Government and Parliament

• Marriage:

  • Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon out of love and a desire to rectify her mistreatment
  • Their union was successful until Catherine's fall from favour due to her failure to produce a surviving heir
  • Catherine led English troops at the Battle of Flodden
• Nobility:

  • Henry aimed to reintegrate the nobility into court life by bonding with the younger generation over shared interests
  • Their political influence remained limited by Cardinal Wolsey's rise, exemplified by the execution of Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham
• Foreign Policy:

  • Henry pursued militaristic foreign policies, often fuelled by his thirst for military glory and nobles seeking the same
  • Wars with France yielded little strategic gain, and alliances with France against Spain and the Holy Roman Empire avoided direct conflict with Charles V
• Parliament:

  • Bicameral system with the House of Commons and the House of Lords
  • Basic functions include granting revenue to the monarch and passing laws
  • The Reformation Parliament fundamentally changed the relationship between parliament and the monarch
• End of the Councils:

  • Wolsey's conciliar government ended due to disagreements with councillors and his impressive skills
  • The Privy Chamber and Court of Chancery were key components of Wolsey's governance
• The Eltham Ordinances and Amicable Grant:

  • Wolsey reformed tax collection methods
  • The Amicable Grant, a new tax, led to Wolsey's fall from favour
• Thomas Cromwell and the King’s great matter:

  • Henry VIII's desire for an annulment from Catherine of Aragon led to the need for a declaration that the marriage was illegal
  • Wolsey's failure to secure the annulment led to his fall from power
• Consequences of the Reformation Parliament:

  • Established Royal Supremacy and broke from Rome
  • Introduced the idea of the King in Parliament
  • Empowered the House of Commons to express views freely
• Thomas Cromwell's rise to power:

  • Developed under Wolsey after a conciliar government returned for 3 years
  • Suggested a Break with Rome to form the Church of England for Henry VIII's divorce
  • Replaced Wolsey as Chief Minister by 1532
  • Dominated the Royal Government for 8 years but was never as powerful as Wolsey
  • Responsible for the reformation parliament and changes enabling Henry to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn
• Exploiting weaknesses and applying pressure to the Church:

  • Church Weaknesses: Humanism, Legal Supremacy, Collectanea Status Copiosa, Continental university experts
  • Parliamentary Pressure: Praemunire-1531, Restraint of Annates-1532, Supplication against the Ordinaries-1532, Submission of the Clergy-1532
• Problem resolved by Anne Boleyn forcing the issue by getting pregnant, leading to Henry VIII pursuing open defiance of the Pope and marrying Anne Boleyn

  • Acts of Parliament to manufacture the break from Rome:
  • Act in Restraint of Appeals (April 1533)
  • Act of Succession (April 1534)
  • Act of Supremacy (November 1534)
  • Treason Act (November 1534)
  • Act Annexing First Fruits and Tenths to the Crown (November 1534)
• The Break with Rome led to:

  • Millennium of relationship destroyed in 1534
  • Supremacy created by Parliamentary Statute
  • Parliament strengthened
  • Religious policies based on Royal Whim
  • Dissolution of the Monasteries 1536-1542
• The Development of the Privy Council:

  • Cromwell altered the conciliar government to the Privy Council by 1540
  • Council had 19 members
  • Advising and executing policy
  • Cromwell's staff provided clerical function to maintain influence
  • Cromwell's role in establishing the Privy Council is debatable
• The Fall of Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell:

  • Anne Boleyn executed in 1536 for high treason
  • Henry VIII married Jane Seymour soon after Anne's execution
  • Thomas Cromwell executed in 1540 for treason and heresy
  • Cromwell's downfall engineered by his high-powered enemies
• Government in Henry's later years:

  • Conciliar government restored after Cromwell's death
  • Court factional and competing for influence over the king
  • Conservatives making a comeback after the Break from Rome
  • Catherine Howard executed for adultery in 1542
  • Reformers gained influence through marriages and court politics
  • Edward Seymour and John Dudley emerged as leading reformers
• How the reformers won by 1547:

  • Catherine Howard's adultery exposed in 1541, leading to conservative ascendancy being stopped
  • Reformers influenced the King's will and the Regency Council for Edward VI
  • Reformers and conservatives balanced in the Regency Council for Edward VI
  • Reformers possibly influenced the King's will through the use of the Dry Stamp
• What were the early aims of H8's government?

  Marriage, Nobility, Foreign Policy