The future king of England Henry was born at Greenwich Palace. He was the third child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

Treaty of Etaples was the peace treaty signed by Charles VIII of France and Henry VII of England. Charles agreed not to support Perkin Warbeck and Henry agreed not pursue his claim to the French throne. Charles also had to pay Henry a large sum of money to be paid over several years.

Prince Henry, the future King of England, received his first official title before he was 2 years old. It was the Constable of Dover Castle.

Although less than two years old Prince Henry was given the title of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. The Cinque ports are five south coast ports (Hastings, Sandwich, Dover, New Romney and Hythe) that were to provide ships to assist keep the English Channel safe from enemy vessels. The last Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was H.M. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

Henry was given the title of Lieutenant of Ireland, but his duties were carried out by (Sir Edward Poynings ?)

Henry was also entered as a knight into the Order of the Bath and the Duke of York.

Henry (VIII) was given the title of Warden of the Scottish Marches and entered into the Order of the Garter.

Prince Arthur fell ill at Ludlow with consumption, an illness that he seems to have suffered from a lot during his life. The illness was severe and he died.

The title of Duke of Cornwall was transferred to Prince Henry after the death of Arthur. The title is normally given to the eldest son of the reigning monarch or their sons.

After the death of Prince Arthur, Catherine of Aragon was now a widow and on the 23rd of June the marriage was arranged between her and Prince Henry. Being the widow of Henry's brother special dispensation was required from the Pope for the marriage to be lawful.

Pope Julius II gave permission for the marriage between Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII. The legality of the marriage was in question because Catherine had been married to Henry's elder brother Arthur.

Thomas Wolsey was given the position of royal almoner to King Henry VIII.

King Henry fell ill and within a day he had died. His body was first moved to St. Paul's and then to Westminster Abbey where he was buried next to his wife. ^[1]

After the death of his father, Henry became the King of England.

Henry VII was buried inside the Lady Chapel that he had funded the construction of at Westminster Cathedral. ^[2]

King Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon at Greenwich Palace. Catherine was the wife of Henry's elder brother, Arthur, who had died in 1502. Henry had to obtain permission from the Pope for the marriage, but not everyone agreed that is was lawful.

King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon were crowned at Westminster Abbey.

Edmund Dudley was a key administrator during the reign of King Henry VII. He was able to amass a large amount of money while undertaking financial transactions for the King. After the death of Henry VII, Dudley and his co-conspirator Sir Richard Empson were arrested and found guilty of treason. They were executed for their crimes. While awaiting trial, Dudley was held at the Tower of London.

Catherine gave birth to a boy on the first of January but the child did not live long and died in February of the same year.

King Henry VIII held a jousting tournament at Greenwich Palace. ^[3]

Pope Julius II declared Louis XII was no longer the rightful King of France. Venice and Spain joined the League to remove the French king from power. King Henry VIII also joined the League declaring war on France.

Thomas Wolsey organised Henry's invasion into France ensuring the army was feed, watered and had good accommodation.

King Henry VIII prepared an invasion fleet and set sail for Calais.

The French cavalry arrived to assist the town of Therouanne which was under siege from the English. The French horsemen were attacked and turned and fled with the English in hot pursuit across the area of Guingate. The battle was known as the Battle of the Spurs due to the speed of the French retreat from the battlefield. The town of Therouanne fell to the English a couple of weeks later. The English entered the town and raised it to the ground.

After the victory at Therouanne, King Henry VIII turned to Tournai. The town fell to the English who entered it but this time took control and stationed a garrison there. Thomas Wolsey was given the bishopric of the town.

King James IV of Scotland's invasion of England came to an end at the Battle of Flodden where he was killed. The English were led by Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. King Henry VIII was in France at the time.

Thomas Wolsey was rewarded with the Bishopric of Lincoln.

A peace treaty was negotiated by Thomas Wolsey with France. One of the terms was that Louis XII of France would marry Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII. Louis died only a few months later.

Wolsey negotiated a peace treaty between England and France whereby King Louis XII married the younger sister Mary of King Henry VIII and had to pay Henry pension money owed to him under the treaty of Etaples. Peace should be maintained not less than a year after the first of them should die.

Thomas Wolsey is promoted to the position of Archbishop of York.

To cement peace between England and France, Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII married the French king Louis XII.

All of Catherine of Aragon's children died in infancy until Princess Mary was born in February of 1516. Mary was healthy and King Henry VIII was happy to have an heir. But Henry would have been happier to have a son.

