Why Did Henry Viii Break from Rome?

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Why did Henry VIII Break from Rome? King Henry VIII broke away from Rome for a number of reasons, including the succession, power, money, Henry’s desire for a son and the state of the Church. I believe the most important reason is Henry’s desire for a son. He wanted to annul Catherine of Aragon since the chances of her giving Henry a son where very small and Henry also had doubts that their marriage was unlawful in the eyes of God. However, Catherine loved Henry and was loyal to their marriage, so she didn’t want the annulment to happen. She begged Henry to remain faithful to their marriage. Henry had already fallen in love with a lady called Anne Boleyn (who had caught the attention of several notable figures in Britain at the time). She was also carrying a child of Henry’s anyway and so Henry thought she might have the boy he was after to rein over the British Empire. Another important reason for the break with Rome was Henry’s need for more money. Unfortunately, Henry fought some expensive wars in Europe and felt the need to live a life of complete luxury. Feeding 2,000 people in Hampton Court, wearing new clothes every three days encrusted with jewels, riding horses and building Fortresses did not help him at all. Soon Henry found himself bankrupt and he was in urgent need for more money. Henry quickly realised how wealthy monasteries and the Church of England were since people traditionally donated a lot of money to the Church and they also paid a type of tax. He also noticed that monasteries contained lots of gold, silver and land that he could make money out of. So he thought that if he took control over the Church he would have a heavy, new source of finance that would take him out of bankruptcy. Religion and power were also reasons for the break with Rome. The Catholic Church would not allow him to divorce Catherine of Aragon since it was against the
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