Henry the VIII's decision to leave the Catholic Church made it possible to establish other religions even though his motives behind it were very political. Henry's behavior during his reign was questionable by the Catholic Church. When the Church called him out on it, he ignored their counsel. Choosing to let his selfishness rule instead of what was good for the country, king Henry ends up separating from the Catholic Church that he was raised in, and starting a new Church of England.
Henry was born on June 28, 1491. He was the second son and the third child of Henry VII and Elizabeth York. Being the second son Henry's life was destined by his father for the Church. When his brother Arthur passed away, life changed dramatically for Henry. Henry was now be prepared for the new future ahead of him, to be the next king of England. Upon his father Henry the VII's death on April 22, 1509, Henry became Henry the VIII king of England. He was just a few days shy of his eighteenth birthday.
During the first twenty years of his reign he left the shaping of policies largely in the hands of his great counselor, Cardinal Wolsey. Upon receiving counsel from his parents and Cardinal Wolsey, Henry got a papal dispensation from the Church to marry Arthur's widow Catherine of Aragon. The papal dispensation had to be signed to allow Catherine to marry the next heir to the throne. It also had to be signed because she was his dead brother's wife, and Levitical Law (laws in the book of Leviticus in the Bible) in the Catholic Church prohibited that. "At that time, and throughout her life, Catherine denied that her marriage to Arthur had even consummated so no dispensation was needed."(Weir, 57) However, both parties wanted to be sure of the legitimacy of the marriage, so permission from the pope was sought and granted. The marriage took places shortly after his accession.
Although they did have one child, Mary, Catherine was not able to produce a male heir.
