Can we kill this "church of england exists because divorce" meme? It's getting grey and long in the tooth. The CoE started in the 600's with Augustine of Canterbury, even though the Celts had an earlier form of Christianity in the 3rd century.
The law around regarding consent in marriage started in the 11th century. Unless we want to remove consent and arrange marriages, the "love" influence of Christianity on marriage isn't going anywhere.
If the Church of England started in the 600s, it was nevertheless fully in union with Rome for the next 900 years. The Church of England/Roman Catholic Church was onboard with notions of exclusivity and permanence of marriage for all those intervening years.
The reason that CoE's genesis is largely traced to the mid-16th century is because Henry VIII had trouble producing an heir with an eligible wife, and he was more than willing to break with the Holy See on such a momentous issue. He declared himself Head of the Church. He declared himself arbiter of the marriage laws.
Henry arrogated so much authority that Rome was unable to continue in union with that Church of England, no matter how old and venerable its roots may have been.
I understand the history and your argument. Saying the "only reason it exists is because of Henry VIII" ignores where it began. Henry did not alter very much except kicking off the papacy and allowing annulment. The real changes came later by Cramner and Cromwell's suggestion.
It's worth nothing the English Reformation happened in the same decade as Martin Luther's sola fide, the 1520s. Divine providence?
The pope didn't own it in 600AD, the pope didn't own it in 2000AD. The 1520s is not the cause of the CoE's existence, the start in 600AD is the start of the CoE (and before that, Christ).
The Roman Catholic, papal perspective is different.
The law around regarding consent in marriage started in the 11th century. Unless we want to remove consent and arrange marriages, the "love" influence of Christianity on marriage isn't going anywhere.