King Henry VIII (1491-1547) ruled England for 36 years,
presiding over sweeping changes that brought his nation into the
Protestant Reformation. He famously married a series of six
wives in his search for political alliance, marital bliss and a
healthy male heir. His desire to annul his first marriage
without papal approval led to the creation of a separate Church
of England. Of his marriages, two ended in annulment, two in
natural deaths and two with his wives' beheadings for adultery
and treason. His children Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I
would each take their turn as England's monarch. More to Explore
The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious,
political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered
Catholic Europe. Elizabeth I, who became known as the Virgin
Queen, ruled during a period when England become a major world
power in every respect. England's first female monarch, Mary I
ruled for five years and was nicknamed "Bloody Mary" for her
treatment of English Protestants. Briti