The Reformation & Henry VIII
Henry VIII wanted to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn. When the Pope refused, Henry broke with Rome and established the Church of England through the Act of Supremacy (1534). He dissolved the monasteries and distributed their lands. Henry's six wives: Catherine of Aragon (divorced), Anne Boleyn (beheaded), Jane Seymour (died), Anne of Cleves (divorced), Catherine Howard (beheaded), Catherine Parr (survived). After Henry, Edward VI continued Protestantism, Mary I restored Catholicism briefly, and Elizabeth I established the lasting Protestant settlement.