Why was Henry VIII marriage to Anne Boleyn of such importance?

Answer 1

In order to marry Anne Boleyn, Henry had to have his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. The Pope didn't grant him a divorce, so in order to marry Anne Henry broke with the Roman Catholic church and founded the Church of England, where he was the leader.

Answer 2

There was no marriage between Henry VIII and Elizabeth of York, she was his mother. However the marriage between her and Henry VII was important because it united the two rival houses of Lancaster and York as well as because she as a descendant of Edward III two different ways had a better chance at the throne than Henry did.

Answer 3

The marriage of Henry VIII was of great importance for a number of reasons:

1. It created a shift in the Governance of the Church of England

2. It produced Elizabeth I acknowledged by many historians as the ablest of English rulers

3. It sowed the seeds for the attempted invasion of England by the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Let us look at each point in turn.

1. Before Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn, the King was staunchly Catholic and subservient to the Pope of Rome. He had written an attack on Luther and been awarded the title 'fidei defensor', defender of the faith, by the Pope himself.

He was also married to a totally committed Catholic Wife, Katherine of Aragon and in order for this marriage to take place Henry had obtained a decree from the Pope which had annulled Katherine's earlier marriage to Henry's brother Arthur. The Pope granted this on the grounds that Arthur was too ill to consumate the marriage.

Because of the earlier unrest of the 'Wars of the Roses' Henry was eager to have a male heir succeed him, thus preventing dynastic struggles. Unfortunately, Katherine, although producing six children did not produce the male heir Henry desired. All her children died except Mary. Mary was brought up in strict adherence to Catholicism and submission to Papal Authority.

When it became apparent that Katherine would not be able to produce the male heir, Henry VIII's eyes alighted on a young, fit woman, Anne Boleyn. He was determined to end his marriage to Katherine and to marry Anne Boleyn. But there were major problems that stood in the way:

a) Katherine would never agree to a divorce and even when Henry bludgeoned it through in 1533 she did not recognise it.

b) to obtain such a divorce and marry Anne Boleyn Henry needed THE PERMISSION OF THE POPE. The Pope would not grant it because:

i. he had already issued a dispensation that allowed Henry to marry Katherine. Henry argued that it was against Scripture for him 'to marry the wife of his brother.' This implied that the Pope had erred in granting the marriage to Katherine and this the Pope would not admit. So Henry was refused the divorce.

ii. the Pope was a virtual prisoner of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. He was KATHERINE'S NEPHEW. Consequently the Pope dare not offend one of the most powerful rulers in Christendom

Henry, therefore decided to force the issue. Earlier medieval Kings had struggled to assert themselves above the dictates of the Pope and had not fully succeeded. This time, Henry meant to push hard and win. Anyone, baron, or clergy who stood in his way would be executed.

Accordingly, Henry coerced Parliament to pass 'The Act of Supremacy' in 1533. At one stroke, Henry VIII made himself the Head of the Church in England. This meant the Pope could not interfere either with Henry's divorce nor his subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn in 1533.

From that time on there was a complete change in the Governance of the Church of England: Archbishops, Bishops, and Clergy were responsible to and appointed by the King himself, not the Pope. Henry however, retained CATHOLIC DOCTRINE. Eventually, he made further assaults on the representative institutions of Papal Power, the monastries. These were dissolved, sold off, and the revenues went to the king.

Now to our second point:

2. The birth of Elizabeth. Although Anne Boleyn did not produce a male heir, nevertheless, she did provide England with one of its ablest rulers, 'Good Queen Bess' Many have described her reign as a 'Golden Age'. During her life, literature, music, including the work of William Shakespeare all flourished. She kept the nation free of foreign wars and entanglements by using her womanly guile. Much, much more could be said, but we need to comment on our final point.

3. Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn sowed the seeds for the attempted invasion of England by the Spanish Armada in 1588 for several reasons:

a) Philip of Spain prided himself in being 'the sword of the Church' Once his Catholic wife, and Queen of England, Mary died. England under Elizabeth threw off the Catholic yoke and the subservience to Spain and of course the Pope.

b) Elizabeth survived attempts by Jesuit infiltrators to kill her after the Pope had declared her a heretic and enemy of the Church.

c) Philip of Spain had vowed to return England to the Catholic fold and remove its heretic Queen. This he would do by launching a mighty Armada

So rather than buckle under the imminent invasion of England, Elizabeth stood her ground and for various reasons the Armada was beaten off. The result was that England remained to this day a non-Catholic country.

So, in summary, Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn was important in setting off a train of events, which still resonate today