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Why is Henry VIII so famous?

King Henry VIII (1491–1547) of England is famous because, in his efforts to find a wife who would bear him a son, he defied the Roman Catholic Church (a Christian religion based in Rome, Italy, and headed by a pope) and established the Church of England.

When Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon (1485–1536), failed to give birth to a male heir, Henry appealed to the pope to grant him a divorce. The pope denied the request because the church did not recognize divorce. Henry then had his marriage to Catherine declared invalid on the grounds that she was his brother's widow, and he secretly married Anne Boleyn (1507?–1536) in 1533. Yet his troubles with the church continued; in 1534 he established the Church of England and declared himself as its head. He went to extreme measures to make sure the act was upheld, even executing his chancellor (secretary), Thomas More (1478–1535), when...

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