai, his stirrup, his uncle and his hunter hovered over the beast, hooting, screaming, every minute getting ready to get down when the wolf sat on its backside and every time starting forward when the wolf shook itself and moved towards the notch that was supposed to save it. Even at the beginning of this persecution, Danila, hearing hooting, jumped out to the edge of the forest. He saw Karai take the wolf and stop the horse, believing that the matter was over. But when the hunters did not get down, the wolf shook himself and ran away again. Danila released his brown one not towards the wolf, but in a straight line towards the notch in the same way as Karai - to cut off the beast. Thanks to this direction, he jumped up to the wolf while the second time he was stopped by his uncle's dogs.
Danila galloped silently, holding the drawn dagger in his left hand and, like a flail, swinging his arapnik along the toned sides of the brown one.
Nikolai did not see or hear Danila until a brown one panted past him, panting heavily, and he heard the sound of a falling body and saw that Danila was already lying in the middle of the dogs on the back of the wolf, trying to catch him by the ears. It was obvious to the dogs, the hunters, and the wolf that it was all over now. The animal, with its ears flattened in fear, tried to get up, but the dogs surrounded it. Danila, standing up, took a falling step and with all his weight, as if lying down to rest, fell on the wolf, grabbing him by the ears. Nikolai wanted to stab, but Danila whispered: “No need, we’ll make a joke,” and changing position, he stepped on the wolf’s neck with his foot. They put a stick in the wolf's mouth, tied it, as if bridling it with a pack, tied its legs, and Danila rolled the wolf from one side to the other a couple of times.
With happy, exhausted faces, the living, seasoned wolf was loaded onto a darting and snorting horse and, accompanied by dogs squealing at him, was taken to the place where everyone was supposed to gather. Two young ones were taken by hounds and three by greyhounds. The hunters arrived with their prey and stories, and everyone came up to look at the seasoned wolf, who, hanging his forehead with a bitten stick in his mouth, looked at this whole crowd of dogs and people surrounding him with large, glassy eyes. When they touched him, he trembled with his bound legs, wildly and at the same time simply looked at everyone. Count Ilya Andreich also drove up and touched the wolf.

Great Britain historically occupies a special place in Europe. Separated from continental Europe by the sea, Foggy Albion, while remaining part of the Old World, has many fundamental differences from its neighbors.

Henry VIII in his youth, in the year of his accession to the throne (1509). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Among these differences is the Anglican Church, a Christian denomination that was formed not only and not so much as a result of religious discussions, but because of the stormy temperament and ambitions of King Henry VIII.

Youngest son born in 1491 Henry VII should have become not a monarch, but a priest. From a young age, he studied theology, attended up to six masses a day, and even wrote treatises on religious topics himself.

His father's plans for the prince changed dramatically in 1502, when Henry's older brother died Arthur.

An 11-year-old boy, who was preparing to devote his life to serving God, now had to prepare to rule the state.

Moreover, Henry VII announced to his son that he would marry... his brother’s widow, a Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon. The king wanted to strengthen ties with Spain at all costs, and even the death of his eldest son just a few months after the wedding did not change his intentions.

Moreover, the widowed king wanted to marry Catherine himself, but the Spaniards opposed this.

For the young prince, the world turned upside down. Just yesterday he was five minutes before a priest, bound by a vow of celibacy, and today he is already five minutes before a king with his legal wife.

Defender of the Faith

The prince, crowned Henry VIII, ascended the throne at the age of 17. During the first years of his reign he was under the influence of the bishop Richard Fox and the archbishop William Wareham.

Catherine of Aragon. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

In the first years of the reign of Henry VIII, it seemed that the position of the Catholic Church in England was unshakable, and the winds of the Reformation, gaining strength on the continent, would have no influence on the British.

The young king remained pious, attending mass several times a day, and in 1521, inspired by another of his mentors, the cardinal Thomas Wolsey, wrote the book “In Defense of the Seven Sacraments,” in which he defended the Catholic Church from church reformers.

For this book the Pope Leo X awarded Henry VIII the title "Defender of the Faith".

But the further he went, the more the king changed. He tasted the delights of secular power, became familiar with the various joys of earthly, rather than spiritual life, and soon began to be irritated by various restrictions and obstacles that arose due to the broad rights of the clergy, for whom the main ruler was not the King of England, but the Pope.

Dad forbids it!

In his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he had several children, but all the boys died in infancy, only his daughter Maria survived.

The English king did not want to agree that “everything is God’s will” and decided that the most correct way out of the situation would be to change the queen.

Moreover, he had already chosen a “successor” - the favorite was supposed to give birth to a son to Henry VIII

Ann Bolein. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

The theological school of his youth was not in vain: the king stated that the reason for his lack of sons was the illegality of his first marriage. Henry VIII argued that marrying his brother's widow was against the canons, and that marriage required the permission of the Pope, which was not obtained. And since there was no permission, then the marriage should be annulled.

