King Henry VIII’s request to divorce Katharine of Aragon is denied by Pope Clement VII

King Henry VIII’s request to divorce Katharine of Aragon is denied by Pope Clement VII

In 1509 Henry married his first wife Katharine of Aragon.
Although Katharine was pregnant seven times during her marriage to Henry, only one baby survived past infanthood ~ their daughter Mary.
This was bad news for Henry, who wanted a male heir to carry on the Tudor line.
Henry did not see his daughter as an heir at all.

For a Tudor king, having a strong line of succession and a male heir to the throne was imperative.
Having a male heir would stabilise Henry’s power.
After Katharine’s ‘failure’ to produce an heir, Henry became interested in one of Katharine’s ladies-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn.

This loss of interest in Katharine was partly because Henry believed that his lack of heir was punishment from God, for marrying his brother’s wife.
Henry wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, and believed she could produce an heir……but he was still married to Katharine.

Henry asked Pope Clement VII for his marriage to Katharine to be dissolved.
On 7th March 1530, Henry’s divorce request is denied by Pope Clement VII
Part of the reason that the Pope refused was because Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, had taken control of Rome ~ and Charles V was Katharine’s nephew.

When Henry secretly married Anne, he was excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
This marked the beginning of the break with Rome.
In 1534 Henry pushed through the Act of Supremacy.
The Act made him, and all of his heirs, Supreme Head of the Church of England.
This meant that the Pope no longer held religious authority in England, and Henry was free to divorce Katharine.
In the end, Henry and Anne did have a child, but it was another girl.
She would become Elizabeth I…..

? Portrait of Henry VIII by Joos van Cleve c. 1531