The story
Named after English king Henry VIII, who passed the Statute of Proclamations in 1539 that empowered him to legislate by proclamation.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Henry VIII clause
Today it means: A provision in a bill before Parliament, that if enacted as an Act, would enable the Government to amend (including repeal) the Act or other primary legislation by secondary legislation. Full definition →