Henry VIII - Consolidation of Power and Early Government

• When did Henry VII die?

  21st April 1509
• When was Henry VII proclaimed King of England?

  23rd April 1509
• When did Henry VIII marry Catherine of Aragon?

  11th June 1509
• When was Henry and Catherine's coronation?

  24th June 1509
• How old was Henry VIII when he came to the throne?

  It was two months before his eighteenth birthday.
• How many years had passed after the death of Arthur? What did Henry do in this time?

  Seven years had passed since the death of Arthur, and in this time Henry had been preparing for his role as future king of England.
• What had been done to prepare Henry for the role of King?

  - he was well read

  - well educated

  - had some acquaintance with the new learning of Humanism
• What did John Guy say about Henry's mind?

  it was 'able but second rate
• What was Henry's early impression and how did Eric Ives describe him?

  The early impression Henry created was very positive and the modern historian Eric Ives describes Henry at this time as an 'extrovert, affable and charming'.
• How was Henry VII's accession seen after Henry VII?

  Henry VIII's accession was welcomed as a breath of fresh air after the stultifying and rather sinister atmosphere associated with the influence of Empson and Dudley in the last years of his father's reign.
• What did the new king represent to Sir Thomas More?

  'the end of slavery, the fount of our liberty, the end of sadness and the beginning of joy'.
• What did Henry have no experience in at the start of his reign?

  Government or public affairs
• How did Henry VIII's version of kingship differ from his Father's?

  - He had a profound dislike for the business of government

  - found the writing of state papers both tedious and painful
• What did Henry VIII's new role allow him to do and how did he use this?

  His new role allowed him to intervene suddenly in the business of government, in the process contradicting decisions or actions which had already been taken.
• What did Henry VIII lack in his personality that Henry VII had? What did he do instead?

  - Henry VIII lacked the work ethic that his many historians attributed to his Father.

  - He instead preferred to pass the time with good company.

  - This was evident in the courtly activities which followed his accession.

  - There was much emphasis on pageants, revelry, sports, hunting and tournaments
• Why did the structure of government change under Henry VIII?

  Henry VIII was rarely directly involved with the business of government.
• What was there short-term emphasis on in Henry's government?

  In the Short term, there was a renewed emphasis on governing through the council, which then made two comebacks at later stages of the reign (1529-32 and 1540-47)
• What else did Henry rely on to shape the structure of government?

  - There were two periods in which Henry used chief ministers to meet his own needs.

  - The first of these was Thomas Wolsey, who was particularly adept at using the Star Chamber

  - The second was Thomas Cromwell, who developed his role as principal secretary
• What four things did Henry VIII receive from his father?

  - money (believed to be around £300,000, and Henry VII was the only Tudor not to leave debt)

  - unpopular mechanisms for extracting money

  - a peaceful foreign policy

  - a conciliar form of government
• What did Henry VIII do to these four things at the start of his reign?

  - the money inherited would disappear due to paying for the revival of a traditionally aggressive foreign policy towards France

  - The conciliar form of government would disappear due to the emergence of Fox's former protege, Thomas Wolsey, as the focus of the government.
• What big changes happened at the start of Henry VIII's reign?

  Some members of the council were able to dispose of others and establish themselves in power.
• What did Richard Fox do at the start of Henry's reign and who was he assisted by?

  Richard Fox, who was assisted by Thomas Lovell and Richard Weston, secured the arrest of Richard Empson and Edmond Dudley. Henry VIII wasn't involved in this, but was involved in the further decision to execute them.
• What happened to the Council Learned in Law when Henry became King?

  It was abolished by an Act of Parliament in 1510.
• What else did Henry VIII do to distance himself from his Father's regime?

  - cancelled many Bonds and Recognisance

  - abolished council learned

  - executed Empson + Dudley
• How did Henry VIII's new take on Kingship affect his status in England?

  It ensured his own popularity amongst the nobility and propertied classes, who considered themselves the victims of Henry VIII's approach to taxation
• What were Henry VIII's key aims in the first years of his reign?

  - to establish his status amongst European monarchs through marriage

  - to re-establish the role of the nobility

  - to establish himself as a warrior king through success in battle
• Why did Henry VIII want to marry Catherine of Aragon quickly?

  He was worried that Catherine of Aragon had been unfairly treated after they couldn't wed before the death of Henry VII
• Why did Henry VIII's councillors want him to marry Catherine quite quickly?

  As they believed it would deflect him from political matters, and allow them to continue with a concillar form of government as usual.
• Why was the marriage between Catherine and Arthur initially successful?

  - Henry VIII found it successful on a personal level

  - Catherine also exercised some influence over policy making in the first few years.
• What problem became prominent by the mid 1520s?

  Catherine of Aragon could never give Henry VIII a healthy male heir.
• What had Henry VII done with the nobility during his reign?

  - the nobility was largely frozen out of direct political influence by Henry VII

  - Henry's peaceful foreign policy meant that they were denied their traditional outlet of the pursuit of military glory
• What did Henry VIII do with the nobility that differed from Henry VII?

  - Henry VIII shared to nobility's taste for military glory

  - The nobility were generally young men who accompanied Henry in sports and revels

  - It was the nobility who accompanied Henry to war in Northern France, or the Marquis of Dorset or the Earl of Surrey to Scotland
• Why did the nobility not achieve the political domination they desired?

  Henry chose to promote the interests of Thomas Wolsey, the Churchman who had organised the war in France on his behalf.
• Who was the Duke of Buckingham?

  Buckingham, like Henry, was a descendant of King Edward III and the only English duke at the start of his reign
• Why was the Duke of Buckingham executed in 1521?

  - he had been a cause of concern for Henry for a while as he was muttering about issues such as the succession

  - He was tried in court as any discussion to what may happen after the King's death could be treason

  - The duly found him guilty and quickly executed him; Wolsey was thought to be a key figure in his execution
• Why did Henry VIII quickly go to war with France?

  - he wanted to break from his Father's foreign policy and pursuit military glory
• What did Henry gain (or not gain) by going to war with France?

  A common theme throughout Henry's invasions; a vast amount of money was spent to gain a very small and insignificant amount of land.
• What did Henry VIII confusingly do throughout his foreign policy?

  His bouts of aggression were mixed with occasional alliances with the French against the Spanish and the HRE, although Henry was never foolish enough to go to war directly with the powerful Charles V