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King Henry VIII, the stout monarch who had six wives, is one of the most recognisable figures in English history. But although he was obsessed with having a male heir, he failed to leave his kingdom to a responsible adult. Instead, his real achievement was the creation, almost by accident, of an England that, in terms of kingship and religion, endured for centuries after his death. Don't lose the plot Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, shortly before his 18th birthday. His father, Henry VII, worked hard to end years of turmoil: of the seven previous kings, four had usurped the throne and two had inherited it as children. The realm was in a mess, dominated by overmighty noblemen and plotting churchmen. Henry was not born to be king; he became heir at 11, when his older brother Arthur died. One of his first acts as king was to marry Arthur's widow, Catherine of Aragon; the biblical prohibition on marrying a brother's widow was overridden by permission from the Pope. In the next eight years, Catherine had six children, only one of whom – the future Queen Mary – survived infancy. Keep your head In 1525, Henry began associating with Anne Boleyn. He was both smitten by her and also concerned about the lack of a male heir, which seemed like divine retribution for marrying his brother's widow. He therefore wanted his marriage to be annulled by the Pope. However, Catherine was related to the Spanish king Charles V, who at this point controlled Italy and hence the Pope. In 1533, Henry finally broke with Rome. In March, Parliament passed an act which stated that 'England is an empire' with 'one supreme head and king' governing both church and state. Thus the foundations of the Anglican church were laid and the position of the monarch as head of the church established. In September 1533, the new queen, Anne, gave birth to a daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth. Three years later, Anne, having failed to provide a male heir, was tried on bizarre charges of 'treasonous adultery' and executed. Within two weeks, Henry had married again; his third wife, Jane Seymour, died of natural causes the following year, after giving birth to the long-awaited male heir, Edward. Run for your wife In 1540, Henry married the German princess, Anne of Cleves, whom he had never met – then rejected her when they met. The marriage was annulled on grounds of non-consummation. The next year, Henry married the teenage Catherine Howard, apparently aiming to recapture his lost youth. She was executed in 1542, on similar charges to Anne Boleyn, but with greater justification. Henry married his sixth wife, Catherine Parr, in 1543. He devoted his last years – and his accumulated wealth – to building up a navy and conducting a futile war with France. When Henry died in 1547, his heir was nine years old. Eleven years of court intrigues and religious turmoil followed, which meant that England seemed to return to the anarchy that Henry's father had managed to cure. But after Edward VI died young, order was restored during the long reign of Elizabeth I. The English monarchy and Anglican church, as created by Henry VIII, remained in place for centuries: today, the Queen is still head of the church and bishops still sit in the House of Lords.
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