Henry the 8th and his reign

1. How did Henry rise to power?

In 1502, Arthur (Henrys oldest brother) died at the age of 15, after 20 weeks of
marriage to Catherine. Arthur's death thrust all his duties upon his younger
brother, the 10-year-old Henry. After a little debate, Henry became the new Duke
of Cornwall in October 1502, and the new Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in
February 1503. Henry VII gave him few tasks. Young Henry was strictly
supervised and did not appear in public. As a result, the young Henry would later
ascend the throne "untrained in the exacting art of kingship."
Henry VII (his father and the king at the time) died on 22 April 1509, and the
young Henry succeeded him as king, adopting the royal name of Henry VIII.
2. What kind of rule did he execute in the first half of his reign?
What changes did he introduce?
In 1510, France, with a fragile alliance with the Holy Roman Empire in the League
of Cambrai, was winning a war against Venice. Henry renewed his father's
friendship with Louis XII of France, an issue which divided his council. Certainly
war with the combined might of the two powers would have been exceedingly
difficult. Shortly after, Henry also signed a contradictory pact with Ferdinand
(King of Sicily) against France. The problem was resolved with the creation of the
anti-French Holy League by Pope Julius II in October 1511, which brought Louis
into conflict with Ferdinand. Henry brought England into the Holy League shortly
after, with an initial joint Anglo-Spanish attack on Aquitaine planned for the
spring to recover it for England. It appeared to be the start of making Henry's
dreams of ruling France a reality. The attack, following a formal declaration of
war in April, was not led by Henry personally. It was a considerable failure
Ferdinand used it simply to further his own ends and it strained the AngloSpanish alliance. Nevertheless, the French were pushed out of Italy soon after,
and the alliance survived, with both parties keen to win further victories over the
French. Henry then pulled off a diplomatic coup by convincing the Emperor to
join the Holy League. Remarkably, Henry had also secured the promised title of
"Most Christian King of France", and possibly coronation by the Pope himself in
Paris, if only Louis could be defeated.
On 30 June 1513, Henry invaded France, and his troops defeated a French army
at the Battle of the Spurs a minor result, but one which was seized on by the
English for propaganda purposes.
3. What is his rule most famous for?
The English reformation
4. What religion did he create and why?
Henry is generally credited with initiating the English Reformation the process
of transforming England from a Catholic country to a Protestant one though his

progress at the elite and mass levels is disputed, and the precise narrative not
widely agreed.

5. Who were Henrys wives? Choose one and write her biography.
Catherine of Aragon
m. 1509 - 1533
Divorced
Anne Boleyn
m. 1533 - 1536
Executed
Jane Seymour
m. 1536 - 1537
Died
Anne of Cleves
m. 1540 Jan. - July
Divorced
Kathryn Howard
m. 1540 - 1542
Executed
Katherine Parr
m. 1543 - 1547
Widowed
In September 1533 Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth (the future Queen
Elizabeth I). Henry had grown tired of her, and after two further pregnancies
ended in miscarriages, she was arrested in 1536 on trumped up charges of
adultery and publicly beheaded at the Tower of London.
Henry's third marriage, this time to lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour, finally
produced the son he so desperately desired with the birth of Edward in 1537.
Jane Seymour died after childbirth and Henry ordered that she be granted a
queen's funeral.
In an attempt to establish ties with the German Protestant alliance, Thomas
Cromwell arranged a marriage between the king and German princess Anne of
Cleves. The marriage was a disaster and Henry divorced Anne a few months
later. Henry blamed Cromwell for this mismatch and soon afterwards had him
executed for treason.
6. Give an overview of his rule and the power of England at the time
Henry VIII's early military campaigns began when he joined Pope Julius II's Holy
League against France in 1511. Wolsey proved himself to be an outstanding
minister in his organisation of the first French campaign and while the Scots saw
this war as an opportunity to invade England, they were defeated at Flodden in
1513. However war with France ultimately proved expensive and unsuccessful.

Henry VIII is known as the 'father of the Royal Navy.' When he became king there
were five royal warships. By his death he had built up a navy of around 50 ships.
He refitted several vessels with the latest guns including the Mary Rose, which
sank in 1545.

Henry also built the first naval dock in Britain at Portsmouth and in 1546 he
established the Navy Board. This set up the administrative machinery for the
control of the fleet.