Henry VIII, King of England
Born 1491 A.D., King 1509-1547 A.D.
Silver Groat (Fourpence), 25 mm
O: Crowned bust of Henry VIII facing right.
R: Tudor coat of arms.
Struck between 1526 and 1544 AD, London mint.
Henry VIII, king of England from 1509 to 1547, instigated the reformation of the English church in order to secure a divorce from the first of his six wives. Shortly before he took the throne, Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon, who was the widow of his brother, Arthur. He sought a divorce because he believed that her failure to produce a male heir was a sign that God was displeased with his union with his dead brother's wife, and/or because he had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn. When Pope Clement VII could not or would not grant the request for a divorce, events began that led to the establishment of the Church of England as an independent national church, no longer in communion with the Roman Catholic church or the pope. Henry VIII eventually had six wives, whose fates are summarized as follows:
"divorced, beheaded, died,
divorced, beheaded, survived."