Henry VIII Flips the Pope the Bird

Kathy Copeland Padden
Nov 6 · 3 min read
That’s right. Bow before me, bitches. Photo by How Stuff Works

The Act of Supremacy, which declared King Henry VIII head of the newly minted Church of England, had a lot more to do with politics than it had to do with theology. It was spurred on by Henry’s complicated, Jerry Springer-worthy personal life and the urgent need to sire a male heir. Henry lost his shit when the Pope — after years of stalling — refused to grant him an annulment from his wife, Katherine of Aragon, so he could wed…

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Kathy Copeland Padden

Written by

is a political junkie and history buff alternating between bouts of crankiness and wry amusement while bearing witness to the Apocalypse. Come along!

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