King Henry Viii's Act Of Supremacy

The English Act of Supremacy, constructed and enacted in 1534, was King Henry VIII’s way of giving the middle finger to the Pope. Henry was having a major crisis at the time regarding the heir to his thrown. His current wife was unable to give birth to a male which meant that Henry was without a follow up king. On top of this, he was attracted to a younger female causing the king to demand a divorce. During this time period the only way to get a divorce was to have the pope grant such an uncommon request. Sadly due to an abstraction involving a much larger issue of the ever growing Protestant movement, the pope continued to postpone the divorce. This frustrated king Henry, to the point that his impatience would assist in shaping English history forever. Before the Act of Supremacy, the king of England did not have nearly as much control over the church, though afterward the king gained “Supreme Head on earth of the Church of England.” This, among other things, supported the idea of questioning the stature of the Church along with the people involved within its roots. This of course would be a part of primogeniture, as the first born son would claim the thrown succeeding his father, and gaining all the privileges, including supremacy over the Church of England. This act against the Pope surely angered him but no form of

“The story can easily be read as simply a matter of Henrys lust, machismo, and petulance.” It is obvious that Henry was not fit to bare the crown as such a lustfully intended use of power should be restrained. Henry acted on his lust and with it changed the very face of England, and gave the crown even more power. With more power comes more responsibility and even though Henry displayed a poor use of responsibility his actions opened doors that would allow future kings to