King Henry VIII of England wanted something the Catholic Church would not give him: a divorce. He was married to Catherine of Aragon, but she had not given him a male heir. Henry believed that only a son could rule England after him. He asked the Pope in Rome for permission to end his marriage. The Pope refused. So Henry took a drastic step. In 1534, he broke away from the Catholic Church entirely and created the Church of England, with himself as its head. This gave him the power to grant his own divorce. He then married Anne Boleyn, a woman at his court who had caught his attention. Anne became queen, but their marriage was troubled. She gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, but Henry still wanted a son. Within three years, Henry turned against Anne. On May 19, 1536, she was executed at the Tower of London on charges that most historians today believe were fabricated. Henry's decision to leave the Catholic Church had consequences far beyond his personal life. It permanently changed England's religious landscape and set the stage for centuries of conflict between Protestants and Catholics across Europe.