Henry VIII of England

Born in Greenwich on 28 June 1491, Henry was the second son of Henry VII and became heir only after his elder brother Arthur died in 1502. He took the throne at 17 in 1509 and married Arthur's widow, Catherine of Aragon. When Catherine produced Mary but no surviving male heir, Henry sought an annulment. Pope Clement VII delayed under pressure from Catherine's nephew, Charles V, so Henry secretly married Anne Boleyn in 1532. Archbishop Thomas Cranmer declared the first marriage void in May 1533; the pope excommunicated Henry. In response, Henry broke from Rome and passed the Act of Supremacy in…