Why did Henry VIII ‘great matter’ matter?
Learning objective – to be able to explain why and
how Henry VIII broke with Rome and made
himself Head of the Church of England.
I can describe the key
events that led to
Henry VIII divorcing
Catherine of Aragon.
Level 3/4
I can explain how
Henry created the
Church of England
and prioritise key
events.
Level 4/5
I can explain in detail
how Henry VIII created
the Church of England
and which were the most
important events.
Level 6
Starter
What does this tweet tells us about the
character of Henry VIII? Is this accurate?
Henry VIII
Became King of
England in 1509.
Married Catherine of
Aragon in 1509.
Was a very popular king in the early part of his reign. The Pope
thought he was such a good Catholic he granted Henry the title
‘Defender of the Faith’.
Catherine of Aragon
A Spanish princess, once
married to Henry ‘s older
brother.
Ruled very
effectively when
Henry was absent
in 1513.
Very popular in
England.
By the mid-1520’s,
Henry thought she
was too old and
boring.
Anne Boleyn
Hugely
fashionable and
seen as beautiful
by the standards
of the day.
Unpopular
with the
people who
saw her as a
wicked
marriagebreaker.
Some thought she was a witch due to the fact she had
an extra finger and a mark on her neck.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
A son of an Ipswich
butcher, who rose to
the rank of Henry VIII
First Minister.
Was placed in
charge of
obtaining a
divorce from the
Pope for Henry
VIII.
Wolsey failed to obtain a divorce and was
sacked by Henry VIII. Wolsey died in 1530 on
his way to London for his trial.
Thomas Cranmer
Took over
negotiations on
behalf of Henry VIII
for the divorce from
Wolsey in 1530.
Was a key figure in
Henry VIII becoming
Head of the English
Church.
Appointed as the
first Protestant
Archbishop of
Canterbury in
1533.
Why did Henry VIII want to divorce
Catherine of Aragon?
 Henry VIII was getting bored of Catherine of Aragon.
 Henry VIII read a passage of the Bible which made him
question his marriage to Catherine.
 Catherine of Aragon had not produced a living son for
him.
Naughty Henry ……..
During the early
1520’s Henry
started a series
of affairs as he
was getting
bored of
Catherine.
Catherine
became more
religious and was
not interested in
going to parties.
She was also
ageing badly and
putting on
weight.
Henry’s affairs included one with Bessie Blount, who
produced a living son, called Henry.
A Biblical Tale
Catherine had once
been married to
Henry’s older brother,
Arthur.
With Henry getting bored of
his marriage, he was reading
the Bible where in Leviticus it
stated that a man should
never marry his brother’s
widow and if he does they will
be childless.
The Pope had given
special permission for
Henry to marry his
brother’s widow.
This gave Henry
the religious
backed he
needed to argue
for a divorce.
Who follows Henry VIII?
Henry desperately
needed a son to
continue the Tudor
dynasty. By 1527, he
and Catherine had one
daughter but no sons.
Henry now saw Catherine as too old to have any more children and
had now fallen in love with a much younger woman – Anne Boleyn.
Henry felt that Anne was more likely to give him the son he wanted.
Henry VIII quest for a divorce –
1527-33
At first, Henry
tried to argue
that his marriage
was illegal.
However, this was
not the case.
Henry hated the
Pope having this
control over him.
The only chance
Henry had a
getting a divorce
was asking the
Pope. The Pope
refused as he was
being threatened
by Spanish troops.
The stalemate between
the Pope and Henry VIII
lasted between 1527-33.
Henry VIII becomes Head of
the Church – 1533-4
Matters became
more urgent in
1533 when Anne
Boleyn became
pregnant.
Backed up by
Cranmer and
Parliament, Henry
ignored the Pope
and made himself
Head of the Church
of England.
Henry lost his
patience with the
negotiations with
the Pope.
As Head of the
Church of England,
Henry gave himself
a divorce and
married Anne
Boleyn.
The Break with Rome
Henry VIII as Head of the
Church of England was
confirmed in 1534 with
Act of Supremacy.
England was no
longer a Catholic
country. It had
changed to a
Protestant country.
All church services and
Bible readings were
now in English and
churches were
decorated differently.
This change was called
the ‘break with Rome’
as it broke away from
control from the Pope.
Main task
Read the worksheet carefully.
Use a pencil and a ruler to draw your chart.
Think carefully where you place each card.
Make sure you are able to explain your decisions.
Choose your plenary
 Design a logo that summarises this lesson.
 Write a tweet from each of the accounts of Henry
VIII, Anne Boleyn, Catherine of Aragon and Thomas
Wolsey stating what they think of the events
surrounding the Break with Rome.
 Design a word cloud summarising today’s lesson.