What if the Pope had granted Henry the VIII a divorce? (Roman, England)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hmm... England would've remained Roman Catholic. But there still might've been battles over succession. Would Bloody Mary have still made a claim to the throne?
Would Henry have had more kids with Anne Boleyn? Would she have eventually had the Golden Son? Or would Henry still have lopped off her head after Elizabeth's birth?
The Reformation was well underway on the Continent. It's hard to say how Protestantism would've survived in England under a Roman Catholic monarchy. Many other civil wars might've been the result. As it was, England probably was far better off with Henry breaking from the RC Church... under Elizabeth I's long monarchy, things became much more peaceful for a large number of citizens.
ETA: The Pope would've granted an annulment to Henry, not a divorce. Divorces still don't exist in the RC Church... just annulments.
Hmm... England would've remained Roman Catholic. But there still might've been battles over succession. Would Bloody Mary have still made a claim to the throne?
Would Henry have had more kids with Anne Boleyn? Would she have eventually had the Golden Son? Or would Henry still have lopped off her head after Elizabeth's birth?
Being granted a annulment from Catherine by the Pope wouldn't have changed Henry and Anne's ability (or lack thereof) to have a son/more children, unless you're arguing that a swift annulment instead of the lengthy break from the Church would have made Henry and Anne younger and more likely to have a healthy son. But that is still doubtful, if you ask me, since the period between when Henry first asked the Pop for an annulment and when Anne first became pregnant was only 5 years. Anne was disposed of because Henry was impatient for a son and she failed to give him one. In my opinion, that would not have been any different if the Pope had granted the annulment from Catherine.
Believe it or not Henry VIII considered himself a "good" Catholic right up until his death.
As regards to the "what if" question regarding the Pope granting a divorce it would have likely vastly altered British history.
We know now but no one could then that Catherine of Aragon would be dead within a few years of her divorce. How much the stress of events and subsequent ill treatment by Henry hastened this along we shall never know. However thus being free to legally marry again anyway may have taken the bloom off Anne Boleyn. The king already had one or more bastard children, so the birth of another may not have mattered to Henry.
Leaving Henry VIII's domestic affairs aside no small number of events would not perhaps have occurred.
Dissolution of the monasteries with subsequent sizing of Church lands, property and assets. Not to mention torture and wholesale abuse of RC clergy and other religious.
The whole Jane Grey saga likely wouldn't have occurred since there wasn't a fear of a Catholic queen (Mary I) would restore the "true faith" and force the nobles to give back all those goodies Henry took from the Church.
Mary I's reign would have been a lot less "bloody" for a start.
Though still a threat to Elizabeth's throne, Mary, Queen of Scots would have had the hatred and fear of a Catholic monarch again ruling England taken off her plate.
Then you have all those nobles and others Henry had tortured and or put to death for their opposition to his marriage plans, would have lived out their natural lives.
An interesting side "what if" would be that if Henry was granted his divorce and dumped AB, or not even gone down that road, would he have married Jane Seymour (eventually)? This is important since for reasons being discovered and debated today JS was the only one of Henry's wives who bore him a live son and heir. If Henry had looked else where either instead of AB and or afterwards would any of those females been able to produce a live male infant that thrived?
Edward VI didn't live long, but he did provide a buffer between his father's reign and that of Mary. Without a clear male heir at some point Henry would have had to make a decision about the succession.
England could not have held back the reformist tide, already brewing in England at the time Henry 8 bolted.
Maybe, then again maybe not.
However without the heavy handed push given by the matter of Henry's divorce things the reformation likely would have been less bloody and harshly imposed.
An interesting side "what if" would be that if Henry was granted his divorce and dumped AB, or not even gone down that road, would he have married Jane Seymour (eventually)? This is important since for reasons being discovered and debated today JS was the only one of Henry's wives who bore him a live son and heir. If Henry had looked else where either instead of AB and or afterwards would any of those females been able to produce a live male infant that thrived?
Males determine the gender of a child, not females. Choice of wife would be irrelevant.
Males determine the gender of a child, not females. Choice of wife would be irrelevant.
Not necessarily - Henry was able to father boys (Catherine had a few boys who did not live long, then there was Henry Fitzroy who was illegitimate, and of course Edward VI), part of the problem was also miscarriages and infant deaths. With Catherine fasting so much for religious reasons, it's hardly surprising she didn't produce any surviving children apart from Mary, regardless of their gender. It's been suggested Anne had a medical condition that would cause miscarriages after her first pregnancy - but frankly, there's no explanation needed. Miscarriages, stillbirths, infant deaths, and birthing deaths of the mother were common place in that time period. It was just a string of bad luck, and there's no way to know whether he would have had better luck with another woman or not.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
