In 1521, Pope Leo X bestowed the title Fidei Defensor , or Defender of the Faith , on Henry for writing a theological tract defending the Catholic Church against Martin Luther. You can still find the initials FD on British coins. To this day the monarch of the United Kingdom is still called the Defender of the Faith.

Towards the end of the 1520s Henry already has his eye on wife number two, Anne Boleyn, and had announced he wanted to end his marriage in 1527. He also decided to sign a treaty with France. That same year the Holy Roman Emperor besieged Rome and, inside it, Pope Clement VII and it was to the Pope that Henry had to appeal to for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine. So, Henry made friends with France, making Charles, Catherine's nephew and the man effectively controlling the Pope, pretty unhappy. An annulment was not likely.

By 1530 Henry's patience was running out and he had Wolsey arrested for treason over his failure to find away of getting rid of Catherine. He died on the way to his trial. Thomas More replaced Wolsey as Lord Chancellor. Henry