Person1491 – 1547
Henry VIII
Tudor king of England (r. 1509–1547) who broke with the pope over his divorce and made himself head of the Church of England by the Act of Supremacy (1534)
He inherited the throne after the early death of his elder brother Arthur. As a young king he wrote a refutation of Luther and was given the title “Defender of the Faith” by the pope. He married six times, annulling two marriages and executing two wives (Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard). He built up the navy and formally united Wales with England. His three children, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, reigned one after another.