Henry VIII broke away from Rome (the Catholic Church) for a number of reasons, including the succession, money, Power and Religion. The most important reason was the succession.
One reason why Henry wanted to break with Rome was the succession. He wanted to annul Catherine of Aragon since the chance of her giving Henry a son to carry on the Tudor dynasty was very unlikely and Henry also had doubts that their marriage was unlawful in the eyes of God. Henry had already fallen in love with a lady called Anne Boleyn, who was carrying child of Henry’s anyway.This reason was the most important reason because Henry wanted to keep the Tudor dynasty running.
Another reason for the break with Rome was Power because after losing all his finance in battle against the king of Spain, Francis I, who was angry at Henry for embarrassing his aunt Catherine of Aragon who at this time was Henry’s wife. When Henry found out the amount of power the Catholic Church in England had, he thought if he changed the Religion in England the amount of Power he would have if he was the head of it would increase by at least 1 million.This reason is not the least important but it’s not the main cause of the break with Rome. It’s kind of important. Money is another reason for the break with Rome because after Henry lost all his finance in the battle against Francis I on the Field of Cloth of Gold and spent all his money on himself. Henry VIII realised how wealthy the church in England was since people traditionally donated a lot of money to the church and they also paid the church in a type of tax.
So he thought about if he took control over the church he would have a heavy, new source of finance. This is very important reason for the break with Rome. The final reason for the break with Rome is faith. The church in England around that time was healthy but a few places had been lacking certain rules and since England had been Catholic for a long time, many people thought it was in desperate need of reformation.
Though Henry was not Protestant since he was baptised but he was still prepared to put up with religious changes ll the beautiful decorated churches were made plain, there to be no posh expensive clothes for priests and priests were allowed to date or even marry, if it meant Henry could get his annul Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. This reason was the least important reason why England broke away from Rome. In conclusion the succession was the most important factor which caused England to break away from Rome because the Pope would not allow Henry to annul Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn who was a protestant anyway so she persuaded the King to reform his Kingdom so he could marry her.
