Henry VIII

Henry VIII was the second son of Henry VII, the first Tudor king, and became heir when his elder brother Arthur died. He became king in 1509 at seventeen, handsome, athletic and well educated, and married Arthur's widow, Catherine of Aragon. Desperate for a male heir, he asked the pope to annul the marriage, and when the pope refused, he had Parliament declare him Supreme Head of the Church of England in 1534. He dissolved the monasteries and took their lands and wealth. Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher were executed for refusing to accept his authority over the Church. Henry married six times: he divorced Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves, had Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard beheaded, lost Jane Seymour, who died after giving birth to his son Edward, and was survived by Catherine Parr. He built up the navy and spent heavily on wars with France. Grown very heavy and ill, he died in 1547. Each of his three children became monarch in turn.

Faith: Threw off papal supremacy and made himself Supreme Head of the Church of England. Source: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)