The Great Matter & the progress of the divorce under Wolsey

The breakdown of Henry & Katherine’s marriage

The early years of their marriage were successful & they were the epitome of a royal couple, Henry relied on her advice. However, he begun to be annoyed when she couldn’t produce a royal heir & her political position was weakened when her father died. Katherine had multiple pregnancies & miscarriages including two stillborn sons in 1513 & 1510, two boys who died not long after in 1511 & 1514 & Mary in 1516.

Henry’s need for a male heir

He was desperate for a male heir to carry on the Tudor dynasty & Katherine’s inability to produce him with one caused the Great Matter. Henry saw her & Mary as a problem when it became clear she wouldn’t have another pregnancy by the mid 1520s & didn’t see Mary as a legitimate heir - Katherine did however & drew up a program of education to train her to be a queen like Katherine’s mother had. Henry also had an illegitimate son called Henry Fitzroy in 1519, with his mistress Bessie Blount - proved to Henry that he was not the problem & made him view Katherine as ‘old’ & ‘deformed’.

Reasons why Henry was worried over the Great Matter

High infant mortality & low life expectancy were common meaning he couldn’t have only one heir. An obsessive fear of civil war remained from the Wars of the Roses, meaning he had to ensure the country was stable. He didn’t want to be remembered as the king who couldn’t father a son or as a failure by ending the Tudor dynasty after 2 generations. He also believed a queen would lead to vulnerability, military weakness & foreign invasion - the last female heir had been Matilda in the 12th century & her cousin Stephen had stolen the throne from her.

Anne Boleyn’s background

She was the niece of the Duke of Norfolk who was the most powerful noble at the time & used her to gain influence. She spent years in the French court where she learned modern social skills & her infamous qualities of charisma, unconventionality & a striking nature. She returned to England in 1501 & became a lady in waiting to Katherine. She was also a radical Lutheran & influenced Henry into taking a new direction with religion during their marriage.

Henry’s love letters to Anne Boleyn

He wrote numerous love letters to her while he was still married to Katherine of Aragon, highlighting one of the reasons why he wanted an annulment. He initially detailed how he wanted her to be his mistress but then later desired her as his wife when she refused to sleep with him until they were married - strategical on her part and she was able to keep a hold over him to gain what she wanted.

Anne Boleyn’s letters to Wolsey

She wrote devious and manipulative letters to Wolsey to try and get what she wanted, as she believed him to be corrupt and standing in the way of her right to be queen. Wolsey’s inability to carry out the divorce left him hated by the Boleyn faction and he promised Anne he would help her but turned to Katherine instead, worsening his image. Both sets of letters surrounding Anne can be seen as showing her loyalty to the king & the monarchy.

Henry’s argument for annulment

He used a verse from Leviticus to argue that his marriage to Katherine wasn’t valid as she had been his brother’s wife & that the special dispensation granted by the Pope in 1503 was given on false grounds. However this argument was entirely contradicted by a verse from Deuteronomy.

Wolsey’s strategy for annulment

He hoped to secure an annulment by arguing the original marriage was never right but with the Pope’s support & cooperation. However he was wary of attempting to do this due to the threat of Katherine’s powerful nephew Charles V who now had influence over the Pope.

Henry’s solution to the issues with the annulment

Wolsey became allied with France & declared war on Charles to try & secure the Pope’s diplomatic independence - the idea was to distract Charles & distance him from being able to influence the Pope, so he could be bullied into accepting an annulment. However this failed & only antagonised Charles.

Opinions on the divorce under Wolsey

Henry decided he wanted a divorce in Spring 1527 & Katherine blamed Wolsey for this despite it being Henry’s idea. The Boleyns had Lutheran sympathies & were closely related to the influential Duke of Norfolk, highlighting their power - however public opinion favoured Katherine as they saw her as their rightful queen. Katherine refused the idea of divorce as she wanted to stay in England.

Progress of the divorce under Wolsey - May 1527

A secret trial of the marriage took place but it couldn’t be judged & was deferred to the Pope. At the end of May Charles invaded Rome & took the Pope prisoner - worsening the situation.

Timeline of the Great Matter - April & May 1527

April - Henry decided he wanted a divorce

May - The secret trial took place & Charles took control of the Pope

Timeline of the Great Matter - April 1528

The Pope granted a commission to try the case in England - Henry had to wait for this as he needed full papal authority to divorce Katherine so that the legitimacy of his future heirs & marriages couldn’t be questioned.

Timeline of the Great Matter - October 1528

A representative of the Pope named Campeggio arrived in England & employed tactics of delay & procrastination, as instructed by the Pope, to try and prevent the divorce. This made Henry frustrated & caused him to question Wolsey’s position.

Timeline of the Great Matter - March - July 1529

In March, a court headed by Wolsey & Campeggio was opened at Blackfriars to try the marriage. In July, the court adjourned for the summer after 4 months and never met again, causing Wolsey’s plan to fail. Campeggio was ordered to drag the court out to allow Katherine an opportunity to seek Henry’s permission to directly appeal to Rome.

Katherine’s speech at Blackfriars

She gave a speech on her knees & refused to budge in an effort to defend herself & try one last time to try and salvage the remnants of her marriage. She argued she was an obedient, loving wife & never defied Henry - she was a true maid before marriage & provided him with kids (them dying wasn’t her fault). She was intelligent & was determined to maintain her position by gaining sympathy from the court & public & fuel their pre existing love for her. Henry had little interest however as he had already discarded her in favour of prioritising the Tudor line.

Wolsey’s fall from power - the role of the Boleyn faction

Starkey argues they were the main factor as they had a continuous battle with Wolsey in the court over control & influence with Henry. Many of Henry’s close friends (the Gentleman of the Chamber) were sent abroad by Wolsey on diplomatic missions & had them expelled from the court in 1519. He also used the Eltham Ordinances to reduce them from 12 to 6. Wolsey also executed the Duke of Buckingham in 1521 to try and reduce their influence. The faction constantly fed Henry anti-Wolsey propaganda & Anne Boleyn quickly came to despise him - influenced Henry

Criticisms of the role of the Boleyn faction in Wolsey’s downfall

Gwyn argues the influence of the factions has been overstated as the expulsions & the Eltham Ordinances were part of an efficiency drive within the court & The duke of Buckingham had treasonably committed illegal retaining.

Wolsey’s fall from power - the role of Henry

Gwyn argues this was the main factor as Henry was outraged by Wolsey’s inability to secure his annulment & he refused to follow Wolsey’s advice on how to construct his legal case - argued the Pope had acted outside his authority in the dispensation however Wolsey advised him to argue the marriage had never been consummated, so the dispensation was void. Henry was subject to the influence of Anne & Wolsey was caught between Henry & the Pope - couldn’t afford to anger Charles - which Henry was too short sighted to acknowledge.

Criticisms of the role of Henry in Wolsey’s downfall

Guy argues that the divorce didn’t actually doom Wolsey as Henry left him the Archbishopric of York & Bishopric of Winchester - perhaps hoping to later reinstate him.

Wolsey’s fall from power - the role of Wolsey

Guy argues this was the main factor as Wolsey was arrogant & saw himself as the ‘alternative king’ - leading him to overstep his mark & lose Henry’s patience. He was accused of making ‘presumptuous sinister practices’ to the court of Rome which was forbidden under the Act of Praemunire. He also arranged himself to be ‘enthused at York with all possible pomp’ - people viewed him as too proud, arrogant & traitorous, causing his position to become untenable.