This made this formerly Catholic country into a staunchly Protestant one - a significant thing, when there were a number of other countries that were moving towards Protestantism at this time. The church excommunicated Henry for this unheard-of divorce, and Henry retaliated by forming his own church (today called the 'Church of England'). Her father's excommunication and her mother's execution Thus, his famous daughter Mary became 'illegitimate' as well - something that drove his first wife and first daughter even closer to Catholicism. This, of course, incurred the displeasure of the church (since the Catholic Church was staunchly opposed to divorce) but he nonetheless declared his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon illegitimate. Catherine was unable to give birth to any additional children at this point (being long beyond childbearing age by this time), and so he divorced her to marry a woman named Anne Boleyn - the woman who would later give birth to Elizabeth. Thus, Henry wanted a male 'heir to the throne' instead and was angry at his unlucky first wife for 'failing' to provide him one. The two of them had a famous daughter named Mary but in the sexist world of the sixteenth century, they didn't care for female monarchs, and had never before allowed one to actually inherit the throne. In brief, Henry the Eighth started out life (somewhat ironically) as a Roman Catholic, and married an equally Catholic wife named Catherine of Aragon. The soap opera of her father's life (and how it affected her)īecause her father's personal life was so important for Elizabeth's own, some general comments about it would seem to be warranted here, which may help to serve as background for this discussion. Catherine of Aragon, Henry the Eighth's first wife

Elizabeth by david starkey