He may have been a good King in many ways but he failed to give the people the sense of security for he had none in his own marriage also he made the social status of women worse and made a clear statement that every undesired women can be disowned by socety. The man extremely obsessed with leaving his kingdom to a male heir was proven wrong by history and destiny and he will be,years after disowning her,inherited by the greatest queen England has ever had: Elizabeth I

Henry VIII did not disown Elizabeth I he simply wanted a male heir. This was perfectly normal at the time as women were seen as being the weaker sex and in many countries were barred entirely from the throne. That Mary and then Elizabeth ascended the throne in turn, but after Edward VI simply shows that England was the same as many countries in favouring male sons in the line of sucession.

Most of Henry VIII's wives were chosen not for love but for political reasons. Catherine of Aragon was betrothed to Henry after her future husband Arthur was killed, it was necessary to keep good relations with Castille and Aragon. Anne of Cleves was political as Henry had broken with the Catholic church any new wives had to come from the Protestant parts of Europe (which was limited at this time). And Catherine Howard was a member of the powerful Howard family.

Although some of Henry's marrages were not for love three of them were. Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, and Catherine Parr were married because Henry loved them at the time. In the 16th century marrages for love at the level of the crown was extreemly unusual, almost all married for political reasons although it was hoped that love would come later.

The greatest argument can be found in the form of hanged, burnt or decapitated people amongst them two of Henry's wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Queen Anne was beheaded through no fault of her own with charges of adultery being trumped up against her by Thomas Cromwell. Katherine admittedly may have deserved to be exiled but to be beheaded was overstepping the mark.

But it wasn't just two of Henry's VIII's wives who paid the ultimate price for marrying the king. George Boleyn, Anne's brother was executed two days before she was and went to the block with his dignity and honour intact. Four others suffered the same fate because of the king's romantic relationship with Anne and his subsequent romance with Jane Seymour. All in all six people were killed on that occasion. A bloody price for trumped up charges^[1]

1. ^ Wikipedia "George Boleyn" Accessed 22.07.09 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Boleyn#Trial_and_execution

Catherine Howard effectively brought the axe on herself through her conduct which was lax at the least. She was charged with treason something that was a capital crime in England right up until 1998.^[1]

Also unlike Boleyn she had a way out that may have in that she could have exchanged vows with the person she was allegedly in love with John Dereham annuling her marriage. Instead she claimed that Dereham forced himself upon her and made no admission of responsibility in any form. So she didn't do herself any favours.^[2]

1. ^ "Crime and Disorder Act 1998 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/ukpga_19980037_en_4#pt2-pb3-l1g36
2. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Howard#Downfall