Francis of France, while being held prisoner in Madrid, signed the Treaty agreeing to renounce claims to Milan and Naples and to give up suzerainty of Flanders and Artois. He also agreed to surrender the Duchy of Burgundy to Charles V of Spain. Possessions that had been seized from Charles de Bourbon were to be returned to him.

Francis is freed from captivity and returned to France. But he left two of his sons as hostages in the care of Charles V.

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.

Moncada, a Spanish political and military leader, at the head of an army entered and sacked Rome.  ^[1]

Philip of Spain was the son of Emperor Charles V and Isabella, the daughter of Emanuel of Portugal.

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.

The spire of Amiens Cathedral was struck by lightning.

Suleiman, the sultan of the Ottomans, attempted to capture Vienna and laid siege to the city. But the defences were too great and after two weeks Suleiman abandoned the siege due to heavy loses, illness and the weather.

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.

A very large earthquake occurred in Portugal that triggered a tsunami and killed many thiousands of people.

Return of the comet now named after Edmond Halley who died in 1742 that returns approximately every 75 years.

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.  ^[2]

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. ^[2]

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.

John Owen first cast cannons made from brass in England. ^[3]

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.

The abbey was dissolved in 1536. The building was bought by a local landowner, John Scudamore, a member of a gentry family historically connected with Owain Glyndŵr. Some items were hidden but most of the building was allowed to fall into disrepair.

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. ^[2]

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. ^[4]

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. ^[2]

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.

Lady Jane Grey was born in around 1537 possibly at her father's estate Bradgate in Leicestershire. She was the daughter of Henry Grey, the Duke of Suffolk and Frances Brandon, the daughter of Mary Tudor, Queen of France.

King James V of Scotland married Madeleine of Valios in Paris as part of the Treaty of Rouen (1517). ^[5]

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. ^[6]

This truce was signed between Charles V of Spain and Francis I of France and ended the Italian war of 1536 to 1538 which was fourght over the control of northern Italy.  ^[5]

The abbey at Peterborough was dissolved like many other abbeys across England by the order of King King Henry VIII. Many of the monks were expelled and a new establishment was installed headed by a Bishop, thus converting Peterborough into a cathedral.

Anne of Cleves left Calais and sailed across the Channel to England where she travelled on to Deal Castle.

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. ^[7]

Waltham Abbey has the distinction of being the last monastery to be dissolved by King Henry VIII. ^[8]

The monastery at Gloucester surrendered to King Henry VIII as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. ^[6]

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.

The abbey at Gloucester became a Cathedral at the centre of its own diocese. Previously it had been part of the Worcester diocese. John Wakeman was assigned as the first bishop.  ^[6]

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. ^[9]

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. ^[10]

The battle at Solway Moss ended in a terrible defeat for the Scottish when they were overrun by a much smaller force of English troops led by Sir Thomas Wharton. Several high-worth Scottish prisoners were taken and transported to the Tower of London for future ransom. The shock of the defeat is supposed to have been so great for the Scottish king, James V, that he died just a few weeks later.

Mary Stuart was born at Linlithgow Palace in West Lothian, Scotland. She was the daughter of James V, king of Scotland and Mary of Guise, from France. James V died a week after Mary was born and she became Queen of Scotland. The young Queen's safety was threatened by Earl of Arran who assumed the regency of Scotland. To ensure her safety, Mary of Guise took the child to Stirling Castle and never left her side.

James V of Scotland died. It is thought that the shock of the defeat of the Scottish army at Solway Moss a few weeks earlier led to his death. His daughter Mary was only a week or so old when he died and she became queen, known as Mary Queen of Scots. James Hamilton, Earl of Arran became regent of Scotland as Mary was too young to rule.

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.  ^[2]

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.

The coronation of Mary, Queen of Scots, took place at Stirling. ^[11]

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. ^[1]

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.  ^[8]

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.

