Final answer:
Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn in 1533 after the Archbishop of Canterbury granted an annulment of his previous marriage, allowing the union despite the Pope's refusal.
Step-by-step explanation:
Henry VIII's Marriage to Anne Boleyn
King Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn in 1533. This event was pivotal in the English Reformation, precipitated by Henry's desire for a male heir and his subsequent break with the Catholic Church. Despite obtaining a special dispensation to marry Catherine of Aragon from Pope Julius, Henry sought an annulment when she failed to provide a male heir. Pope Clement VII, under the influence of Catherine's nephew Charles V and in light of potential implications of papal fallibility, refused to grant the annulment. In response, Henry declared the Church of England independent from papal authority through the Act of Supremacy in 1534, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, granting the annulment thereafter. Henry's marriage to Anne also failed to produce a male heir; they had a daughter, Elizabeth. Anne Boleyn was later executed on charges of adultery.