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Henry viii of England, is arguably , the most colourful monarch in British history. Probably most well known for his six marriages and battles with the Catholic church, his significance in British history cannot be underestimated. Quite a feat for a man whose destiny was to be a clergy man not a king.

Henry was born in 1491 , in Greenwich, south London. He was the third eldest child of seven and as such not expected to become monarch in the footsteps of his father Henry Vii. However when his eldest brother died in 1502, Henry , as the eldest son, became heir to the throne.

Britain and Spain wished to form a strong political alliance and believed that this had been achieved when Prince Arthur( Henry's eldest brother) and Catherine had been betrothed and married years earlier. Yet with Arthur's death the alliance was broken and Henry vii wanting the alliance to continue could only think of one solution.Although only a very young man, Henry was married off ( after years of political wrangling and his father's death), in June 1509, to his brother's spanish widow , Catherine of Aragon. Less than 3 weeks later , on the 24th June, Henry Viii and his wife Catherine were crowned , King and Queen of England.

The first few years of Henry viii's reign saw him arrest and execute two of his father's advisors, take land in French regions and father his first child. His first daughter, later to be Queen Mary 1. He was quickly making his mark as an artistic , yet ruthless monarch.

The depth of Henry's ruthlessness can be measured by his treatment of Queen Catherine, when she was unable to bear a male heir.Though Catherine had produced a daughter, all of the succeeding children she had borne, died. Henry was obsessed with having a male heir , believing that only a king could unite the country . So as Catherine failed in this duty, Henry gradually fell out of love with her.

By 1525, Henry had fallen under the spell of Anne Boleyn , a young , ambitious woman within Catherine's house hold. Though Anne initially refused Henry's overtures to her, she soon realised that becoming the mistress to the king of England could endow her with great power.Being an intelligent and calculating woman however, Anne only agreed to this arrangement on the proviso that she would eventually become queen.

Because of Henry's utter infatuation with Anne , he agreed. So followed years of battling with the Holy Catholic church in Rome. Henry had decided that he wanted an annulment from Catherine

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