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How Did King Henry Viii Have Absolute Power

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King Henry VIII became the king of England in 1509, but there was always, in a sense, a higher power foreshadowing him. This power came from the English Church, as the Roman Catholic religion was dominant in everyday life in England. Even though he himself did not have absolute power, he acted in a sense that was so- it is estimated that he executed “57,000 to 72,000 people”, although there is no exact number (Mason 1). However, just like every king, he acquired an obsession to obtain a son to become his heir, and accumulated a total of six wives during his reign. It was this personal obsession and the desire for absolute power that caused his reign to be focused more on himself, and not on his country. Hence, King Henry VIII was not seen …show more content…

She was a …”Spanish princess who was married to [King Henry VIII] for 18 years before he began divorce proceedings in his desperation to re-marry and produce a male heir” (Historic Royal Palaces, 1). After six pregnancies, five failed and only one daughter by the name of Princess Mary, survived. King Henry VIII then became desperate to divorce her from his impulse to have a male heir. He asked the English clergy to nullify the marriage to remove its existence completely, using the excuse that his brother married Catherine of Aragon. Consequently, he used the relationship of monogamy and religion as his plea, which is the “...practice...that a man can marry only one wife at any one time in his life” (History of Monogamy, 2). Monogamy was predominant in the Roman Catholic Church, as it was “imposed as the only right form of marriage acceptable to God and man” (History of Monogamy, …show more content…

King Henry VIII responded to the resistance by closing the monasteries in England and seizing the property and treasures for the Crown, and executing a numerous amount of monks and friars. Moreover, citizens that spoke out, such as Thomas Bilney (who protested against religious images) and James Bainham (who still followed Roman Catholic beliefs) were arrested and burned at the stake. Religious persecution was enforced as every English citizen was bound by law to belong to the Church of England, regardless of their beliefs. Hence, any sort of religious freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press was removed during King Henry VIII’s

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Instead, she provided a daughter, Princess Mary.

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Meanwhile, Henry VIII had broken from the Roman Catholic Church establishing himself as Head of the Church of England. He closed monasteries, sold church lands thereby increasing royal revenues. These outlandish actions of Henry and Luther led to years of controversy and ill will among the churches. Nevertheless, Luther’s protests prevailed in the end, ultimately bringing protestant reform to

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‘Henry VII successfully established his royal authority by 1487’ I think that royal authority means that the king would have had an heir to carry on his line and his opposition has been dealt with to a suitable extent. By 1487, Henry had spent two years on the throne after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, and within those years, I believe that Henry VII had successfully established his royal authority by 1487. However, there are arguments that suggest Henry did not successfully establish his royal authority by 1487.

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In anger, King Henry broke from the church and made himself head of the church of England. King Henry could do whatever he wanted, because the people of England had lost their freedom. Laws were created which forced people to stop practicing the Catholic religion and turn to Protestantism, which resulted in a great loss of souls. While all of this was

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‘The consolidation of royal authority, in the years 1487-1509, was due to Henry VII’s control over the nobility.’ Explain why you agree or disagree with this view. It can be argued to a certain extent that the consolidation of royal authority for Henry VII, in the years 1487-1509, was a result of control over the nobility. The challenge lied in the ability to decrease their power without alienating them whilst removing their position of threat. However, there were other contributory factors in Henry’s consolidation of his royal authority, such as his diplomatic skills in dealing with foreign powers and the indispensable use of royal finances.

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Henry VIII broke away from the Church so that he was able to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon when she would not give him a son as a heir. The church would not grant him his annulment, so he excommunicated himself from the Church. By doing so he became Protestant, and England broke away from the Catholic Church. After Henry died, his son ruled, before he died as well. After the reign of her half brother, Mary I, also known as Bloody Mary, became queen of England.

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Additionally, this demonstrates that Henry believes that he is higher than anyone, and no one can tell him otherwise. This kind of unchecked power given to a man who cannot take no for an answer and acts of his own accord acutely expresses how Henry is not a good leader. As said by Bishop (this guy), a leader is supposed to use his unlimited power to benefit, not suppress his people. Additionally, by splitting from the church for his own benefit, he is not showing care to his people and his actions were unprincipled because of his single minded decision.[7] Following the split from the RCC, Henry began to dismantle traces of (the religion) by initiating a program (called this) that shut down all of the monasteries and to take their money and land.

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Ever wonder of having your own kingdom? Think of having all the luxuries of the world, like a big palace, a feast for every meal, a large canopy bed with servants on the edge for your needs. Not only that, but you are the absolute ruler of anyone in our kingdom with no one to stand against you. That is the life you may wish for, but that’s the life of an absolute monarch. An exemplary absolute monarch is Louis XIV because he had a strong defending military, had complete power over the bank for his luxury, and suppressed anyone who went against him.

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Throughout the Middle Ages, the king possessed the greatest amount of power and influence in all of England, right after the Pope of course. In view of this, Henry VIII was able to control the fate of his six wives. He was desperate for an heir to the throne and insisted on divorcing his first wife, but “the pope refused to grant a divorce” (Hung). His “efforts to divorce Catherine,” soon “became a parting of the ways for the English political elite” (David 420). In view of this, Henry VIII was so determined to get his way that “he started a church of his own.

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