Two months after he succeeded his father Henry VII on the English throne, 18-year-old
Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon were crowned King and Queen of England on June 24, 1509.
 |
| Eighteen-year-old Henry VIII after his coronation in 1509 |
Henry VIII was the first English king to be addressed as "your majesty". Before then, "Your Highness" or "Your Lord King" was always used.
Henry's reign is best known for his six marriages, and, in particular, his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His six wives in order were divorced, beheaded, Died. divorced, beheaded, survived.
In 1534 Henry VIII proclaimed himself Head of the Church in England, transferring ecclesiastical jurisdiction and revenues from the pope to himself and creating the Church of England (Episcopal Church) with The Act of Supremacy.
Between 1536 and 1540, after breaking with the papacy, Henry VIII and his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, sold off the property and valuables of the 800 monasteries, nunneries and friaries in England.
A big spender partly subsidized by the confiscation of lands from the church, Henry needed plenty of money as his war against France emptied the Royal treasury.
