<answer>Henry VIII</answer> assumed direct royal control in 1539 and granted the abbey the status of a cathedral by charter in 1540, simultaneously issuing letters patent establishing the Diocese of Westminster. By granting the abbey cathedral status <answer>Henry VIII</answer> gained an excuse to spare it from the destruction or dissolution which he inflicted on most English abbeys during this period.
Who gave the abbey status of a cathedral in 1540?
Henry VIII