| Year | Day/Month | Title |
| Henry VII (1485 - 1509) |
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1491 | Jun 28 |  Henry (VIII) born
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| | The future king of England Henry VIII was born at Greenwich Palace. He was the third child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. |
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1492 | Nov 3 | Treaty of Etaples
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| | The peace treaty signed by Charles VIII and Henry VII. 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. |
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1493 | | Henry becomes Constable of Dover Castle
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| | Henry (VIII) received his first official title before he was 2 years old. It was the Constable of Dover Castle. |
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| Apr | Henry becomes Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
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| | Although less than two years old Henry (VIII) 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 the King 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. |
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1494 | Sep | Henry becomes Lieutenant of Ireland
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| | Henry was given the title of Lieutenant of Ireland, but his duties were carried out by (Sir Edward Poynings ?) |
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| Oct | Henry enters the Order of the Bath
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| | Henry was also entered as a knight into the Order of the Bath and the Duke of York. |
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| Dec | Henry enters the Order of the Garter
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| | Henry (VIII) was given the title of Warden of the Scottish Marches and entered into the Order of the Garter. |
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1502 | Apr | Prince Arthur dies
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| | 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. |
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| Oct | Henry becomes Duke of Cornwall
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| | The title of Duke of Cornwall is given to the eldest son of the reigning monarch or their sons. When Arthur died without any male offspring the title was transferred to Henry (VIII) |
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1503 | Jun 23 | Henry and Catherine's marriage arranged
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| | Catherine of Aragon was now a widow and on the 23/24 of June the marriage was arranged between her and Henry (VIII). Catherine was the widow of Henry's brother and special dispensation was required from the Pope for the marriage to be lawful. |
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1505 | | Papal dispensation
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| | Pope Julius II gave permission for the marriage between Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII. The legality of the marriage was in question because Catherine had been married to Henry's elder brother Arthur. |
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| Henry VIII (1509 - 1547) |
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1509 | | Thomas Wolsey becomes royal almoner
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| | Thomas Wolsey was given the position of royal almoner to Henry VIII. |
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| Jun 11 | Henry marries Catherine of Aragon
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| | Henry VIII married Catherine at Greenwich. |
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| Jun 24 | The coronation of Henry VIII
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| | Henry was crowned at Westminster Abbey. |
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1511 | Jan 1 | Birth of Henry's first son
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| | 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. |
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| May 1 | Joust at Greenwich
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| | Henry VIII held a jousting tournament at Greenwich Palace. |
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1513 | | Thomas Wolsey organises expedition to France
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| | Thomas Wolsey organised Henry's invasion into France ensuring the army was feed, watered and had good accommodation. |
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| Jun | Henry sails to France
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| | Henry prepared an invasion fleet and set sail for Calais. |
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| Aug 16 | Battle of the Spurs and fall of Therouanne
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| | 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. |
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| Sep | Fall of Tournai
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| | After the victory at Therouanne, Henry 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. |
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| Sep 9 | Battle of Flodden
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| | 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. Henry VIII was in France at the time. |
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1514 | Aug | Louis XII marries Princess Mary
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| | A peace treaty was negotiated by Thomas Wolsey with France. One of the terms was that Louis XII of France would marry Princess Mary, the younger sister Henry VIII. Louis died only a few months later. |
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| Aug | English - French peace treaty
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| | Wolsey negotiated a peace treaty between England and France whereby Louis XII married Henry's younger sister Mary 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. |
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| Sep | Thomas Wolsey becomes archbishop of York
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| | Thomas Wolsey is promoted to the position of Archbishop of York. |
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1516 | Feb 18 | Birth of Mary
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| | All of Catherine of Aragon's children died in infancy until Princess Mary was born in February of 1516. Mary was healthy and Henry was happy to have an heir. But Henry would have been happier to have a son. |
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1517 | | Plague
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| | Londoners were affected by a wide-spread illness forcing Henry VIII and his court to move to countryside where they felt safer. |
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| | A new crusade is proposed
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| | Pope Leo X made proposals for a new crusade and sent word to the leading European countries for support. Henry VIII and Thomas Wolsey were not convinced that it was a good idea. |
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1518 | Oct | Treaty of London (Universal Peace)
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| | A treaty 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 Henry's 2 year old daughter Mary would marry the French dauphin. |
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1520 | Jun 7 | Field of the Cloth of Gold
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| | Meeting between Henry VIII and 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. |
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1521 | Nov | Treaty of Bruges
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| | This treaty was conducted in secrecy at Bruges between Charles V and Thomas Wolsey. In the terms of the treaty Wolsey promised Charles that 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. |
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1527 | | Henry VIII meets Anne Boleyn
