Henry VIII was born on June 28th 1491, in Greenwich Palace, London. He was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Henry VIII came to the throne on the June 24th 1509, after his father's death. Almost 18 at the time, Henry was interested in sport, dancing and feasting, than he was in governing his country. He left most of his ruling to his advisor, Cardinal Thomas Wosley. Henry's reign was often overshadowed by his six marriages, as he hoped to have a male heir. His greatest achievements include the development of the British navy, and the reformation of Roman Catholic churches, which resulted the creation of Protestant churches.
             When Henry was eleven, his life was transformed by the death of his elder brother, Arthur. He was now heir to throne. In 1509 Henry's father died, and he succeeded him. Shortly after he came to the throne Henry married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of the king of Spain. They had a daughter named Mary, who was born in 1516, and for most of the 24 years their marriage it was quite a happy one. But Henry desperately wanted a son to follow him on the throne believing that a male heir would be a better ruler, and to his mind this was a failure to his reign. He blamed this on Catherine. Although she was pregnant many times only, Princess Mary survived. Henry had affairs with ladies of his court until he fell in love with Anne Boleyn, a woman of strong will and political instincts.
             Henry decided to divorce Catherine in order to marry Anne.
             From 1527 Henry was looking for a way out of his marriage, arguing from accordance of the bible that the union with his brother's widow was invalid. Henry sent his Cardinal Wosley to Rome to present the English case before the pope; Cardinal Wosley was unable to secure the Pope's permission for the divorce. Henry did not tolerate failure and dismissed the Cardinal, for failing.
             However, the divorce was politi...