But all the king’s arguments were defeated by the decision of Pope Clement VII, who refused to annul the marriage of Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon.

Revolution from above

The rightful queen and her supporters celebrated the victory, and Henry VIII was furious. Why is the fate of the English royal dynasty being decided by some Roman saint? Why should he, the king, depend on the opinion of the monk?

Yes, the pious boy turned into an imperious and decisive monarch who was ready to go straight to his desired goal.

Supporters of the Church Reformation, who until then had little influence in England, raised their heads. Of course, they received a unique chance to change their position in the country.

In 1529, Henry VIII convened the English Parliament, already seeking from it a solution to the issue of annulment of the marriage. A split emerged in parliament - supporters of Rome and adherents of the Reformation each stood their ground. But the king clearly understood for himself who he could continue to rely on, and who would become his worst enemy.

The first victim of the king's struggle was his former mentor and adviser Thomas Wolsey, an ardent supporter of Catholicism who was accused of treason. Wolsey faced the chopping block, but, unlike others, he was lucky to a certain extent - he died a natural death before the trial.

And Henry VIII decided to cut the Gordian knot and immediately accused the entire English clergy of treason. The king stated that the priests’ loyalty to Rome in the current situation was nothing more than an attempt on royal power.

In 1532, England passed a law prohibiting English subjects from submitting to the authority of foreign rulers, including the Pope. On the basis of this law, hundreds of influential supporters of Catholicism were sent to prison and to the chopping block.

In the same 1532, the chief priest of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, became Thomas Cranmer, an open supporter of Protestantism. He fulfilled the wishes of Henry VIII and annulled the king's marriage in an ecclesiastical court, after which he married Anne Boleyn.

Pope Clement VII excommunicated the English king from the church, which only provoked Henry VIII and pushed him to further action.

In 1534, perhaps the main document of the English Reformation, the “Act of Supremation,” was adopted. According to him, it was not the Pope, but the reigning monarch who was declared the head of the English church. The Pope in England no longer influenced anything.

In order to break the resistance of his opponents, Henry VIII attacked the monasteries, closing them and confiscating the lands. At the same time, Cranmer and his supporters carried out reforms in the spirit of Protestantism within the church itself, ruthlessly suppressing opponents.

Once a wife, two a wife, three a wife...

Alas, the main goal for which the king went ahead, regardless of anything, was not achieved - Anne Boleyn bore him not a son, but a daughter named Elizabeth.

Henry VIII was terribly disappointed. In addition, Anna turned out to be very capricious; she allowed herself much more than, in her husband’s opinion, the queen could afford.

Jane Seymour. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Very soon the king found himself a new passion, a maid of honor. But if, getting rid of his first wife, Henry VIII showed a certain humanism, then he acted cruelly with Anna, who disappointed him - accused of state and adultery, the king’s second wife was beheaded.

After this, Henry VIII went into all serious ways, by the end of his life bringing the number of his wives to six, two of whom he divorced, and executed two more for treason.

At the same time, the king, who initiated church reform for political reasons, was not a strong supporter of Protestantism, so the policy towards the church underwent changes depending on what religious views the next wife had.

Henry VIII achieved his goal - Jane Seymour gave birth to his son. But the king never found out that he failed to prevent the extinction of the dynasty. The only son of Henry VIII, who ascended the throne at the age of nine under the name of Edward VI, died at the age of 15, having, however, managed to pass a number of laws that strengthened the position of Protestantism.

Queen Elizabeth's "Golden Age"

After the death of Edward VI, Mary, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, rejected by Henry VIII, became Queen of England. A zealous Catholic who hated her father, she was determined to roll back all the reforms of Henry VIII and return England to the fold of Catholicism.

The main reformer of the English church, Thomas Cranmer, who refused to renounce his beliefs, was burned at the stake by order of the queen. Many of his supporters also paid with their lives for their beliefs. Maria I entered history as Bloody Mary.

Perhaps the counter-reformation she started would have been completed, but after five years of rule she died during one of the epidemics.

The heir to the throne was Elizabeth I, the daughter of Anne Boleyn, whose birth had so disappointed her father Henry VIII.

Without much sympathy for her father, the queen nevertheless decided to strengthen power on the basis of church reforms begun under Henry VIII.

The 35-year reign of Elizabeth I, which is called the “Golden Age of England,” finally cemented the victory of the supporters of the Anglican Church.

To this day, the head of the church in England is the reigning monarch - thanks to the passionate temperament and determination of Henry VIII.

