Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) became king of England in 1509. He was a successful and learned, although ruthless, monarch. Henry is popularly famed for having six wives, but, far more significantly, he instigated the English Reformation.
The initial spark for the momentous political and cultural changes he brought about was his inability to get papal approval for a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. As a result he broke free of Roman Catholicism and by the Act of Supremacy in 1534 established himself as the head of the Church of England. Subsequently he dissolved the English monastries.
The painter Holbein worked at the court of Henry VIII.
Henry VIII, King of England
1491 - 1547
Paintings previously owned by Henry VIII, King of England
This elegant young woman is Christina of Denmark, the youngest daughter of King Christian of Denmark. In 1538, King Henry VIII of England was looking for a fourth wife, after the death of Jane Seymour the previous year. As Henry’s official court artist, Holbein was sent to Brussels to capture the...