Key Events
| 1509 | Henry accedes to the throne on the death of his father, Henry VII. |
| 1509 | Henry marries Catherine of Aragon, daughter of the Spanish King and Queen, and widow of his elder brother, Arthur |
| 1511 | Henry joins the Holy League against the French. All men under the age of 40 are required to practise archery. |
| 1513 | The English defeat the Scots at the Battle of Flodden Field. James IV of Scotland is killed. |
| 1515 | Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York, becomes Chancellor and Cardinal. |
| 1516 | Catherine gives birth to Princess Mary (later Mary I). |
| 1517 | Martin Luther publishes his 95 theses against the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church. |
| 1518 | The Pope and the Kings of England, France, and Spain pledge peace in Europe |
| 1520 | Henry holds peace talks with Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, but fails to get support against Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire. |
| 1525 | Hampton Court Palace is completed. William Tyndale publishes The New Testament in English. |
| 1526 | Cardinal Wolsey re-establishes the Council of the North |
| 1527 | Henry seeks permission from the Pope to divorce Catherine of Aragon but is refused. |
| 1529 | Cardinal Wolsey is accused of high treason for failing to get the Pope’s consent for the divorce, but dies before he can be brought to trial. |
| 1529 | Sir Thomas More becomes Chancellor. Henry starts to cut ties with the Church of Rome. |
| 1531 | The appearance in the sky of Halley’s comet causes widespread panic and talk of holy retribution |
| 1532 | Sir Thomas More resigns from the Chancellorship over the erosion of Papal authority. |
| 1533 | Thomas Cranmer is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury and annuls Henry’s 24-year marriage to Catherine of Aragon. |
| 1533 | Henry marries Anne Boleyn. |
| 1533 | Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I) is born. |
| 1533 | Pope Clement VII excommunicates Henry |
| 1534 | The Act of Supremacy is passed, establishing Henry as head of the Church of England. |
| 1535 | Sir Thomas More is executed after refusing to recognize Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England. |
| 1535 | Thomas Cromwell is made Vicar-General and starts plans to seize the Church’s wealth. |
| 1535 | First complete English translation of the Bible by Miles Coverdale |
| 1536 | Anne Boleyn is executed and Henry marries Jane Seymour |
| 1536 | The Act of Union between Wales and England. |
| 1536 | Thomas Cromwell begins the dissolution of the monasteries under the ‘Reformation’. . |
| 1536 | Great northern rising, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace against the dissolution of monasteries. |
| 1537 | Jane Seymour dies giving birth to Edward (later Edward VI). |
| 1539 | Parliament passes the Act for the ‘Dissolution of the Greater Monasteries’. The abbots of Colchester, Glastonbury and Reading are executed for treason. |
| 1540 | The last of the monasteries to be dissolved is Waltham Abbey. |
| 1540 | Henry marries Anne of Cleves in January but the marriage is annulled in July |
| 1540 | Execution of Thomas Cromwell on a charge of treason. |
| 1540 | Henry marries Catherine Howard. |
| 1541 | Beginning of the Reformation in Scotland under John Knox. |
| 1542 | Catherine Howard is executed for treason. |
| 1542 | James V of Scotland dies and is succeeded by his 6 day old daughter Mary Queen of Scots. |
| 1543 | Henry marries the twice-widowed Catherine Parr, his sixth and last wife. |
| 1543 | Treaty of Greenwich proposes marriage between Henry’s son Edward and Mary Queen of Scots. However it is repudiated by the Scots 6 months later who want an alliance with France. |
| 1545 | Henry’s flagship The Mary Rose sinks in the Solent |
| 1546 | Henry becomes increasingly ill with what is now believed to be syphilis and cirrhosis. |
| 1547 | Death of Henry at the age of 55, survived by Catherine Parr |
Coins
Henry VIII Groat S. 2337E mm Arrow ex St.James Auction September 2015 Lot 47
Crown of the Double Rose 1526-29 (Not mine!)
My Coin Collection 