Final answer:
Henry VIII sought the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon because they failed to produce a male heir. Henry claimed their marriage was illegitimate as it contradicted Catholic Church law. The Pope refused annulment, leading to the creation of the Church of England and enabling Henry to oversee his own marriage annulment.
Step-by-step explanation:
Henry VIII believed that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon had failed primarily because it did not produce a male heir. Henry, a once devout Catholic, sought an annulment rather than a divorce due to the Catholic Church's stance against divorce. An annulment would declare the marriage null and void, as if it never occurred.
Henry's argument for annulment rested on the point that Catherine had been married to his brother, and under Catholic Church law, the marriage of close relatives was prohibited. The special dispensation provided by Pope Julius II for Henry to marry Catherine thus came into question.
With Catherine's only surviving child being a daughter, Mary, and English law not excluding women from the throne, Henry was anxious for a male successor. The Pope's refusal to annul the marriage, influenced by political pressures, led Henry to reject the authority of the Catholic Church and establish the Church of England with the monarch as its head, facilitating his own marriage annulment and remarrying.
Although Henry subsequently married Anne Boleyn, she too failed to provide a male heir, ultimately resulting in her execution. It was only with Jane Seymour, his third wife, that Henry finally fathered a son, Edward. Parliamentary acts followed that clarified the line of succession, placing Edward, then Mary and Elizabeth, as the rightful heirs.