Elizabeth Blount, commonly known during her lifetime as Bessie Blount, was a mistress of Henry VIII of England.
Stylized brass with the likeness of Blount
Sculpture of Elizabeth Blount on the tomb monument of her parents at Kinlet church.
Henry VIII was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage annulled. His disagreement with Pope Clement VII about such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority. He appointed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries, for which he was excommunicated by the pope.
Portrait of Henry VIII after Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1537–1562
Portrait by Meynnart Wewyck, 1509
The meeting of Francis I and Henry VIII at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520
Henry with Emperor Charles V (right) and Pope Leo X (centre), c. 1520