Henri VIII of England

Youth

In 1501, Henri VII, who wishes an alliance with powerful Spain, Marie his oldest son Arthur (15 years old) with Catherine d' Aragon (16 years old). They leave for Wales, where Arthur falls ill and dies. Catherine affirms that the marriage was not consumed and Henri, Duc of York, become Prince de Galles is promised in marriage to him, 14 month after the death of Arthur. So that the remarriage is possible, one needs that the not-consumption of the marriage is checked, except papal agreement. The Pope, set up by Habsbourg, grants in urgency by a Bulle the exemption of observation of Virginité of Catherine. These events will have their importance when Henri VIII disputes the legitimacy of its first marriage. When he wants to break with Spain, he will declare that this marriage was arranged without its approval.

Beginning of reign

Henri VIII assembles on the throne in 1509, after the death of his father. Some say that the young king had fallen in love with Catherine, who was much older than him. More certainly, the father of Catherine, the king of Aragon Ferdinand II, wished to control England through it, and supported consequently his remarriage with the new king. In any case, Henri married Catherine nine weeks after his accession with the throne, the June 11th 1509 with Greenwich, in spite of concerns of the pope Jules II and of William Warham, the Archevêque of Canterbury, which doubted the validity of this union. They were then all two crowned with the Abbaye of Westminster the June 24th of the same year. The first pregnancy of the queen finishes by a miscarriage in 1510, but it gave rise to a boy on January 1st 1511, boy who lived unfortunately only until the February 22nd.

Shortly after its accession with the capacity, Henri was confronted with the thorn-bush problem arising from Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley, two ministers of its father who had arbitrarily imposed heavy taxes on the nobility. Turning the back on the practices of its predecessor, they locked up them in the Tour of London and later made them decapitate. Its constant will to engage its country in the war is another proof of its differences with his/her father, whose reign had been peaceful. During two years, Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester and Lord of the private seal, and William Warham kept the control of the businesses. But in 1511, the capacity passed to the ecclesiastic Thomas Wolsey. The same year, Henri joined the Sainte League, a coalition directed against the king of France Louis XII, to Italy. This league gathered the pope Jules II, Maximilien Ier, sovereign of the Saint Worsens, and Ferdinand II, with which Henri signed also the treaty of Westminster, in 1511. He joined then the English army to cross the Manche and to take share with the war in France.

However in 1514, it left alliance, which involved peace with Louis XII. The estrangement with Spain brought to consider the divorce with Catherine d' Aragon. But in 1515, with the accession of François Ier with the throne of France, France and England became again antagonistic and Henri and Ferdinand were reconciled. In 1516, Catherine gave birth to a girl, Marie, which encouraged the king in his hope to have a male heir, in spite of the preceding failures (a still-born child, a miscarriage, and two dead very young people).

Ferdinand died in 1516, and it is its grandson (and the nephew of Catherine) Charles Quint, which succeeded to him. In October 1518, Wolsey made so that the treated of London, work of papacy, seems a diplomatic triumph of England, country in the center of a new European alliance, with an open aim to push back the Spanish influence, which was the original intention of the pope. In 1519, with died of Maximilien, Wolsey, become meanwhile cardinal, secretly proposed Henri like candidate with the imperial throne, while supporting the king of France publicly. But with final, it was Charles, also grandson of the emperor, who was chosen by the prince-voters. The long competition which opposed Charles and François thereafter made it possible Henri to acquire a position of referee between them. And each of the two sovereigns sought his favor, as showed it in a way bright and spectacular the interview of the Camp of the Gold Cloth, and later that more solemn of the Kent. However, after 1521, the English influence in Europe started to decline. Henri was combined with Charles Quint by the Traité of Bruges and François was demolishes by the imperial armies with the Bataille of Pavia, in February 1525. The confidence of Charles towards Henri remained thus that the influence of England in Europe. This led to the second treaty of Westminster in 1527.

Defender of the faith

Henri does not hide his hostile feelings with the Réforme, that the German ex-monk Martin Luther started to preach. He does not hesitate to inveigh it. He sends even to the pope in July 1521, his Assertio septem sacramentorum , written with the assistance of Thomas More. That is worth the title of " to him; Defender of the foi" (Defensor Fidei) decreed by Leon X, the support of Érasme and the insults of Luther. From there, the king of England took the title d'" illustrissimus" , i.e. " more illustre" , title maintained even after its rupture with Rome, until today.

But if Henri VIII is not very inclined with the German reforming ideas, it is not less anxious influence of Rome. He would like to replace the pope in the direction of the businesses of the Church of England. These ideas of release of the Roman supervision are those also of Thomas Wolsey. Without clash, England is accustomed to the supremacy of the royal government as well on the spiritual level as temporal. Henri VIII and Wolsey remain faithful to Roman orthodoxy.

Any rocker in 1527. Its Spanish alliances are degraded, since Charles Quint did not want to marry his/her daughter: Marie, born in 1516. Moreover, his wife Catherine d' Aragon (who is the aunt of Charles Quint and the widow of Arthur Tudor, the older brother of Henri VIII), did not give birth, except the small Marie, whom with dull children between 1511 and 1514 and its health condition did not allow any more to hope for that it could have other children. It seemed necessary that the royal couple had a son. The king, who wished this wire ardently, fell passionately in love with the young person and vain beauty, lady-in-waiting of the queen, Anne Boleyn. The circumstances being, Henri VIII wished to marry this one to have of it a heir legitimates while seeking to get rid of Catherine d' Aragon. Wolsey was charged to start the negotiations with the Roman Curie. The pope not being decided to grant the divorce, the business trailed during two years until the autumn 1529. Pushed by the partisans of Anne, Henri VIII lost his regard for Wolsey and made it dislocate its functions of Lord-Chancellor.

The schism

The fall of Wolsey led Thomas More to take again the title of Chancellor. This last found arguments to accelerate the divorce procedure. For him, the papal refusal is intolerable. Another character precipitates also the rupture with Rome, it acts of Thomas Cranmer. This professor at the university of Cambridge is in favor of the dissolution of the marriage royal.
But in September 1530, Clément VII (which was tutor of Charles Quint) opposes a final refusal to the cancellation of the royal marriage. This decision would leave Marie who is cousin of Charles Quint like single heiress of the crown of England. The king is insane of rage.

February 11th, 1531, the archbishop of Canterbury, William Warham proclaims: " We recognize that His Majesty is the particular Guard, only and supreme lord and, as much as the law of Christ allows it, the Supreme leader of the Church and the Clergy of England ". The first step is crossed for a separation of the church of England of that of Rome. Event at the origin of the Anglicanism, denounced by Elizabeth Barton. January 25th, 1533, favorite Anne announces that it awaits a baby.

At this time, Henri decides that the child will be born in legitimacy and precipitates the events. He marries Anne in the intimacy and names Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury which validates the union on May 23rd, 1533. July 11th, 1533, Clément VII excommunicates Henri, Anne and Cranmer, it is the rupture with Rome. Its marriage with Anne Boleyn will be also unhappy. Only its marriage with Jeanne Seymour was happy and saw the birth of a male heir, Edouard VI, which succeeded to him.

The reign of Henri VIII saw being born the influence vénète in the royal court: Francesco Giorgi was one of its closer advisers of the king. Some saw the Rome-London quarrel like a prolongation of the Rome-Venice conflict.

Mistresses

The historians have the certainty only names of two its mistresses: Elizabeth Blount and Mary Boleyn (the sister of Anne). Elizabeth Blount gave rise to the illegitimate son of Henry, Henry FitzRoy. The young boy was made duke of Richmond in June 1525, but reached the throne forever. In 1533, he married Mary Howard of the family Howard de Norfolk. Henry died three years afterwards without heir. The king had other mistresses, such as Jeanne Popicourt (1510), a Frenchwoman at the court and a mistress of Duke of removed Longueville; Mrs Anne Stafford (1514), sister of the duke of Buckingham and wife of Hastings lord; and Margaret Shelton, (1534-1535), cousin of Anne and Mary Boleyn. There are also references to a lady which it placed in a manor (unknown year), “to an unknown lady” in 1534, and to a lady of Turned, in its excursions in France in 1513.

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