Henry VIII Crisis of Royal Authority

• Foreign Policy (early)

  SK1 = 1513 Battle of Flodden James V and many Scottish nobles were killed. Henry’s sister Margaret was now queen regent in Scotland 

  SK2 = 1513 Battle of Spurs: Henry led 30,000 men to Calais and was successful in seizing the towns of Tournai and Therouanne

  CSK = 1518 Treaty of London promoted peace and put england at the centre of diplomacy

  CONSENSUS = Was short lived as death of Maximillian left title of HRE open to competition - a title that Henry, for a time, competed in - Wolsey’s influence was limited
• Henry's Court (early)

  SK1 = In 1519 Wolsey expelled who he saw as ‘Henry’s minions’

  SK2 = The minions returned within the same year but then Wolsey implemented the 1526 Eltham Ordinances that cut the Privy Council down from 12 to 6 members - he selected the most politically active members to remove so he could increase his own influence over Henry

  CSK = In the beginning, Henry showed great control over membership arresting Empson and Dudley who were his father’s chief financial advisors
• Domestic Policy (early)

  SK1 = Developed new tax, a subsidy in 1513 - was based on income rather than wealth which benefited the poor

  SK2 = 1517-18 Enclosure Commission took action against 264 people

  EXPLANATION = Both of these policies met Wolsey's aims at the expense of the nobility which wouldn't have been what Henry wanted

  CSK = Henry cancelled Wolsey’s 1523 Amicable Grant after it was met with rebellion claiming he didn’t know about it - intervention shows that Henry did have the final say and was actively engaged in domestic affairs
• Factions

  SK1 = Reformist faction accused Gardiner of supporting the reinstatement of papal authority - false but saw his removal.

  SK2 = Fall of Cromwell caused by Norfolk who used his niece Catherine to increase his influence.

  CSK = During the Conservative 1543 Cranmer Plot Henry revealed the conspiracy to Cranmer himself and gave him his ring as a sign of support
• Domestic Reform

  SK1 = 1536 Ten Articles and 1537 Bishop’s Book both undermined Catholic sacraments

  SK2 = Cromwell's greatest achievement was the distribution of an English bible to every parish in the country - Matthew’s Bible then the Great Bible

  CSK = Henry refounded 2 monasteries in the 1540s 
• The Succession

  SK1 = Seymour used a loophole from the will to effectively give himself monarchical power as Lord Protector he also then bypassed the Privy Council making his own ‘new council’ at Somerset house

  SK2 = When the will was drawn up and signed there was plenty of space left for future amendments - details of the regency council were added when Henry was too near death to do anything

  CSK = In Henry’s will he chose the 16 men who would form Edward’s regency council