Londoners were affected by a wide-spread illness forcing King Henry VIII and his court to move to the countryside where they felt safer. ^[4]

Pope Leo X made proposals for a new crusade and sent word to the leading European countries for support. King Henry VIII and Thomas Wolsey were not convinced that it was a good idea. ^[4]

The Treaty of London or Universal Peace was signed in London between the major European countries, England, France, Burgundy and many more. For Cardinal Wolsey this treaty was a plan to produce a peaceful Europe. The treaty stated that the countries must not attack one another and if they did the other countries would come to the aid of those being attacked. Within the treaty was the agreement that Mary, the 2 year-old daughter of King Henry VIII, would marry the French dauphin.

The Field of the Cloth of Gold was a meeting between King Henry VIII and King Francis I of France somewhere between Guines and Ardres near Calais. The meeting included a series of tournaments and jousts. The extravagant nature of the event giving the meeting its name.

The Treaty of Bruges was conducted in secrecy at Bruges between King Charles V, the Holy Roman Emporer, and Thomas Wolsey. In the terms of the treaty Wolsey promised Charles that King Henry VIII would join him in a joint campaign against France and Francis I. The meeting was held in secret because England was supposed to be a mediator in the dispute between Charles and Francis. The joint attacks of France would have to wait until March or May of 1523.

At a ceremony at Greenwich Palace, King Henry VIII was bestowed with the title Defender of the Faith. The title being confered by the Pope in recognition of the book Henry wrote against Luther.

Emporer Charles V visited England and during his stay took part in a ceremony at Windsor Castle to become a member of the Order of the Garter.

Anne Boleyn came to the attention of King Henry VIII. Anne was a lady-in-waiting for Queen Catherine and the sister of Mary Boleyn who was at the time the mistress of Henry VIII. Henry became besotted by Anne.

To end the marriage between King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Thomas Wolsey set up a secret tribunal where Henry had to answer charges of having a illegal marriage. The court was held in secret so Catherine did not know. The plan was to present the facts to the Pope who would annul the marriage. Problems occurred when Rome was attacked by Catherine's nephew Charles V the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope was captured. Any chance of the Pope annulling the marriage was now gone.

King Henry VIII told Catherine of Aragon that their marriage was invalid because she had earlier been married to his brother Arthur. Anne Boleyn, who Henry had become besotted with, wanted Henry to divorce Catherine and to marry her.

Thomas Wolsey was sent to France and the court of Francis I by King Henry to secure the release of Pope Clement VII, who was being held captive by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor since Rome had been sacked. The real, and secret reason for freeing the Pope was to get the annulment of the marriage of King Henry and Catherine of Aragon.

King Henry pardoned Thomas Wolsey and allowed him to retire to York as the archbishop.

Enemies of Wolsey provided evidence of treason to the King and the Cardinal was arrested.

On his way to London to face trial for treason Thomas Wolsey fell ill and died at Leicester.

Parliament passed a law which prevented the Pope receiving Annates. Annates was the income received by bishop in the first year after his appointment. But a clause was added that allowed the King to postpone the act being but into force. King Henry prevented the act being being enacted, hoping that this would persuade the Pope to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

Thomas Moor resigned as Chancellor because he could not accept King Henry becoming the ruler of the Church.

King Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn at Whitehall Palace on or around the 25th of January. Anne was expecting a child which Henry and Anne hoped would be a boy.

Thomas Cranmer declared that the marriage between King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was illegal and was annulled. The marriage between Henry and Anne Boleyn could then be formalised.

Thomas Cranmer declared that the marriage between King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn was legal.

Anne Boleyn was crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey by the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer.

Anne Boleyn gave birth to Elizabeth a healthy girl at Greenwich Palace. King Henry had hoped they would have a boy to ensure the continuation of the Tudor line.

Princess Elizabeth was moved from Greenwich, London to Hatfield were she was looked after in the household of Lady Bryan.  ^[5]

By the order of King Henry VIII Mary's title of Princess had been removed and she was taken to Hatfield to be a servant in the household of Princess Elizabeth, her younger step-sister. Mary was around eighteen years old at this time. Mary was not happy with this arrangement and could not accept that Elizabeth had a better claim to the English throne than she did. ^[5]

A statute passed by Parliament called the 'Act of Succession' declared that Mary Tudor was illegitimate and not the heir of King Henry VIII because the marriage between Henry and Catherine of Aragon was void. This meant that children of Henry and Anne Boleyn would be the true heirs to the English throne.

