In 1509, King Henry VIII came to the throne following the death of his father, Henry VII, and married his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon. By 1524 Henry started having doubts about his marriage with Catherine. He believed that God was punishing him- for marrying his brother’s wife- by not giving him a son. Henry was concerned about who would succeed him to the throne. The heir to the throne was his daughter Mary, but there had not been a Queen of England since …show more content…
When England's King Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic church of Rome it set in motion a chain of events that would lead to a period known as the Protestant Reformation. The consequences of the reformation were experienced both in England and abroad. The Reformation resulted in dramatic changes to the religious, economic and cultural structure of European society.
All that King Henry did led to the Protestant Reformation a religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era. It is well known that, in later life, King Henry VIII was severely overweight, and possibly suffered from both gout and syphilis. He suffered a thigh wound which not only prevented him from taking exercise but which became ulcerated and may have indirectly led to his death. Henry died in 1547 at Whitehall in London and was buried at Windsor. At his death King Henry VIII left three children, each of whom had a turn on the English throne; Edward VI, Mary I (“Bloody” Mary), and Elizabeth