Ñàéò ïîå糿, â³ðø³, ïîçäîðîâëåííÿ ó â³ðøàõ :: Henry VIII :: Á³îãðàô³ÿ

Henry VIII :: Á³îãðàô³ÿ

King Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) Henry was born on 28 June 1491 in Greenwich. After the death of his elder brother Arthur in 1502, Henry VIII became heir to the English throne. Seven years later his father Henry VII died and he was crowned king of England. Shortly afterwards he married Catherine of Aragon, Arthur's widow. Henry increasingly relied on Thomas Wolsey to rule for him and Wolsey became lord chancellor in 1515. One of Henry's popular pursuits, alongside hunting and dancing, was to wage war. Wolsey organised the first French campaign and proved to be an outstanding minister. The Scots were defeated at Flodden in 1513. However, war with France ultimately proved expensive and unsuccessful and Wolsey's ascendancy was cut short by Henry's need for a male heir. He was determined to replace Catherine - who had only one daughter, Mary, but the Pope refused to grant the divorce. In 1533, Henry went ahead anyway and married Anne Boleyn, with whom he had a daughter, Elizabeth. The Pope excommunicated him and parliamentary legislation confirmed Henry's decision to break with Rome. With the help of Wolsey's replacement, Thomas Cromwell, Henry established himself as head of the Church of England and ordered the dissolution of the monasteries. Other reforms - including the uniting of England and Wales and the creation of the Council of the North and the Household and Exchequer - were also instigated during the 1530s. Henry grew tired of Anne Boleyn and she was executed for treason in 1536. Jane Seymour became queen and in 1537 produced an heir, Edward, but died in childbirth. Henry's personal religious beliefs remained Catholic, despite the growing number of people at court and in the nation who had adopted Protestantism. In an attempt to establish a Protestant alliance with German princes, Cromwell arranged a marriage between the king and Anne of Cleves. Henry divorced her a few months later and turned on Cromwell, who was executed. The final years of his reign witnessed his physical decline and increasing desperation to appear all-powerful. In 1540 he married Catharine Howard but she was executed for treason within two years. A final marriage to Catherine Parr was more harmonious. There were fruitless and expensive wars against Scotland and France. Henry died on 28 January 1547 and was succeeded by his son.