Edward Seymour, the Earl of Hartford, and Duke of Somerset was given the title Lord Protector and was given the task of ruling England while Edward VI was too young to rule unaided.

The coronation of King Henry VIII's son Edward took place at Westminster Abbey. He was crowned as Edward VI.

Francis I, the King of France, died at Rambouillet Castle. He was succeeded by his son Henry. ^[12]

Jealous of his elder brother's power Thomas Seymour married Catherine Parr to enter the household of the young King Edward and the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. ^[13]

After a lengthy siege failed to take the well defended castle at St. Andrews, Mary of Guise asked the French for help. The castle at St. Andrews was captured and the Protestant leaders and John Knox were taken into custody. ^[11]

A condition of King Henry VIII's will was the marriage of his son Edward to Mary, Queen of Scots. It was his hope to unite the two nations. But the Scottish refused to comply. So Somerset, the Protector of England took an army in Scotland. These events were part of a series known as the 'Rough Wooing'.

Thousands of Scots gathered near the town of Musselburgh, just to the east of Edinburgh. They faced an English army led by the Duke of Somerset. The Scots had a good position on the battle field but wasted it when they attacked. The Scots were heavily defeated. The defeat at Pinkie Cleugh was a threat to Mary, Queen of Scots, and so she was secretly moved from Stirling Castle to the Augustinian Inchmahome Priory located on an island on lake Menteith. ^[11]

A severe storm brough down the central spire at Lincoln's cathedral. The falling spire damaged the north trancept.

To comply with the agreement to marry Mary Stuart to the French Dauphin, the young queen was moved from Inchmahome Priory to Dumbarton Castle on the banks of the River Clyde on the west of Scotland. It was here that she waited before sailing to France. ^[11]

The request of the Scottish Regent, Mary of Guise, for help to fight the English was answered by the arrival of an army of several thousand French. The assistance came on condition that her daughter Mary Stuart should marry the French Dauphin, Francis and is known as the Treaty of Haddington. ^[14]

Queen Mary was placed aboard the French ship at Dumbarton with a large number of her attendants. Along with her went the four Marys. Although the English fleet were directed to stop her they did not manage to find the French ship. A stormy crossing to France left many of the travellers sick. ^[15]

Queen Mary arrived in France. Four girls all also called Mary and coming from noble families were chosen to accompany the Queen. Known as the 'Four Maries' the girls were Mary Beaton, Mary Fleming, Mary Livingston and Mary Seton. They landed, possibly, at Roscoff on the north-west coast of France. ^[11]

Mary Stuart arrived at a Dominican convent at Morlaix in northern France where she remained for a few days to recover from a tiring sea journey. From there she and her party travelled on to the palace of St. Gemain. ^[15]

On the 30th of August Catherine gave birth to a girl, Mary Seymour. As a result of the birth Catherine became ill and died several days later.

Thomas Seymour, the Protector's brother, had married the late king's widow Catherine Parr. Suspicion fell on Thomas after the untimely death of Catherine in late 1548 and it was suspected that he wanted to marry Elizabeth, King Henry VIII's daughter. He may have also tried to bribe the young king Edward VI into giving him more power. Thomas was arrested, charged with treason and sent to the Tower of London. Without much of a trial he was exectuted.

As a result of the Dissolution of the Monasteries land ownership changed and where previously villagers had access to the land it was now fenced off just to allow sheep to graze. This made village life difficult and in East Anglia resulted in a rebellion. Lead by Robert Kett, a landowner himself who had sympathy for the rights of the poor, the rebels set-up camp at Mousehold Heath near Norwich and then took possession of the city itself. An army was sent by the government to put down the rebelion. The rebels were no match for the trained army led by John Dudley, the duke of Northumberland and the leaders were captured. Robert Kett was hanged as a traitor.

The war between England and Scotland and France was ended with the signing of the Treaty of Boulogne. The English withdrew from Scotland. This allowed the French king, Henry II to concentrate on his enemy, Charles V, The Holy Roman Emporer. ^[14]