The Vatican Archives, which collects documents from the 8th century onwards, also contains Henry VIII's parchment to Pope Clement VIII requesting the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Vatican sources said amid King Charles historic visit to the papal state Thursday.
To reinforce the request, it was also stamped with the seals of 85 English nobles.
The Pope refused, but Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn anyway and founded the Anglican Church in 1534, declaring himself its head.
The large letter, preserved in the Vatican, features 83 signatures divided into 13 columns traced on the fold by a red silk ribbon, from which hang 81 seals in tin cases and 4 empty cases.