Albeit the king's majesty justly and rightfully is and ought to be the supreme head of the Church of England, and so is recognised by the clergy of this realm in their convocations, yet nevertheless, for corroboration and confirmation thereof, and for increase of virtue in Christ's religion within the realm of England, and to repress and extirpate all errors, heresies and other abuses heretofore used in the same, be it enacted by authority of this present Parliament, that the king of our sovereign lord, his heirs and successors , kings of this realm, shall be taken, accepted and reputed the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England, called Anglicana Eccesia ; and shall have and enjoy, annexed and united to the imperial crownof this realm, as well the title and crown thereof, as all honours , pre-eminences, jurisdictions, privilages, authorities, immunities, profits and commodities to the said dignity of the supreme head of the same church belonging and appertaining ; and that our said sovereign lord, his heirs and successors, kings of this realm, shall have full power and authority from time to time to visit, repress, redress, record, order, correct, retrain and amend all such errors, heresies, abuses, offences,contempts and enormities, wahtsoever they be, which by any manner of spiritual authority or jurisdiction ought or may lawfully be reformed, repressed, ordred, redressed, corrected, restrained, or amended, most of the pleasure of Almighty God, the increase of virtue in Christ's religion and for the conservation of the peace , unity and tranquillity of this realm ; any usage, foreign law, foreign authority, prescription or any other thing of things to the contrary notwithstanding.

Traditionally when an ecclesiastical poition was filled the first year's income and a tenth of the income from then on had to be paid to the papacy. King Henry VIII had a statute passed that meant the payments went to the English Crown instead. This was probably done to force the Pope to annul Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

King Henry passed a law that made it a high treasonable offence to threaten Henry himself, Queen Anne or their heirs. This included any slander in writing or print.

Thomas Cromwell organised an investigation into the running of the monasteries. Cromwell wanted to identify those houses that were being run poorly or where there was a lack of discipline. The results of the enquiries showed that there was widespread misconduct and an act of Parliament followed that ordered the closure of those communities with an income less than 200 pounds.

King Henry VIII obtained much needed money by suppressing hundreds of religious houses across the country and selling off their lands and assets. The monasteries, abbeys and nunneries had in the past played an important role in the fabric of medieval life. Not only had they acted as a place of worship, but they were also a centre for education, refuge for travellers and provided food for the poor. But times were changing and education was being provided by newly created universities and inns were providing a place for travellers. Less people were interested in a monastic life. Henry and Thomas Cromwell sent out surveyors to report on the state of each religious community, starting with the smaller houses first. Those houses that were badly run or where disipline for the religious order they followed had become slack were closed down immediately and their lands and assets taken. The abbots were offered pensions or money to surrender their houses but also threatened with violence if they did not. Several abbots were executed for not surrendering their abbeys. The inhabitants of the houses were sent to larger abbeys or just abandoned. A second round of suppression followed that concentrated on the larger religious houses. But the suppression did not come without a cost. Several revolts were sparked by the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Catherine of Aragon died. It was believed that she had been poisoned but it is possible that she died of cancer. Catherine died at Kimbolton Castle. Her body was moved to Peterborough Cathedral where she was buried on the 29th of the month.

Anne had a premature birth resulting in a stillborn child and the child was a boy. The failure to give Henry a son meant the end of her marriage to the king. Henry needed a new wife who could give him a male heir and he had his eye on Jane Seymour. ^[5]

Anne Boleyn was arrested at Greenwich after the May-Day jousting tournament on the order of Henry VIII. She was accused of high treason and the poisoning of Catherine of Aragon. Several of her close supporters were also arrested and charged with high treason.

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, was executed for treason and adultery at the Tower of London.

King Henry VIII married his third wife Jane Seymour the former lady-in-waiting to both Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. They were married at York Palace now the Palace of Whitehall.

Under the Act of the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries it was determined that Netley Abbey was to be dissolved. The Abbot at the time and his monks moved to their mother house at Beaulieu. ^[6]

Several days after their marriage, King Henry proclaimed Jane Seymour as Queen of England.

Parliament declared that Elizabeth, like her elder step-sister Mary, was illegitimate. This allowed the next son of King Henry VIII to be born to become the heir to the English throne. ^[5]

A short rebellion began and lasted a couple of weeks and was the prelude for a much larger rebellion known as the Pilgrimage of Grace. The Lincolnshire rebellion began in response to Henry VIII's unpopular policies, including the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The Rebels also had grievances against Henry's unpopular advisers like Thomas Cranmer. The rebels consisted of both common people and land owners alike, but some land owners were forced to take part. The rebels reached Lincoln where they were assured King Henry VIII would listen to their demands if they disbanded. Meanwhile Henry ordered that an army should be sent to Lincoln to defeat the rebels. By the time that army, led by the Duke of Suffolk, reached Lincoln the rebels had dispersed.

A large rebellion began in north in Yorkshire following those in Lincolnshire. Known as The Pilgrimage of Grace this rebellion again protested against the unpopular policies and advisers of King Henry VIII. They wanted Henry to put a stop to the dissolution of the monasteries and the removal of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer and Henry's adviser Thomas Cromwell. The leader of the rebellion was Robert Aske, a lawyer and excellent organiser. Somewhere between 30,000 and 35,000 rebels were involved and they took control of Pontefract Castle which fell to them without any resistance.

