Henry VIII of England (1509-1547)

1. Henry VIII of England (1509-1547) Henry VIII was the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty, succeeding his father, Henry VII. He is famous for having been married six times and for wielding the most untrammelled power of any British monarch. Notable events during his reign included the break with Rome and the subsequent establishment of the independent Church of England. Hans Holbein, a German Renaissance artist,painted this famous portrait.

2. Hans Holbein, the Younger, also painted this famous portrait of Henry VIII.

3. Catherine of Aragon Wife #1 Henry annulled his twenty-four year marriage to her after only one of their six children, Mary I, survived infancy. Mary I is remembered for her attempt to return England from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism. To this end, she had almost three hundred religious dissenters executed; as a consequence, she is often known as Bloody Mary.

4. Anne Boleyn Wife #2 Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I. Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and marriage to Anne was part of the complex beginning of the political and religious upheaval of the English Reformation, with Anne herself actively promoting the cause of Church Reform. She is probably best known for her premature death when she was beheaded on false charges of adultery and treason.

5. Queen Elizabeth I,queen from 1558-1603, daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn. Sometimes referred to as The Virgin Queen or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth I was the fifth and final monarch of the Tudor dynasty, having succeeded her half-sister, Mary I. She reigned during a period of great religious turmoil in English history. Elizabeth's reign is referred to as the Elizabethan era or the Golden Age and was marked by increases in English power and influence worldwide.

6. Jane Seymour Wife #3 She gave him his only male heir, later Edward VI, but died shortly after his birth. Henry married Jane only eleven days after Anne's execution, and she quickly became pregnant. Edward VI was only 10 when he became king, and he died when he was 16.

7. Anne of Cleves Wife #4 Anne of Cleves also known as "The Mare of Flanders" was the queen consort of Henry VIII from January 6, 1540 to July 9, 1540. This traditional image of Anne as being "the ugly queen" was very prevalent amongst traditional historians however more recent viewpoints suggest that it is more likely she found Henry to be the ugly one (he was by this time grossly obese) and purposefully made him dislike her. Another theory suggests that they agreed that they just did not gel with each other and split on amicable terms — this theory is supported by the good settlement she received. This complimentary portrait of Anne Cleves by Hans Holbein the Younger hid the evidence of her smallpox scars.

8. Catherine Howard Wife #5 Catherine Howard was the fifth queen consort of Henry VIII of England 1540-1542, sometimes known as "the rose without a thorn.“As a young and very attractive teenager, Catherine caught the eye of Anne's disenchanted husband, King Henry. Henry divorced Anne in July 1540 and married Catherine, who had been his mistress for the last few months. Henry was almost fifty, Catherine was still in her teens. She was executed for Treason (adultery).

9. Katharine Parr Wife #6 Katharine Parr was the Queen Consort of Henry VIII of England 1543-1547; the last wife of his six. Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived

10. Queen Elizabeth II Present Queen of England House of Windsor

11. Queen Elizabeth, her husband Prince Phillip, her grandson Prince William, her son Charles (The Prince of Wales – Heir to the throne), and her grandson Harry. In back, her son Prince Andrew

12. Prince Charles and his second wife Camilla Parker Bowles Princess Diana

13. David Cameron Current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (England) since May 2010

14. King Edward VIII of England, the second British monarch of the House of Windsor, reigned for slightly less than a year, from the death of his father, George V, until his own abdication in 1936. He also had some “problems” in his love life. He fell in love with a divorced American woman, Wallis Simpson. He famously said, "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love."