45．Marriage of Henry Ⅷ

When Henry became King of England he married Catherine，the daughter of the King of Spain and widow of his elder brother．The Pope had given special permission for him to marry his brother's widow，as this was against the laws of the church．She gave Henry a daughter，Mary，but all her sons died at birth，and Henry badly needed a son to follow him．He began to feel that God had not approved of his marriage and Pope had been wrong to allow it．

There was one possible remedy ．The Pope must declare that the marriage had been allowed by mistake and was unlawful； Henry would then be free to marry again．The Pope could easily have agreed，as he had done for two recent Kings of France in similar cases．But emperor Charles V was Catherine's nephew ， and his army had seized Rome．The Pope was in his power and did not dare to annoy him by helping Henry．

Henry's trouble over his marriage made him realize something that most English people had known for years：that foreign interference in English affairs had gone on too long and must be stopped for ever．The parliament of 1529 felt this most strongly．In seven years it destroyed the feudal power of the church completely．The Church Council accepted Henry as its head．Archbishop Cranmer declared that his marriage to Catherine was unlawful and accepted his new wife，Ann Boleyn，as Queen．

Henry's family trouble did not end with his marriage to Ann Boleyn．She bore him a daughter，Elizabeth，but was unfaithful to her husband．After three years Henry cut off her head．His next wife，Jane Seymour，died In giving birth to his son Edward. His secretary Cromwell then brought him a foreign wife，Anne of Cleves，to please his German friends．Unfortunately she was neither well-educated nor beautiful．He sent her home，cut out Cromwell's head，and married a beautiful girl called Catherine Howard． But she too was unfaithful，so her head followed Cromwell's． His sixth and last wife，Catherine Pars，was a wise and gentle girl but she had no children．

45．亨利八世的婚姻

当亨利当上英格兰国王时，他娶了西班牙国王的女儿，他哥哥的寡妇凯瑟琳。罗马教皇对他娶他哥哥的寡妇为妻给予特别的允许，因为这与教会法是相违背的。她给亨利生了一个女儿，玛丽，但所有的儿子都在出生时死了，而亨利极需一个儿子来做他的继承人。他开始感觉到上帝不赞成他的婚姻，而且教皇允许这一婚姻是错误的。

只有一个可能的补救方法。罗马教皇必须声明这一婚姻是错误地得到认可，是不合法的；然后亨利就可以自由地再次结婚了。罗马教皇本来可以轻易答应的，因为他也为两个有类似情况的法国国王这样做过。但是罗马皇帝查理五世是凯瑟琳的侄子，他的军队已经控制了罗马。罗马教皇在他的控制之下，不敢因帮助亨利而激怒他。

亨利在婚姻上的麻烦使他意识到大多数英国人早已意识到的东西：即外国对英国事务的干涉已经走得太远了，应该永远停止了。1529年的议会最强烈地感受到这一点，在七年之内，它完全摧毁了教会的封建势力。基督教协进会接受亨利作为它的首领。大主教克莱莫宣布他与凯瑟琳的婚姻是不合法的，并接受他的新妻子安妮·博里恩作为皇后。

亨利的家庭麻烦并没有随着他与安妮·博里恩的婚姻而结束。她为他生了一个女儿，伊丽莎白，但她对她的丈夫并不忠诚。三年后，亨利砍掉了她的脑袋。他的下一位妻子，珍妮·西莫，在生他的儿子爱德华时死了。然后他的秘书克伦威尔给他带来一位外国妻子，克利夫的安妮，以取悦他的德国朋友。不幸的是，她既没有受过良好的教育，也不漂亮。他把她送回了家，并砍了克伦威尔的头，然后娶了一个名叫凯瑟琳·霍华德的漂亮姑娘。但她也不忠诚，所以她的脑袋也随着克伦威尔的脑袋被砍掉了。他的第六位，也是最后一位妻子，凯瑟琳·巴尔，是一位聪明又文雅的姑娘，但她没有生过孩子。