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| | Anne Boleyn came to the attention of 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. |
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| May | Wolsey sets up secret court
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| | To end the marriage between Henry and Catherine Wolsey set up a secret tribunal where Henry VIII 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 and the Pope was captured. Any chance of the Pope annulling the marriage was now gone. |
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| Jun 22 | Henry VIII declares his marriage invalid
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| | 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. |
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1530 | Nov 29 | Death of Wolsey
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| | Thomas Wolsey died at Leicester. |
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1533 | Jan 25 | Marriage to Anne Boleyn
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| | 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. |
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| Spring | Act of Succession
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| | A statute passed by Parliament called the 'Act of Succession' declared that Mary Tudor was illegitimate and not Henry's heir because the marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was void. This meant that children of Henry and Anne Boleyn would be the true heirs to the English throne. |
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| May 23 | Marriage to Catherine of Aragon declared illegal
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| | Thomas Cranmer declared that the marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was illegal and was annulled. The marriage between Henry and Anne Boleyn could then be formalised. |
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| May 28 | Marriage to Anne Boleyn declared legal
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| | Thomas Cranmer declared that the marriage between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn was legal. |
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| Jun 1 | Coronation of Anne Boleyn
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| | Anne Boleyn was crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey by the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer. |
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| Sep 7 | Birth of Elizabeth to Anne Boleyn
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| | Anne gave birth to Elizabeth a healthy girl. Henry had hoped they would have a boy to ensure the continuation of the Tudor line. |
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1536 | Jan | Death of Catherine of Aragon
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| | Catherine of Aragon died. It was believed that she had been poisoned but it is possible that she died of cancer. |
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| May 19 | Execution of Anne Boleyn
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| | Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, was executed for treason and adultery. |
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| May 30 | Henry marries Jane Seymour
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| | Henry married his third wife Jane Seymour the former lady-in-waiting to both Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. |
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| Oct 2 | Lincolnshire Rebellion
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| | The short rebellion that took place for a couple of weeks in October 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 Henry VIII would listen to their demands if they disbanded. Meanwhile Henry ordered that a army should be sent to Lincoln as kill the rebels. By the time that army, led by the Duke of Suffolk, reached Lincoln the rebels had dispersed. |
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| Oct 21 | Pilgrimage of Grace
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| | Following the earlier Lincoln rebellion, a larger rebellion began further north in Yorkshire. This rebellion again protested against Henry VIII's unpopular policies and advisers. They wanted Henry to put a stop to the dissolution of the monasteries and they wanted 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. |
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| Oct 27 | Meeting with rebels
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| | 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 dispand and returned home. Henry VIII made no attempt to concider their demands. |
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| Dec | Rebels list demands
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| | At Pontefract the rebel leaders presented a list of demands. The rebels were assured of free pardons. |
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1537 | Qtr 1 | More uprisings
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| | 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. |
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| Summer | Rebel leaders executed
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| | 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. |
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| Oct 12 | Edward VI born at Hampton Court
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| | Jane Seymour gave birth to Edward at Hampton Court. The birth had complications and Jane became ill. |
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| Oct 24 | Jane Seymour dies
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| | Jane Seymour died after complications with the birth of Edward VI. She was buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. |
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1540 | Jan 6 | Marriage of Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves
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| | Although Henry was disappointed that Anne did not resemble her portrait the marriage went ahead as planned. |
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| Jul 9 | Marriage to Anne of Cleves annulled
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| | The marriage of 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. |
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| Jul 28 | Marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine Howard
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| | Just weeks after the marriage to Anne of Cleves was annulled Henry married Catherine Howard. |
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1542 | Feb 13 | Catherine Howard executed
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| | Found guilty of adultery and therefore treason, Catherine Howard was sentenced to death and was executed. |
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| Aug | Battle of Haddon Rig
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| | 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. |
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1543 | Jul | Treaties at Greenwich
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| | A treaty was signed by the Scots and Henry VIII swearing peace between the two nations and the agreement that Mary, Queen of Scots, should marry Henry's son Edward. |
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| Jul 12 | Marriage of Henry and Catherine Parr
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| | Henry married Catherine Parr, his sixth and final wife at Hampton Court Palace. |
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1544 | | Construction of Southsea Castle
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| | Henry VIII built the castle at the entrance to Portsmouth harbour to protect against French invasions. |
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| Edward VI (1547 - 1553) |
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1547 | Jan 28 | Death of Henry VIII
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| | Henry 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. |
