King Henry VIII

King Henry VIII Taking the Throne

Jan 1, 1509

As Henry VIII was born on June 28, 1491 and died on January 28, 1547. He was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth. As a young boy, Henry VIII was very relgious. He went to church everyday and his life basically revolved around the church. He would even donate his father's money on wars for the catholic church. In school, he excelled in book learning and physical excersises in a aristocrat society. When he took throne, he was built for success, he was six feet tall and powerfully built.

King Henry VIII

Period: Jan 1, 1509 to Dec 31, 1609

King Henry VIII, Taking the Throne

Jan 2, 1509

While in thrown, one of his main personal goals was to produce heirs to the thrown. However, he was a very accomplished king starting with the over ruling of the church. He last almost 4 decades trying to improve the machinery of gorvernment and taxation. He wasnt very fond of the church and neither was the church of him. He was unhappy with the church and decided to leave because the Pope would not "grant" him the rights to get a divorce, and the church was then mad at him for divorce was a sin

Marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon

Jun 11, 1509

Before marrying King Henry VIII, she was married to Prince Arthur. During the reformation, arranged marriages were very common, so by the time she was three, her parents had decided that she was to marry Arthur, Henry VII's son. After suffering the death of her husband, she was then betrowthed to Henry, who at the time was too young to date. Shortly after the marriage, she was pregnant, but unfortunatley it was a girl,Mary, which upset Henry VIII. By 1526 Henry and Catherine were seperating.

The divorce of Henry VIII and Catherine

Jan 26, 1526

By 1526 Catherine was about 42 and unable to conceive and this really upset King Henry VIII because he still did not have a daughter. At this time, he had found love with a young mistress by the name of Anne Boleyn. When Catherine found out that Henry VIII wanted an annulement she was very upset and went to the priest to petition for an annulment. This took about six month and then concluded that she would tell them that Henry and her did not really get married. They were then divorced.

The Introduction to Anne Boleyn

Jan 18, 1528

Anne was an unattractive lady, but for some reason Henry VIII found her irresistable. Legends say that she had a sixth finger, a large mole on her neck, as well as many other multiple moles covering her body. Before marrying Henry VIII she was also involved in many other relationships with many other heirs. Henry really loved her, proved by the 17 letters that he wrote to her, considering that he was not a fan of writing. However, their marriage did not go through and Anne began to worry.

The Marriage to Anne Boleyn

Jan 20, 1533

Although there were many struggles for Anne to become Queen, she finally became Queen. By the end of 1532, she announced that she was pregnant, and sometime during 1533, she and Henry VIII got secretly married. Unfortunatley, another disappointment to Henry VIII. Anne had given birth to a daughter, Princess Elizabeth. She had tried multiple times to produce a son, and by this she knew that without the production of a son her life would be in threat. Henry VIII then took a fancy upon Jane Seymour

Act of Supremacy 1534

Nov 22, 1534

In November of 1534, the Act of Supremacy was created. This declared King Henry VIII as the supreme head of the Church of of England. This separated the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church, which was a major event. Eventhough King Henry was not a Protestant, the separation of the churches was a huge encouragement to Protestants to rise in England.

The Death of Anne Boleyn

Jan 20, 1536

On May, 2, Anne was arrested for the charges of adultery, incest, and plotting to murder the king. They were then put on trial and after pleading not guilty, the judge found some scant evidence, therefore they were found guilty and deserved a punishment. Anne's execution was very private. She was brought into a private room where she removed her head piece and was then blindfolded. He head was then chopped off with one swift stroke.

The marriage to Jane Seymour

May 30, 1536

September 1535, was the first time that Henry VIII really noticed Jane. He grew very fond of her and within 24 hours of his previous wife's execution, Henry VIII and Jane were betrothed to one another. On may 30th, they were then married, however, unlike his other wives, Jane did not recieve a coronation. This is the first wife that Henry VIII truly loved because she gave him a son, Edward.

The Death of Jane Seymour

Oct 24, 1537

The birth of Edward had a big toll on Jane's death. Rumor has it that she had a C- section when giving birth to Edward, so that was the reason she was very weak, resulting in death. However, it did not seem likely seeing how long she lived after the birth, so no body really knows what caused her death. On October 24, she died, just two weeks after Edward was born. Jane was the only one of all of Henry VIII wives to be buried with him.

