Henry VIII Creates the Church of England
King Henry VIII desperately wanted to annul his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon, but that was strictly forbidden by the Pope, so Henry went and created the Church of England in 1534 and appointed himself it’s head. However, this bold move came at a cost. Already infatuated with Anne Boleyn, who was known to have taken a keen interest in Luther and the Reformation, Henry had exhausted his options for remarrying within the church and decided excommunication was a fair price to pay for independence from the pope and the potential of fathering an heir. The Catholic Church, who maintained anti-divorce stances at all costs, excommunicated King Henry VIII.
Of course, the love and devotion of Henry VIII was mercurial at best. He married Anne Boleyn after divorcing and exiling his first wife, Catherine. But the romance between him and Anne was short-lived. Henry’s marriage to Anne lasted only 3 years and 3 months. Henry’s second queen is often known as ‘Anne of the Thousand Days’. She produced only a single child in their short marriage, Elizabeth I. But that was of no concern to the King. He believed scandalous rumors about Anne Boleyn and multiple men, including her own brother. So he decided to do away with Anne. She met her end at the end of a skilled swordsman. Now free to do as he pleased, he married four more times, which ended tragically for almost every woman involved.