Henry VIII

American  

noun

1. Defender of the Faith, 1491–1547, king of England 1509–47 (son of Henry VII).

2. (italics) a drama (1612–13?) by Shakespeare.

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Henry VIII British  

noun

1. 1491–1547, king of England (1509–47); second son of Henry VII. The declaration that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was invalid and his marriage to Anne Boleyn (1533) precipitated the Act of Supremacy, making Henry supreme head of the Church in England. Anne Boleyn was executed (1536) and Henry subsequently married Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. His reign is also noted for the fame of his succession of advisers, Cardinal Wolsey, Sir Thomas More, and Thomas Cromwell

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Henry VIII Cultural  

1. A king of England in the early sixteenth century. With the support of his Parliament, Henry established himself as head of the Christian Church in England, in place of the pope, after the pope refused to allow his marriage to Catherine of Aragon to be dissolved. Since that time, except for a few years of rule under Henry's daughter Mary I, who was a Roman Catholic, England has been officially a Protestant nation. In his personal life, Henry was known for his corpulence and for his six wives. He divorced the first, Catherine of Aragon. He beheaded the second, Anne Boleyn, for allegedly being unfaithful to him. His third wife, Jane Seymour, died soon after giving birth to a son. He divorced his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, and beheaded his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, also for alleged infidelity. His sixth wife, Catherine Parr, survived him. He also had his close friend and adviser Thomas More executed because More would not support Henry's declaration that he was head of the church in England. Henry was the father of King Edward VI and of Queen Elizabeth I, as well as Mary I.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Henry VIII

Anne Boleyn—second wife of King Henry VIII, whom she married as he broke with the Catholic Church—played a key role in the story.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026

At 25 she met and married fellow actor Charles Laughton, and starred alongside him as Anne of Cleeves in 1933's The Private Life of Henry VIII, for which Laughton won the Best Actor Oscar.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2025

The Church was established in the 16th century by Henry VIII, the king who broke with the Catholic church over its refusal to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2025

Hampton Court Palace, an actual home of Henry VIII, said no to filming for “Wolf Hall” but allowed Season 2 to use its Great Hall.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2025

I was already sitting down under Henry VIII, getting to work on a drawing I’d started the day before.

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan