Succession, Act of
Syllabification: (Suc·ces·sion, Act of)
Definition of Succession, Act of
The first (1534) declared Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon to be invalid, fixing the succession on any child born to Henry’s new wife Anne Boleyn. The second (1536) canceled this, asserting the rights of Jane Seymour and her issue, while the third (1544) determined the order of succession of Henry’s three children, the future Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I