Tag: henry viii

Marriage and Risk of Life

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Today in History, June 11: 1509 – Unbeknownst to her, Catherine of Aragon takes her life in her own hands when she marries Henry the VIII, King of England, becoming his first wife. When Catherine failed to produce a male heir for the King, he divorced her, which was much more mild that the fate of two other wives (Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard) who he had executed for adultery when he grew bored of them. Henry’s first divorce set off the Protestant Reformation in England as the Catholic church would not sanction the divorce. 3 of his (all from different mothers) heirs would take turns on the throne, Edward VI, Mary, and finally Elizabeth I.

The King’s Good Servant, but God’s First


Today in History, May 16: 1532 – “The King’s good servant, but God’s first.”. Sir Thomas More resigns his position as Lord Chancellor of England. More was a humanist in a time when civil rights bore little importance. He was also an author, having written the still important “Utopia” about a land without the problems he found in the real world. He advanced to Lord Chancellor and was fiercely loyal to King Henry the VIII. But when the King usurped the authority of the Pope so that he could divorce his queen, the devout Catholic More could not countenance it and resigned. Within 3 years charges of treason had been trumped up, he was tried by his replacement and the new queen’s father and two brothers, then beheaded. The beginning of this post were his last words. He was canonised by the church in 1935, making him Saint Thomas More.