British History Coin Pack 

Henry VIII & Elizabeth I

Product History

Henry VIII - Henry VIII became King of England in 1509. During the period 1511-1529 he pursued an active foreign policy under the guidance of Thomas (later Cardinal) Wolsey. In 1526 Wolsey presented Hampton Court Palace to Henry to stave off Royal displeasure but in 1529, he was disgraced when he failed to persuade the Pope to annul Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon to enable him to remarry. Henry renounced the papal supremacy, proclaiming himself head of the Church of England and dissolving the monasteries. He subsequently took five more wives in his quest for a mail heir. Henry VIII was the first English monarch to have a navy and he also founded the Royal Armouries in 1515. Henry VIII is buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor.

Elizabeth I - Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and became Queen of England in 1558. She was a fervent Protestant and a masterful and enlightened ruler. The arrival in England in 1568 of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her imprisonment by Elizabeth for 19 years, caused a political crisis and Catholic conspiracies aided by Spain. These eventually led to Mary being executed in 1587. Phillip II of Spain, after many years of friction, sent an Armada to England in 1558, which was defeated by the English fleet. This established the naval supremacy of England.

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