Grace Thompson
The English throne has never been Catholic in the sense that no Catholic monarch has ever ruled over England. The English Reformation in the 16th century marked the break of the Church of England from the authority of the Pope and bishops over the King, as well as from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church. The Act of Settlement of 1701 further ensured that the heir to the throne must not be Catholic or married to a Catholic. However, it is worth noting that King Henry VIII, who initiated the English Reformation, was initially an observant Catholic, and Queen Mary I worked to restore Catholicism in England during her reign. Additionally, James II, who was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, was an openly Catholic monarch.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date when the English throne became Catholic | 1553, under Queen Mary I |
| Date when the English throne broke away from Catholicism | 1558, under Queen Elizabeth I |
| Date when the Act of Settlement was passed | 1701 |
| What did the Act of Settlement state? | That the heir to the throne must not be a "Papist" and that any heir who is a Catholic or who marries one will be excluded from the succession to the throne "forever." |
| Date when disqualification of the monarch marrying a Catholic was eliminated | 2013 |
| King who defended the Catholic Church | Henry VIII |
| King who converted to Catholicism | James II |
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What You'll Learn
The English Reformation
The origins of the English Reformation were political and can be traced back to the reign of Henry VII. Henry VII arranged for his eldest son Arthur to marry the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon, a union that took place in 1501. However, Arthur died the next year, and Henry VII was keen to maintain friendly relations with Spain, so he betrothed his second son, Henry, to Catherine. Henry VIII acceded to the English throne in 1509 and married Catherine of Aragon, with whom he had a daughter, Mary Tudor. Henry wanted a male heir, so he sought an annulment of his marriage, but Pope Clement VII refused. In response, the Reformation Parliament (1529–1536) passed laws abolishing papal authority in England and declared Henry to be the head of the Church of England. Final authority in doctrinal disputes now rested with the monarch.
The second year of Edward VI's reign, who acceded to the throne after Henry VIII's death in 1547, was a turning point for the English Reformation. On 8 March, a royal proclamation announced the first major reform of the Mass and of the Church of England's official eucharistic theology. The Order of the Communion was a series of English exhortations and prayers that reflected Protestant theology and were inserted into the Latin Mass. A significant departure from tradition was that individual confession to a priest—long a requirement before receiving the Eucharist—was made optional.
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Henry VIII and Catholicism
Henry VIII ascended the English throne in 1509 at the age of 17. He was a devout Catholic, and in 1521, he defended the Catholic Church against Martin Luther's accusations of heresy in a book titled 'The Defence of the Seven Sacraments'. For this, Pope Leo X awarded him the title "Defender of the Faith".
However, Henry's relationship with the Catholic Church began to change when he sought to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon in 1527, but Pope Clement VII refused. This event triggered the English Reformation, which began as a political affair rather than a theological dispute. Henry, influenced by William Tyndale's book "The Obedience of a Christian Man", asserted his authority over the church in England. The Reformation Parliament (1529-1536) passed laws abolishing papal authority and declared Henry as the head of the Church of England, marking a significant shift in the relationship between church and state.
Henry's religious reforms were achieved through parliamentary legislation, and he relied on Protestants to support and implement his religious agenda. While Henry's break with the Catholic Church was motivated by his desire for a second marriage, he did not start a new religion. The Church of England under Henry remained Catholic in practice, and it was not until the reign of Edward VI that it became more Protestant in theology and position. Henry himself maintained a unique blend of Catholicism and Protestantism, reflecting his complex and evolving relationship with Catholicism.
Henry's religious policies had a significant impact on the country, with the dissolution of monasteries and the execution of those who opposed his reforms, such as Thomas More. The English Reformation, sparked by Henry's desire for a divorce, set in motion a series of events that gradually transformed the religious landscape of England, leading to a break with Rome and the establishment of the Church of England as an independent entity.
