TOP BRITS EXERCISES IN Work It Out! Henry VIII became king in 1509 at the age of eighteen. Before he died, in 1547, he had created a new Church, the Church of England, and made himself its head. He was England’s most majestic monarch, with fifty palaces, including Hampton Court, with its own bowling alley1 and tennis courts2. Henry VIII is the most famous — and notorious3 — monarch in English history.
HEIR TO THE THRONE
Henry became king after the death of his elder4 brother, Arthur, and quickly married his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon. Like all monarchs, he needed an heir5, and this became a problem. Catherine had three stillborn children and a miscarriage, although she finally had a daughter, but a female succession was problematic. After twenty-four…
