Born 1491 – Died 1547 • Initiator of the Reformation

Photo: Duke of Rutland/Wikimedia • Believed to be in the Public Domain (Age - Copyright expired)

All is lost!  Monks, Monks, Monks!  So now all is gone - Empire, Body, and Soul!

King Henry VIII

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Henry is one of the most famous Kings of England. He was well-known for having six wives and his cruelty towards them. His 1st wife, his brother's widow, loyal Catherine of Aragon was divorced causing the split from Rome. He agreed to the execution of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard by beheading. His children, Queen Mary Tudor, Queen Elizabeth I and King Edward VI continued the Tudor dynasty. Towards the end of his reign, he became increasingly brutal.

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Henry left many legacies. The Royal Navy, protecting England from

sea-borne invasion, encouraging shipbuilding and creating docklands and offering prizes to sailors for the capture of enemy ships.  The Act of Supremacy, establishing the monarchy as the supreme head of the Church of England and casting out the Catholic Church. Monks and nuns were turned out and monasteries sold off, tens of thousands of heads rolled...

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"The King's good servant, but God's first."

The final words of Thomas More before his beheading