(1491-1547) was distinguished by an extremely cruel and unpredictable character. To this we can add that he loved women extremely and married many times. The wives of Henry VIII are a separate issue. There were 6 of them in total. The crown bearer lived the longest with his first wife. Her name was Catherine of Aragon(1485-1536). This was her second marriage. And in the first, she was married to Prince Arthur (the older brother of the English king), who died at a young age in 1502. In 1509, Catherine united herself by the bonds of Hymen with her younger brother, who ascended the throne.

This marriage continued until January 1533, but it did not bring happiness to either the husband or the wife. The couple had a girl in 1516, who was named Maria. There were 2 more children, but they died as babies. The king dreamed of an heir to continue the Tudor dynasty. But nothing worked out with the first wife. I had to part with her after so many years of family life. But the Catholic Church was categorically against divorce. As a result of this, the king declared the English Church independent, and gave himself a divorce.

Catherine of Aragon (left) and Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn became the second wife of the loving crowned prince in 1533.(1507-1536). This woman had a strong and strong-willed character. Her husband tried his best to please her. He even ordered the execution of those members of the nobility who opposed this marriage. In September 1533, Anna gave birth to a girl instead of the expected boy. The husband's disappointment knew no bounds. True, the girl was not easy, and the future Queen of England Elizabeth I, but who could have known about it at that time.

The second birth ended unsuccessfully: the child was stillborn. The crowned husband gradually began to cool towards his wife. And she organized lavish holidays and bought insanely expensive jewelry in the absence of her husband. In the end, the king got tired of all this. In May 1536, Anne Boleyn was accused of cheating on her husband, and the woman was brought to trial.

She was accused of witchcraft and incest. Allegedly, she was sexually active with her brother. To these accusations they also added a conspiracy against the king. But the most outrageous thing was the ridicule of the poems that the crowned husband composed in his leisure hours.

Anne Boleyn's execution

The court's decision was harsh and merciless. Anne Boleyn was sentenced to death. At that time, 2 types of deprivation of life were used in England. This is burning at the stake and beheading. The right to choose the method of death belonged to the king. He ordered that his unfaithful wife’s head be cut off, but not with an ax, as had always been the practice, but with a sword. The French executioners were good with the sword, but the British were not skilled in this matter. Therefore, I had to order a specialist from France.

The execution took place on May 19, 1536. The Queen wore a luxurious dress of green silk, trimmed with red at the bottom. She hung a gold cross on her chest and pulled white gloves on her hands. She clutched the Bible to her chest, and so climbed onto the scaffold. In front of the scaffold, she took off her hat and knelt down. She was blindfolded with a white scarf. After this, the woman laid her head on the block, and the executioner waved his sword and cut off her head. The king, who observed all this, immediately ordered everyone to have fun.

Jane Seymour (left) and Anna of Cleves

Third wife was Jane Seymour(1508-1537). She gave birth to an heir to the throne, who was named Edward. But after giving birth, the woman fell ill with childbed fever and died.

The next wife was Anna Klevskaya(1515-1567). But the crown bearer married her not for love, but for political reasons. Anna was the sister of the Duke of Cleves. The lands under his command were part of the Holy Roman Empire. This marriage cemented the alliance of the German princes and the king of England.

Everything would be fine, but Henry VIII did not like the appearance of his new wife when she arrived in England. The wedding took place in January 1540, and already in June the newlyweds separated. The reason was the previous engagement of Anne of Cleves to the Duke of Lorraine. But the woman did not leave England. She remained as the “king’s sister.” Until her death, she remained at court and died only 10 years after the start of the reign of Elizabeth I.

The fifth wife was Catherine Howard(1521-1542). This was a very young lady with whom His Majesty fell passionately in love. The wedding took place in July 1540. After this, the king was transformed. It seemed that his youth had returned to him. Masquerades and balls began to be held at court. But the young wife found herself with a tarnished past. She had lovers before marriage and had no intention of living differently after marriage. Almost immediately after the wedding, the betrayals began. It soon became clear that the girl was engaged to one of her suitors.

When the king found out about all this, he became furious. The lovers were executed, and the unfaithful wife herself ended up on the scaffold on February 13, 1542. The poor thing was in a state of shock, so they practically carried her to the place of execution. The unfortunate woman's head was placed on the block, and the executioner, swinging an ax, separated it from the body. There was no fun after this execution. Everyone left in a depressed state.

Catherine Howard (left) and Catherine Parr

The last sixth wife was Catherine Parr(1512-1548). She married Henry in 1543. The far from young autocrat lived with her until his death in 1547. All these years he was seriously ill. But the wife did not give any reason for additional grief. This was her third husband. The women had extensive experience of family life, which excluded suspicion and betrayal.

Thus, it is clear that all the wives of Henry VIII were completely different women in character and appearance. All of them found themselves at the top of life, but some did not stand the test of success. Therefore, the end for these ladies turned out to be different. And taking into account the harsh morals of the 16th century, 2 of them ended their lives on the scaffold.