CoA Divorce (20)

• INTRO/LOA

  After 24 years of marriage, Henry embarked on a series of desperate attempts to get a divorce from Catherine, seemingly for the reason of his conscience given that she was his brother's widow. However this reason can appear as a front, his desire for a male heir was incredibly strong, and Catherine was only able to give him a daughter. Additionally, the great matter surfaced as Anne Boleyn arrived at court, who he was to come completely infatuated with. But behind each of these factors, the need for a male heir was always the motive
• Reason 1- legitimate male heir

  • to prevent civil war, he needed a strong a male heir
  •  when arranging a french marriage to the Dauphin in 1527, the french made enquiries as to Mary’s legitimate status.
  • a female ruler would not have been easily accepted given that the last time England had a queen it ended in anarchy.
  • There were still yorkist descendants of Edward IV, probabality of unrest was high if henry was to die without a legitimate male heir
• Reason 2 - infatuation with Anne Boleyn

  • not signigicant enough alone for divorce, stemmed from a lack of male heir
  • Campeggio stated  ‘he cannot stay away from her for more than an hour, it’s quite pitable’’. Henry was truly obsessed with Anne, and she was a headstrong woman who had large political influence at court with a strong faction who pushed for divorce.
  • he saw Anne as a way to get a male heir alongside his obsession, because when Catherine’s pattern of daughters and failed pregnancies repeated itself on Anne, Henry had her executed for another wife who he hoped would give him a son. 
• Reason 3 - conscience

  • claimed to be the sole reason
  • no denying that he was an incredibly religious man, his bible was fully annotated and the pope had branded him ‘Defender of the Faith
  • dispensation suggests the marriage shouldn't have happened, Julius II could have made mistake
  • leviticus states ‘’if a man shall take his brother's wife they shall be childless’’, and even more so to the Hebrew version which specifically mentioned Sons.
• Leviticus analysis

  When we look at this line from the eyes of Henry, God had spoken to his exact condition, and we know that as a religious man he would have viewed his life and reign in terms of God’s will. However once again, his desire for a male heir is still present. This only originated as an issue because of his lack of male heir, Leviticus simply gave Henry the religious and intellectual framework to make sense of his predicament. Once again, if Catherine had a son, he would have paid no attention to leviticus. 
• Conclusion

  On Balance, desire for a male heir was definitely the most significant reason for his divorce, as without one, it was likely that all the efforts of his father were for nothing, however his conscience and infatuation with Anne Boleyn were still vital reasons. His conscience was an important factor as it provided the justification for the divorce, and his infatuation with Anne Boleyn was also vital as was the solution to his problem regarding the lack of male heir.