The Royal council

• Tehran Royal council was a Royal board to advise the monarch
• The council also aided the monarch in day to day running of the country and could act as a judicial court. One of the most famous was the star chamber
• The star chamber was a perogative court
• The council could also be divided into fractions which often clashed
• Under Henry VII the Royal Council was larger and more informal than it was to become under Henry VIII
• Between 1485-1509 around 200 men attended council meetings
• Henry VII also created the great councils which were special gatherings of all the nobility and his councillors usually to discuss war or taxation
• Between 1487-1502 Henry VII called the great council 5 times illistrating that the nobility were aiding him in his decisions but he had already decided on his next
• Henry VII council had difficulty arguing with his actions for example in 1492 henry wanted to end his invasion on france so made members sign a document agreeing to retreat
• After two years under Henry VIII members power had been undermined and their influence became miniscule
• Henry VIII replaced members with Thomas wolsey who promised Henry one thing that he wanted which was war
• Wolsey became the dominant influence in politics until 1529 when he fell from power
• Wolsey responsible for most of day to day running of the country which henry VIII had no interest in
• Through wolsey dominance the council retained its traditional functions
• under Henry VIII the council still consisted of around 40 members most of which didn't attend on a regular basis
• In 1526 wolsey was planning on the Eltham ordinances to reduce the council to 20 people
• By 1540 wolsey idea of the smaller council emerged and became known as the privy council which by Elizabeth's reign became responsible for much of the daily running of the country