1534

Before the Spanish pushed the Moors out of Europe, they weren't exactly Spanish, since Spain wasn't exactly Spain. Preceding the Grenada War was a period of internal warfare, the War of Castilian Succession.  This ended when Queen Isabella of Castille overcame the other potential Castilian monarchs, and then married a fellow monarch in a union that cemented control over most of what we call Spain. The other monarch was King Ferdinand of Aragon. Ferdinand and Isabella's youngest surviving daughter, born in 1485, was Catherine of Aragon.

Henry VIII didn't have much choice in marrying Catherine: He was only 11 when they were engaged. She had been the wife of his brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales for only a short time when he died. His father, Henry VII, probably wanted to continue in alliance with the powerful kingdom of Spain...but may also have wanted to avoid paying back her dowry.  Her first marriage did complicate this goal, since being related (i.e. brother- and sister-in-law) was a lawful impediment to being married. As Henry's father and Catherine's mother were in favor of it, Pope Julius II granted a dispensation to allow the engagement and eventual wedding.

Henry married Catherine in 1509, soon after he became king. For nearly 20 years the marriage worked well in most respects. However, it ultimately yielded only one surviving child, a daughter, Mary (born 1516). While the laws of succession gave the preference to males, females were not prohibited from inheriting the throne. Henry nonetheless became focused on the need for a male heir. This may have been because of the recent end of the War of the Roses, which was fought largely over questions of succession. A legitimate male heir would ensure that such a war would not be required again. 

It was not uncommon for marriages to be ended, despite official Church teaching to the contrary. There were rather significant problems in this case. Catherine was naturally opposed to an annulment and divorce that would remove her as Queen. The dispensation granted two decades before would have to be overturned by the current Pope, potentially weakening the image of the papacy as an unbiased (and infallible) observer. And when Henry sent his representatives to Rome in 1527, the Pope himself was a prisoner there. The city had been invaded by the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V - a nephew of Catherine.

Adding insult to injury, many of the invaders were followers of Martin Luther. Henry was certainly aware of the new Protestant movements that were throwing the continent into turmoil. Soon after Martin Luther had posted his 95 Theses in Wittenberg, Henry had written a rebuttal that  earned him the title "Defender of the Faith" from Pope Leo X. It is rich in irony to the modern reader, particularly sections where Henry chastises Luther for actions resembling what Henry would do only a few years later.  It also raises the question: What turned that devoutly Catholic king so strongly against the Church?

Those who wish to see Henry in a positive light could point to the ideal of a country free from foreign influence. While writing in defense of the Church, his eyes may have been opened to the very real corruption that Luther righteously opposed. Perhaps his reasonable concern over his heirs became an obsession, or he may have truly believed that his will was the Will of God. It does seem worthwhile to at least consider what was said by him (or in his name) as the simple truth: His marriage to Katherine was against God's law, and was the reason for the lack of a male heir. Those who are religious can view good times as God's favor, and bad times as God's punishment. Henry may have truly believed that he was being punished, that the most likely reason to be punished was his admittedly non-traditional marriage,  and that the appropriate resolution was annulment.

It's also worth noting that the marriage was another indication of corruption: With enough money and influence, the Pope himself can be convinced to support the ruling class in their minor squabbles.   Henry VIII would have been open to rebelling against the previous generations' corrupt practices. If these justifications are insufficient, however, there were also some definite  secular  advantages to the King being head of his own church: The ability to marry as he wished, to keep for the royal treasury payments previously made to Rome, and the option to confiscate Church property.

In any case, Parliament soon passed a series of laws separating the Church of England from Rome, culminating in the 1534 Act of Supremacy. This confirmed that the King, not the Pope, was "supreme head on earth of the Church in England."

Ultimately, Henry's desire for a male heir would be fulfilled by his third wife, Jane Seymour. After Edward's short reign, Mary would follow him to the throne, but it would fall to another daughter, Elizabeth, to finish the battle with Spain. She would be the one who helped fight them off when her fleet, the British Navy, took on the Spanish Armada some fifty-four years after the break with Rome.