King Henry VIII wanted pope Clement VII to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. The Roman pointiff alleged religious reasons, but he got pressure from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, also king of Spain. The pope did not want to offend or annoy the Habsburg ruler against the Vatican (Catherine was Spanish). So, angry at the Vatican refusal, Henry took the decision to get the English Church out of submission to Rome and he himself became the top Church of England authority.
