Annulment - GCSE History Definition

An annulment, in historical terms, refers to the official ending or invalidation of a marriage, declaring it unlawful as if it never legally existed. Unlike a divorce, which ends a valid marriage, an annulment suggests that a previous issue meant that the people should never have been allowed to marry in the first place. This concept became particularly significant during the reign of King Henry VIII, who sought an annulment from Catherine of Aragon. To achieve the annulment of this marriage, England broke from the Catholic Church and Henry created the Church of England. GCSE History students need to understand annulment because it shows how personal wishes, religion, and politics can have powerful impacts in history.