Historedia
EuropeEvent

Henry VIII's Court Upheaval: Dissolution, Marriage, and Execution

When
1540
Where
Palace of Placentia, Greenwich; Tower Hill
Episodes
2

In 1540, Henry VIII's court underwent rapid upheaval. The marriage to Anne of Cleves on January 6 was annulled in July, leading to the arrest and execution of Thomas Cromwell on July 28.

Episodes

  1. 6 January 1540 · Palace of Placentia, GreenwichMarriage to Anne of Cleves

    Henry VIII married Anne of Cleves on 6 January 1540 at the Palace of Placentia.

  2. 28 July 1540 · Tower HillExecution of Thomas Cromwell

    Thomas Cromwell was beheaded on Tower Hill on 28 July 1540.

Background and detail

Background. The dissolution of monasteries was a process between 1536 and 1541 where Henry VIII disbanded religious houses. Thomas Cromwell served as chief minister until mid-1540. He engineered the King's fourth marriage to Anne of Cleves, which proved costly to his position.

Marriage to Anne of Cleves. Henry VIII married Anne of Cleves on 6 January 1540 at the Palace of Placentia. The union was arranged by Cromwell, who had proposed the match in late 1539. Despite Henry's misgivings, the ceremony was performed by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.

People involved

Sources

  1. Anne of Cleves Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-12
  2. Thomas Cromwell Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-16
  3. Dissolution of the monasteries Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-16

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.