The marriage to Anne of Cleves

Jan 6, 1540

Before getting married to Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII was single for two years, Henry VIII mourned for his wife Jane, but by the time of her death people were already trying to play match maker for Henry VIII. Anne and Henry VIII were then married on January 6, 1540, but by then he was already looking for a way to get divorced.

The divorce from Anne of Cleves

Jan 20, 1540

By the time Anne started to rule, people could already tell that she was unsuited for the life in the English court. Because she grew up in Cleves she learned to rule differently, so she then applied that to the life in england. Rather than concentrating on the music and literature, she concentrated on the domestic skills. Unlike all of his other previous wives, he was not attracted to Anne. She did not want to raise any tension so she declared that her previous marriage was not properly ended.

King Henry and Kathryn Howard get Married

Jul 28, 1540

At age 49, King Henry married the 19 year old Lady in Waiting of his previous wife, Anne of Cleves. The young girl's name was Kathryn Howard, and the two married only sixteen days after King Henry divorced Anne. The young girl at first was reluctant that the King was 30 years older than her was falling in love with her. Her uncle, a man of high status, encouraged her to respond to the King's actions so that their family could have more power and influence in the monarchy.

Accusations Against Kathryn

Nov 1, 1541

Within less than a year of their marriage, rumors of Kathryn's infidelity began to spread. Kathryn wanted to have the company of men closer to her age, and she hired one of her secret admirers to be her personal secretary. In November, 1541, their was enough evidence to report to the King. Of course, the King did not believe this, and he launched further investigations. These investigations found that Kathryn had been promiscuous before her marriage, and even had affairs during the marriage.

Kathryn Howard is Executed

Feb 13, 1542

Kathryn was executed on the Tower Green on February 13, 1542 and laid to rest near her cousin Anne Boleyn in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London.

King Henry and Katherine Parr get Married

Jul 12, 1543

Katherine's mother was the Lady in Waiting to King Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and she was even named after Catherine, she was a well educated woman, which was rare for the time. Before King Henry, Katherine was married two times, and each time she was widowed. With her two stepchildren to take care of, Kathrine wanted to mare Jane Seymour's brother, Thomas. When the King asked for her hand in marriage, she felt it was her duty to the country to accept.

Kathrine's Warrent for Arrest

Jan 21, 1546

Kathrine was interested in the reformed religion, which did not sit well with many conservatives in Henry's court. People felt that in Henry's illness, she was influencing his descisions, and they plotted against her. Anne Askew, a Protestant, gathered evidence against Katherine of heresy. This evidence created a warrant for Katherine's arrest, which was dropped, and one of the ladies saw it and informed her of the warrant. The King pardoned Kathrine, but told her of her place on such matters

King Henry Dies, Edward Takes the Throne

Jan 28, 1547

Katherine took it upon herself to educate her stepchildren, especially Elizabeth and Edward. When Henry died in 1547, Edward became King at the age of nine. A few months later, Kathrine secretly married Thomas Seymour, which caused a huge scandal, causing Elizabeth to move to another household in the spring, and Henry VIII's cousin Lady Jane Grey moved in to help the new king, Edward.

Kathrine Parr Dies

Sep 5, 1548

At age 36, Kathrine was pregnant, and moved to Sudeley Castle to give birth to her first child. She gave birth to her daughter named Mary on August 30. After giving birth, she became sick with puerperal fever, which took her life on September 5, 1548.

King Edward and Thomas Seymour

Jan 21, 1549

Thomas Seymour, after Katherine died, tried to get influence over the young king. Eventhough Henry VIII's will appointed a group of sixteen men to council Edward until he was 18, Thomas felt that he and his family should have more power because Edward was far too young to rule. Edward had Thomas Seymour arrested.

Edward Introduces Uniform Protestant Service

Jan 21, 1549

Edward had been raised as a Protestant, and when he became king, it remained that way. In 1549, he introduced a uniform Protestant service based on his Book of Common Prayer. Many of Edward's older advisors did not agree with this, and did not like the way things were going, because they wanted to turn England back to Catholic.