The Duke of Norfolk met with leaders of the rebels on Doncaster Bridge where their demands were heard. The Duke asked the rebels to disband promising that their demands would be considered. The rebels complied with the request to disband and returned home. King Henry VIII made no attempt to consider their demands.

At Pontefract the rebel leaders presented a list of demands. The rebels were assured of free pardons.

Although the main leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace were remaining peaceful and waiting for Henry VIII to look into their complaints others were not so trusting. Several uprisings occurred in the north east of England where Carlisle was besieged. The Duke of Norfolk was able to deal with the rebels and many of those suspected of taking part were hung in their villages as an example to the rest.

King Henry VIII summonsed the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace to him in London where the rebels believed they would discuss terms with the King as they had been promised free pardons. Instead, Henry had the rebels arrested. They were sent back to their home lands where they were tried and executed.

Jane Seymour gave birth to Edward at Hampton Court. The birth had complications and Jane became ill.

Jane Seymour died after complications with the birth of Edward VI. She was buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

King Henry VIII ordered the destruction of the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral and the removal of all the offerings that had been made over the centuries. The bones were supposed to have been burned but may have been reburied sparking a mystery over the location of the remains today. ^[7]

King Henry VIII had a pair of castles built at the mouth of the River Fal near Falmouth in Cornwall. The River mouth is a natural deep water harbour and needed protecting from invasion. These were Pendennis and St. Mawes Castles. ^[8]

Waltham Abbey has the distinction of being the last monastery to be dissolved by King Henry VIII. ^[9]

The monastery at Gloucester surrendered to King Henry VIII as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. ^[7]

The King met Anne of Cleves at Rochester Castle before moving on to Greenwich in preparation for their marriage.

King Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves were married. Although Henry was disappointed that Anne did not resemble her portrait the marriage went ahead as planned.

The marriage of King Henry VIII to Anne of Cleves was annulled just a few months after the marriage. Anne agreed to an annual income and the use of several lavish homes in England.

Just weeks after the marriage to Anne of Cleves was annulled, King Henry VIII married Catherine Howard his fifth wife.

Bristol was one of the dioceses created by King Henry VIII at this time. Previous to this, it was an Augustinian monastery founded in around 1140. ^[10]

Catherine Howard was executed on Tower Green within the Tower of London. She had been found guilty of adultery and therefore treason and sentenced to death.

King Henry VIII renewed his claim on the Scottish throne and sent his army in the north of England into Scotland. The army was met by a Scottish army led by George Gordon the 4th Earl of Huntley at Haddon Rig in Teviotdale. The Scots defeated the English led by Robert Bowes. ^[11]

The Succession to the Crown Act was an act passed by Parliament specifiying the order of succession to the English throne after the death of King Henry VIII. Although Edward was the youngest the order would be Edward, Mary and then Elizabeth.  ^[5]

At Greenwich a treaty was signed by the Scots and King Henry VIII swearing firstly peace between the two nations and secondly the agreement that Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, should marry Henry's son Edward. Although these two treaties were initially agreed they had been rejected by the Scots by the end of the year. King Henry at first wanted Mary to be brought to England but two sides agreed that she should remain in Scotland until her tenth birthday.

King Henry VIII married Catherine Parr, his sixth and final wife, at Hampton Court Palace.

King Henry VIII built Southsea Castle at the entrance to Portsmouth harbour to protect against French invasions.

King Henry VIII built Hurst Castle, another of his chain of gun-fort castles on the south coast of England designed to defend England from a French invasion. The castle was built on a spit of land stretching out into the Solent.

After the collapse of the Treaties of Greenwich, which were supposed to bring peace between England and Scotland and the marriage of Prince Edward to Mary, King Henry VIII tried to get agreement through force. The King sent the Earl of Hertford (Lord Hertford) with an army to Scotland and in May they attacked and destroyed Edinburgh. This was the first military action in a series of engagements between England and Scotland now known as the Rough Wooing.

After sending an army of some 30,000 men to France, King Henry sailed to Calais from Dover and proceeded to besiege Boulogne. The siege lasted until the middle of September when the town surrendered. ^[12]

King Henry VIII watched from Portsmouth as the Mary Rose, the flag ship of his navy, mysteriously sank with the loss of hundreds of lives.  ^[9]

The building work at Yarmouth Castle on the Isle of Wight was completed in this year. The castle was one of the gun-forts that King Henry VIII had built to defend the south coast of England against invasion from the French.

King Henry VIII died at Whitehall Palace at the age of 55. He was buried in St. George's Chapel Windsor next to Jane Seymour, his favourite wife.