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The Act of Settlement 1701
The English Reformation in the 16th century marked the beginning of the English Church's schism from the Catholic Church. King Henry VIII, an observant Catholic, had defended the Catholic Church from Martin Luther's accusations of heresy in 1521. However, when Pope Clement VII refused to annul his marriage in 1527, the Reformation Parliament (1529-1536) passed laws abolishing papal authority in England, and Henry was declared head of the Church of England.
In 1553, under Queen Mary I, the English Church was once again linked to continental Catholicism and the See of Rome. Mary, a devout Catholic, was determined to restore Catholicism in England and pursued this aim by burning 300 Protestants at the stake.
The Act of Supremacy 1558 confirmed the independence of the Church of England from Roman Catholicism under the English monarch. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, England executed a significant number of Catholics, including Edmund Campion, Robert Southwell, and Margaret Clitherow.
In 1678, Titus Oates alleged a "Popish Plot" to assassinate King Charles and put James, an openly Catholic monarch, in his place. This sparked a wave of anti-Catholic hysteria, resulting in the execution of 17 Catholics and contributing to the Glorious Revolution. James II, a Roman Catholic, was deposed in 1688 due to his perceived assaults on the Church of England and his belief in the divine right of the Crown. His daughter Mary II and her husband, William III, ascended the throne, but they and Mary's sister Anne, the future queen, had no surviving heirs.
The Act of Settlement of 1701 was enacted to secure the Protestant succession to the throne and prevent any Catholics or those married to Catholics from inheriting the crown. It settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to Princess Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and her Protestant heirs. Sophia was a granddaughter of James VI and I and a niece of King Charles I. The Act also strengthened the Bill of Rights (1689) and limited the powers of the Crown, requiring parliamentary consent for declaring war or leaving the country.
While the Act of Settlement has been partially amended, such as removing the disqualification of monarchs marrying Catholics in 2013, it remains one of the main constitutional laws governing succession to the throne in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms.
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The Glorious Revolution
James II's overt Roman Catholicism, his suspension of the legal rights of Dissenters, and the birth of a Catholic heir to the throne raised discontent among many, particularly non-Catholics. The birth of his son in June 1688 meant that the king now had a Catholic heir, alarming several prominent Englishmen, who invited Mary's husband, William of Orange, to invade England. James soon fled to France, and William and Mary were crowned joint rulers in April 1689.
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Catholic monarchs
The English throne has never been Catholic in the sense that the Church of England has always been independent of the Catholic Church. However, there have been Catholic monarchs on the English throne.
Henry VIII
Henry VIII was an observant Catholic and heard up to five masses a day. He defended the Catholic Church from Martin Luther's accusations of heresy in a book called 'The Defence of the Seven Sacraments', for which he was awarded the title "Defender of the Faith" by Pope Leo X. However, when Pope Clement VII refused to annul his marriage, Henry passed laws in the Reformation Parliament (1529-1536) abolishing papal authority in England and declared himself head of the Church of England.
Mary I
Mary I was determined to return England to the Catholic faith. She linked the English Church to continental Catholicism and the See of Rome through the work of Catholic reformers like Reginald Pole. She also burned 300 Protestants at the stake, which was extremely unpopular.
James II/VII
James II of England and VII of Scotland was England's last Catholic monarch. He ascended the throne in 1685 and his reign was marked by struggles over religious tolerance. His attempts to increase support for his tolerationist policy failed to assuage fears of a return to papal rule and his conversion to Catholicism made the recovery of England for Catholicism a key policy objective. He was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Act of Settlement 1701 was passed to ensure the exclusion of any Catholic monarch.
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Frequently asked questions
The English throne has never been Catholic. However, there have been Catholic monarchs on the English throne. The last Catholic monarch was James II, who was deposed in 1688.
Yes, the last Catholic heir to the throne was James II, who was deposed in favour of his Protestant daughter Mary II and her husband William III.
No, to this day, a person cannot become king or queen of England if they are or ever have been a Roman Catholic. This is due to the Act of Settlement, passed in 1701, which excludes any Catholic or person married to a Catholic from the throne.
Yes, the Succession to the Crown Act of 2013 allows members of the royal family to marry a Roman Catholic without incurring a ban from the throne.
