Why did Henry VIII want to annul his marriage to Catherine?
When Henry VIII first married Catherine it was a political rather than a religious move in order to form an alliance with Spain. Though since Catherine of Aragon had been previously married to his brother, Henry had to get special papal dispensation for the marriage. Marrying the wife of one’s brother was incest, and was against religious views. The marriage however, produced no male children to occupy the throne should and when Henry died. Henry began to doubt both of the marriage and the possibility that God was punishing him for marrying his brother’s wife which is against religious views. In the mid-1520’s he met and fell in love with a young woman by the name of Ann Boleyn. He then wished to annul his marriage to Catherine and marry Ann, he wished to annul his marriage with Catherine because he loved Ann Boleyn and that he feared that he would leave the throne no male heir should when he dies. A girl could take over the throne, however, a male was the far more preferred option of
