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Royal Supremacy Facts & Worksheets

The Royal Supremacy recognized the English monarchs Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I as the “Supreme Heads of the Church of England”

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Also known as the Act of Supremacy, was the two English acts of Parliament (1534 then 1559) that recognized the English monarchs Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I as the “Supreme Heads of the Church of England”.

See the fact file below for more information on Royal Supremacy or alternatively, you can download our 26-page worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Events Leading to the Royal Act

  • After Rome stopped governing England in the 5th century, the Anglo-Saxons invaded the country and introduced Catholicism.
  • In 597, Pope Gregory I sent St. Augustine to lead a mission to the Anglo-Saxons. In 90 years, Britain accepted Christianity.
  • The Norman Conquest of England (1066) led to Roman ideas integrated into English religion, including the revival of local synods, celibacy of the clergy, and the introduction of canon law.
  • In the 16th century, however, the Protestant Reformation in England began to change the Catholic country.
  • When King Henry VIII ruled England, he was believed to have committed the sin of marrying his dead elder brother’s betrothed, Catherine of Aragon, resulting in his inability to produce a male heir.
  • Aggrieved, he went through the religious procedures by seeking an annulment from Pope Clement VII.
  • The latter, however, refused his requests despite biblical evidence and historical basis.
  • It was also during this time that he fell in love with Anne Boleyn, so the King pursued and provided Anglo-Saxon documents that gave spiritual supremacy to the English monarch over the church.
  • Between 1531 and 1532, the English Church agreed to surrender its independence and authority regarding canon law to the monarch. 
  • The following year, the Statute in Restraint of Appeals in early 1533 removed the ability of the English to appeal to Rome on matrimonial matters, tithes, and oblations.
  • During this time, Anne Boleyn was already pregnant with Henry’s child. The newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declared the king’s marriage to Catherine invalid, allowing Henry to marry Anne.
  • In 1534, the original Act of Supremacy confirmed that Henry was the head of the Church of England.

The 1534 Royal Supremacy

  • The formal title of the act was: “An act concerning the King’s Highness to be Supreme Head of the Church of England and to have authority to reform and redress all errors, heresies and abuses in the same.”
  • When King Henry VIII became head of the church, it gave him access to considerable wealth that the church had amassed in England, allowing an investigation into Church property in 1535. 
  • Residents of the sanctuaries also lost the privilege to claim immunity from any kind of prosecution. Papal powers over the properties lost their grip.
  • Public sentiment was generally opposed to ecclesiastical hierarchy because they felt that the church was mismanaged. 
  • This law prohibited the people from supporting the Pope and the Catholic church over the Church of England. It was considered an act of treason, punishable by death.
  • The power of clergymen within England’s political arena dramatically declined as well, resulting in the dissolution of the monasteries. 

The 1559 Royal Supremacy

  • In 1554, King Henry’s Roman Catholic daughter, Mary, repealed the original act after she became queen of England.
  • Upon Queen Mary’s death in November 1558, her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth I succeeded the throne at the age of 25. 
  • The laws passed in the reign of Mary I were repealed, and the celebration of Communion in both kinds was confirmed.
  • The first Elizabethan parliament passed the Act of Supremacy in 1558, proclaiming the new queen’s title as the ‘Supreme Governor’ of the Church of England.
  • The title was made to appease doubters who did not fully believe in the leadership of females.
  • The formal title of the second Royal Act was: “An Acte restoring to the Crowne thauncyent Jurisdiction over the State Ecclesiasticall and Spirituall, and abolyshing all Forreine Power repugnaunt to the same.”
  • The law required anyone taking public or church office to swear allegiance to the monarch as head of the Church and state. 
  • Those who refused to take the oath were categorically charged with treason and put to death. Despite a few initial protests, especially from clerics during Queen Mary’s time, the country eventually heeded to the queen’s law.
  • The second royal act became part of the queen’s “Religious Settlement of 1559”, a law beneficial to Tudor England after the years of religious turmoil her subjects had experienced.
  • It also led to the Act of Uniformity 1558, regularising prayer, divine worship, and the administration of the sacraments in the English church.
  • What these acts did was make permanent the divide between the Roman Catholic and English churches.

Royal Supremacy Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Royal Supremacy across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching about Royal Supremacy, also known as the Act of Supremacy, which was the two English acts of Parliament (1534 then 1559).

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Royal Supremacy Facts
  • King Henry III
  • English Monarchy
  • Letter to Anne
  • Act of Supremacy
  • Queen Elizabeth I
  • Elizabethan Church
  • Catholic Church
  • Religious Resettlement
  • Oath of Supremacy
  • Law and Religion

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Link will appear as Royal Supremacy Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, December 1, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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