Our common ancestors - English Royal family - Contents

Henry VIII

Henry VIII (see here),
born 28 June 1491.
As a child he was the nominal Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland 1494-1496.
His father Henry VII died April 1509.
He reigned 1509-1547.

He mar 1stly, June 1509, to Catherine of Aragon.
The play Henry VIII by Shakespeare spans 1521-1533.
From 1525, Henry courted Anne Boleyn.
The Egyptians Act expelled the gypsies from England 1530.
Henry broke with Rome after he could not get a divorce to marry Anne Boleyn.
In 1532 he made Anne Boleyn Marquess of Pembroke, the first hereditary peerage granted to a woman. The title of Earl of Pembroke was previously in the Herbert family (surrendered 1479) and was later re-created for the Herbert family (in 1551).
In 1533 Henry got his marriage annulled.
He had issue by 1st wife Catherine of Aragon:

1. Mary I.
   Reigned 1553-1558. Catholic.
   A brief period where England reverted to Catholicism.
   She mar 1554 to Philip II, King of Spain.
   She was called "Bloody Mary" for her persecution of English Protestants.

Henry mar 2ndly, 1533, to Anne Boleyn.
Act of Supremacy 1534.
He executed Anne Boleyn 1536.
He had issue by 2nd wife Anne Boleyn:

1. Elizabeth I.
   Reigned 1558-1603.
   See her minister William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley.
   See her favourites Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester and his stepson Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex.
   See her governor of Ireland Sir Henry Sidney.
   See her Irish favourite Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond.
   After her death in 1603, the crown passed to House of Stuart.

Henry mar 3rdly, 1536, to Jane Seymour.
He mar 6thly, 1543, to Catherine Parr.
She was his last wife. She survived him.
He died 28 Jan 1547, age 55 yrs.
He had issue by 3rd wife Jane Seymour:

1. Edward VI.
   Reigned 1547-1553.
   He was succeeded briefly by Lady Jane Grey.

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• Cultural depictions of Henry VIII
• Cultural depictions of Elizabeth I
  • The movie Elizabeth (1998).
  • The movie Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007).

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Origin of some names

• After Mary I:
  • Queen's County, Ireland (now Co.Laois)
  • Maryborough (now Portlaoise), Co.Laois
  • The nursery rhyme "Three blind mice" is supposed to refer to Mary I.
  • The nursery rhyme "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow?" may refer to Mary I. Or it may refer to Mary, Queen of Scots. Or there may be no political meaning.

• After Philip II, King of Spain:
  • King's County, Ireland (now Co.Offaly)
  • Philipstown (now Daingean), Co.Offaly

• After Elizabeth I:
  • The state of Virginia in the USA (named by Sir Walter Raleigh after "the Virgin Queen").
  • Virginia, Co.Cavan