In the sixteenth century the King of England and his court were the rulers of their people and of their nation. Still, despite that undisputed secular authority, the Catholic Church, with its seat of power and wealth in Rome, held both valuable land in England, priestly authority, educational status and influence, moral suasion, and significant sway upon many vital areas of everyday English life. While the Catholic Church did not rule England, or share rule with England, its services, impact, and strength were paid for in one form or another by English tribute to the Church. For the most part, the State through the King, his court, and parliament in conjunction with Church representatives as authorized by Papal authority, worked together so as to hold dominion over the peoples of England for primarily the benefit of both ruing authorities.
However, in any sharing of power, there often comes a time, when one party recognizes that by usurping power from another, his will increase, and theirs will correspondingly decrease. When the Catholic Church was put to the test by King Henry VIII in regards to Henry's desired divorce from his wife, Catherine of Aragon, the church would not accede to his demands, but in proof that every action or decision that we make has consequences, King Henry VIII had his response. Henry VIII's response, was undoubtedly, well thought out and contemplated by his court, to which his chief advisor Thomas Cromwell, in conjunction with the Parliament, decided that the king, and not the pope, was the supreme head of the Church of England, and that therefore no decisions from Rome were binding upon the kingdom of England, and that therefore the Catholic Church was now in conflict with the absolute authority of the realm, itself.
The upshot of this fundamental religious change within England was that the control of papal lands, assets, priests, and the influence of religious thought, was now under the guidance and command of the King of England to which those that were of the Catholic faith, would now be compelled to become part and parcel of the Anglican faith, which for all expressed purposes, was now formally separated from the Catholic fold, so that those that failed to affirm their faith to the avowed Defender of the Faith (King Henry VIII) would now be subject to the persecution of treason to the State. This meant execution for some priests, banishment for others, and conversion by those that were perhaps more pragmatic in their outlook.
King Henry VIII's bold break from the Catholic Church enabled the taking of papal lands and assets within English territory, without compensation to Rome. This obviously meant a very nice bounteous gift for those in authority, those in the court and those in parliament, with perhaps a small trickle-down effect for the commoners of England. This also meant that since the King and the Church were now in total agreement as they were one and the same, that an appeal by the people to either one, would result in the same resolution, as the King was by law head of the State as well as head of the Church, meaning that not only did he have the Divine right of Kings, but was the direct interpreter of such.