Henry VIII & faction

• Henry VIII & faction

  1. reformist faction
  2. catholic faction
  3. Henry in control
• reformist faction

  -  Catherine Howard quickly fell from power – adultery; pre-marital affairs; lost interest in Henry

  -  Cranmer plot failed – Henry gave Cranmer a ring as a sign of trust & ordered him to investigate the charges himself – charges dropped, no evidence as prosecutors being judged by the man they hoped to convict

  -  Marriage to Catherine Parr (sympathised w/ reformist ideas)

  -  Henry warned Catherine Parr about the plot beforehand

  -  Catherine Parr plot failed – won Henry over by promising to believe & follow whatever he wanted her to)

  -  Henry did not tell opponents of this – when the opponents arrived to arrest Catherine Parr, they were greeted w/ abuse from the king for attempting a treasonous plot

  - Fall of Gardiner & Norfolk
• reformist faction (counter)

  -  Marriage to (Catholic) Catherine Howard after (Protestant) Anne of Cleves marriage

  -  Cranmer (Reformer) had to notify Henry of CH’s pre-marital affairs & adultery – left a sealed letter during a church service w/ instruction not to read until later

  -  Fall of Cromwell left Cranmer vulnerable (he’d helped w/ the CoA divorce) – accused him of heresy

  -  Plot agst Catherine Parr – arrived to arrest her & caused her fear

  - Norfolk wasn’t executed – arrested but Henry died before signing death warrant
• catholic faction

  -  Met Catherine Howard @ Stephen Gardiner’s residence

  -  Marriage to Catherine Howard (Catholic) – engineered by Norfolk & his supporters

  -  Nobility believed Henry should be advised by natural advisors (nobility) > low-born councillors (Cromwell)

  -  Henry was still besotted w/ Catherine Howard & didn’t notice her lose interest in him

  -  Accused Cranmer of heresy & called for his arrest

  - Attack on Catherine Parr when Cranmer plot failed – she sympathised w/ reformist beliefs & was closer to Lutheran beliefs than was legal (accused her of heresy, Henry gave them permission to confront her)
• catholic faction (counter)

  -  Catherine Howard’s influence didn’t last long – became bored w/ Henry (adultery) -> then executed

  -  Cranmer plot failed – Henry informed Cranmer of the plot agst him & gave him a ring as a sign of trust, Cranmer investigated charges himself & charges were dropped

  -  Catherine Parr plot failed

  -  Gardiner replaced by Cromwell as royal secretary

  - Norfolk’s fall – arrested bc his son (Earl of Surrey) suggested he had claim to throne via Edward I, & put part of royal coat of arms on his family emblem w/o permission (caused alarm as Henry ill & successor young)
• Henry in control

  -  Henry was becoming ^ tyrannical (due to his illness)

  -  Able to use policy of divide & rule to strengthen his position & stop one group from dominating

  -  Marriage to Catherine Parr – more for personal reasons (stepmother to his children & care for him through illness & reunite family following Henry’s divorces + executions) than religious reasons

  -  Henry stayed loyal to Norfolk & allowed him to leave court

  -  Henry stayed loyal to Cranmer & allowed him to investigate his own charges

  - Henry in control of Catherine Parr plot – she promised to believe whatever he wanted
• Henry in control (counter)

  -  Henry was growing ^ ill – lost control & faction took power

  -  Dry stamp used by Denny; signature unneeded for will & therefore had no control

  -  Reformist-dominated Regency Council by the time of Henry’s death (undermined by Denny & Paget)

  -  Henry executed Catherine Howard & the two others implicated (tyrant)

  - Henry could’ve prevented the entire Cranmer attack from developing but didn’t – enjoyed embarrassing his ministers