King Edward Dies at Age 15

Jul 6, 1553

Edward was not a healthy boy, and it was believed that he suffered from tuberculosis. Before his death, there was a succession crisis. The original intent of King Henry VIII was to have Edward to become king after him, and if anything should happen, Mary would follow. However, Edward knew his half sister would change the Protestant reforms, so he made his cousin, Lady Jane Grey his heir in order to maintain the Protestant reforms in the kingdom

Mary Takes Rightful Throne

Oct 1, 1553

Lady Jane Grey was only queen for nine days before Mary and her supporters overthrew her, so that Mary could become the rightful queen.

Mary Changes Protestant Laws

Oct 5, 1553

Just four days after her coronation, and Mary already began to change the Protestant Laws of her brother. It took a little bit of struggle, but Mary began turning England back to Roman Cathlocism.

Queen Mary marries King Phillip II of Spain

Jan 21, 1554

Mary thought that it would be fit that she find a suitable husband. She choose King Phillip II of Spain to marry. The court refused to crown him jointly with Mary so that he would have little power in England. They later announced that they were pregnant, but it turned out to be false.

Bloody Mary

Jan 21, 1555

After Mary successfully converted England back to Roman Cathlocism, she began to burn Protestants at the stake. She went crazy and burned around 300 Protestants, which earned her the nickname "Bloody Mary". Because of her actions, hatred grew, and plots to overthrow her and crown Elizabeth were made, though none of them went through.

After- marriage to Anne of Cleves

Jan 20, 1557

After the marriage was dissolved, Anne was given the honorary title of 'The King's Sister'. She greatly accepted and with the title she was given property, including Hever Castle, the palace previously owned by Anne Boleyn. For a while she lived away from the court in the countryside until 1557, and she even attended her former step-daughter's coronation. However, long after the seperation she did die and was buried in Westminister Abbey.

Mary's "Pregnancy" and Death

Nov 17, 1558

Multiple times, Mary showed signs of being pregnant, so she thought she was. The first time, everyone in the court believed her, and she prepared a will since it ran in the Tudor family to die during childbirth. After while, however, it was discovered she was not pregnant. A few months later, she thought she was pregnant again, and she again was mistaken. She did become very ill, and died, but her will read that the child would be the heir, but when it did not arrive, Elizabeth was the heir.

Act of Supremacy 1559

Jun 24, 1559

Elizabeth immediatly started fixing the mess that Mary had made with the religious laws. In 1559, the Act of Supremacy was passed, making the new Book of Common Prayer the only legal form of worship.

The Virgin Queen

Jan 21, 1564

All throughout Elizabeth's reign she was bombarded with suitors asking her hand in marriage. However, Elizabeth never married. No one is quite sure why, and there are theories of her independence, and of her disgust of marriage after seeing the way her father treated his wives. At one point she loved a man named Robert Dudley, but his wife died of unknown causes, and she didn't want to start a scandal, so she but the kingdom first. Her single life gave her the nickname, The Virgin Queen,

Elizabeth Executes Mary Queen of Scots

Feb 8, 1587

Mary Queen of Scots continually tried to claim the throne of England, and was constantly threatening Elizabeth. She was a major threat to the kingdom, if she were to become queen. When Mary fled the kindgom, a search was sent out to find her. She was placed on house arrest and assumed she would be safe from death since Elizabeth was her cousin. When Elizabeth found out about Mary's serious plots, she had to put the country before herself and execute Mary in the best interests of the kingdom.

England Defeats Spanish Armada

Aug 8, 1588

For years, England lived in the danger of attacks from the powerful Spanish Armada. Queen Elizabeth put full suport behind the English Navy that they were finally able to defeat this huge threat in August of 1588. This was a major success for England.

Queen Elizabeth Dies

Mar 24, 1603

Queen Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603 due to blood poisoning. She is one of the greatest Queens of England, and her reign is often reffered to as a Golden Age. England faced many hardships and trials before and during her rulling, and Elizabeth pulled England through. She was an amazing leader, and accomplished many great things. Without a man by her side, she put her people first and conquered all obstacles thrown her way.